Throughout the semester, this class has studied different epics and stories mostly dealing around the theme of creation, and how the universe came to be. Each text we have studied, from Genesis to Enumah Elish, tells different versions of how a single G-d or multiple gods created both the universe and mankind. Each religion and culture has different theories, and we have touched on many aspects within those theories. These theories argue how exactly the first beings were created, whether by mortal humans or immortal deities. In both the story of Genesis in the Bible, and Theogony written by Hesiod, human beings are created through some means by a higher power. However, throughout history the creation stories have been debated down to the idea of gender equality, or inequality for that matter. Women were commonly regarded as the subservient gender. Some have made the argument that in these two texts, women are considered to be negative and troublesome symbols, while men are better known for strength and leadership skills. However, just because the roles of men and women might differ, does not mean that one is more important than the other. It can be asserted that women were given an elevated position of both power and necessity as well. These works of literature emphasize the important role that women have, thus proving that women were fairly represented, and represented as powerful, in the Bible’s creation story as well as Ancient Greek culture’s creation story.

In Genesis, Eve is described as man’s “helper”, and some take offence to this. However, I believe that it defines the vital role that women have in life and how men vigorously need women. Some may argue that the word “helper” makes women inferior or subordinate to men, but its actually rather a beautiful thing to see all human beings coming together and supporting each other.

Similarly, In Hesiod’s Theogony, power is defined by the influence that one character has on another. The majority of the text relays the feeling of women being inferior to men; however, their power is still recognized and almost feared. First and foremost is the significance of the nine muses in the story. And also, it is clear that the most powerful female in the story is Gaia, Not only was she able to give birth to the universe alone, but once she did all of the inhabitants knew that she was the most powerful because she always had the final word. When Gaia spoke to her children, “fear gripped them all, not one of them uttered a sound,” (Lines 167-168). When Gaia is oppressed by the wicked Ouranos, who is preventing her from giving birth to her children, she uses trickery to get her son Koronos to ambush and castrate his father. While it may seem that she was over-powered by Ouranos in the aspect that she could not defend herself from such a domestic dispute, in actuality she was able to devise a plan in which she got someone else to do the job for her. Gaia’s abilities should not be overlooked.

Both Eve and Gaia willingly make huge decisions, which they are prepared to face the repercussions of. Eve decides to eat from the Tree of Knowledge, and Gaia decides to take matters into her own hands and kill the evil Ouranos. These are just a few examples of how women are fairly represented in the Bible creation story and in Hesiod’s Theogony.