Mänskliga kvinnors relationer med manliga gudar : Intertextuella mönster i myter

Sammanfattning: This study aims to examine intertextual patterns in Greek myths regarding relationships between 35 mortal women and four male gods; Apollo, Dionysos, Poseidon and Zeus, chosen due to their many relationships with mortal women. The material consists of ancient texts from 800 B.C. to 200 A.D. to get a diachronic perspective. Intertextuality as an analysis method is used to bring out similarities and differences between the stories and the characters. A gender perspective is applied to gender roles and what was expected from a man and a woman in Greek society and how the societal values are reflected in myth.                       The analysis addresses how women were presented before the relationship with the god, their treatment in the relationship, if the relationship resulted in a child and how the women’s life turned out after the god’s presence. The results show that there are visible intertextual patterns between myths regarding the relationships between mortal women and male gods. The myths reflect the ancient patriarchal society where women are given little attention, are passive and perceived as victims. The gods and men in these myths are viewed as active, brave, strong and as superior over the women. In contrast to the strong and brave men, the study has concluded that active women can be found, although rarely, but that they were punished for stepping over the natural boundaries of active men and passive women.