works and days

Works and days described women as “scourge for toiling men” (Hesiod 45). Men were regarded as pure, free from trouble and sorrows. This all changed after women were introduced to men. It all started when, Iapetos stole the fire from Zeus for the sake of men. After Zeus found out about this treachery, he cursed Iapetos, men and generations to follow by introducing Pandora, the first woman. Zeus instructed the titans to create Pandora to bring doom to men. Hephaistos mixed earth and haste to create a female body. Athena taught her weaving skills and Aphrodite blessed her with desire and passion. After her creation, Pandora was brought up to Epimeteus and he immediately sensed the disguised evil in her. Pandora opened the jar, releasing all the miseries and sorrow and she closed it just before hope could come out, depriving men of something good.
Pandora is Hesiod’s representation for a female, an attractive decoy, sexually alluring. Zeus wanted “to make a face such as goddesses have and the shape of a lovely maiden” (Hesiod 45). Hesiod also regarded women having strong feelings, “stinging desire and limb gnawing passion” (Hesiod 45) but with a selfish personality, “mind of a bitch and a thievish nature” (Hesiod 45).
Throughout the literature, Men were regarded as dominant. Mythological gods who held power were mostly men. Aten, the sun god, was also referred to as a “he”. In Works and Days, men’s life were regarded easy, “without suffering, toilsome hardship and without painful illnesses” (Hesiod 45). But after Pandora was introduced to man, they became impure, “the woman, with her hands, removed the great lid of the jar and scattered its contents, bringing grief and cares to men”.
Hesiod’s works and days clearly was biased to men. At his era, women are insignificant. Men were holding positions of great power. Samantha Hamika mentioned that “today, society sometimes jokingly depicts women as being “the root of all evil”” (Hamika). This was never true as it is