The Role of Women in Mythology Essay Example

The most "pivotal" and "essential" gods in many mythologies and pantheons are all male gods.  Many mythologies have leaders and powerful gods who are men; however, women are rarely seen as dominant figures.  Slavic people reside in eastern and southeastern Europe, subdivided into East Slavs (Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians), West Slavs (Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, and Wends), and South Slavs (Serbs, Croats, Bosnians, Slovenes, Macedonians, and Montenegrins).  The Slav's historical record of their existence was entered from the 6th century CE to the first half of the 7th century from permanent colonization.  Modern-day Slavic society is mostly gender equality friendly, yet there are some roles that remain the same from the early generation.  Through the goddesses of Slavic mythology, Mokosh, Baba Yaga, and Morzana, it is proven that there are rarely powerful roles of women seen in mythologies, without them, there would not be certain figures that future generations could look up to.

One of the most aspiring goddesses in Slavic mythology is Mokosh, the only female god mentioned in a pantheon.  Mokosh can be seen as giving life to the world; an archetype she is categorized in very well is a warrior and a caregiver.  She is described as the "life-giving and life-taking goddess of Old Europe—that is, with Fate, the spinner of the thread of life and the dispenser of the water of life" (Encyclopedia.com).  Moreover, "[s]he is the only female deity mentioned in the Kievan pantheon established by Vladimir I in 980 [CE]” (Encyclopedia.com).  Being mentioned in such a famous pantheon could lead to conclusions of her role in the pantheon.  As the only female, she represents the immense potential she holds and may be seen as an underdog from the rest of the gods yet, succeeds in dominating.  Mokosh is a warrior goddess, which means she has some attributes that help her fight as a warrior.  In this case, "[s]he [is] who strikes with her wings” (Feminism and Religion).  Her wings hold a profound meaning in her physical features, it represents the symbol of the priestess of antiquity.  Thus, she holds many historical meanings behind her figure.  Mokosh demonstrates a pronounced role given to her in Slavic myths; she symbolizes that women could do things as an equal to men.

Baba Yaga is known to be one of the most feared characters in children's tales.  She is depicted as a representative of death and plays conflicting roles in tales that she is mentioned in.  She could have the role of a trickster or either a wise mentor in different tales.  "[Baba Yaga] is never depicted as kind, loving, or welcoming – except when she thinks she is meeting her evening meal – but always sparks change in the life of the central character or characters and provides the necessary elements for their transformation and liberation" (World History).  Most tales portray Baba Yaga as the evil cackling witch that devours children for her meals yet, she could also be a guide.  Baba Yaga is featured in many tales that play a huge role in that story that either makes the conflict or the rise of action in the story.  Forbye, "present-day [many people view] her as [an] embodying female empowerment and independence" (World History).  That is because she only relies on herself for the essentials she wants or needs.  Furthermore, she never shows mercy to her victims, no sympathy even if the main protagonist gets in trouble.  She is someone with wise words yet, she could be the villain.  Baba Yaga is not always the senile savage person as many people view her, she could play a conflicting role as the guiding wise mentor.  

The goddess who became who she is from anger and greed was Morzana.  She is the goddess of death and the trickster of many tales.  "[Morzana] is the mare in the word nightmare, described as a 'monstrous hag squatting upon the breast, mute, motionless, and malignant, an incarnation of the evil spirit whose intolerable weight crushes the breath out of the body'" (ThoughtCo).  In addition, "[she is] imagined as a cold and long winter, a type of winter that could bring with it hunger and extreme cold" (Celebrate Pagan Holidays).  When she was born out of vengeance and greed for her good, the atmosphere around her was gloom, dark, nothing but devastation from the people around her.  Her attitude was vulgar and always treated others cruelly, never showing any sympathy.  A perk she has was transforming into a"butterfly and hanging[ing] over the lips of sleepers bringing them bad dreams" (Celebrate Pagan Holidays).  Butterflies usually symbolize the act of transformation and hope.  The transformation part was accurate; however, Morzana symbolizing hope was wrong.  She made the hope in butterflies into a nightmare, hopeless, and sleep-deprived.  Morzana is seen as the angry evil villainess in Slavic tales and seems to always bring the horrors along with her; both men and women are afraid of her presence.

Three bold figures that stood out from the crowd, Mokosh, Baba Yaga, and Morzana, convey that there is more to the role of women in any mythology.  Women are not always considered equal to men in many tales and reality.  They would either play the "motherly" figure, death, regeneration, or beauty; whereas, men are portrayed as the "chosen one" or the "King of All."  For instance, Perun is said to undoubtedly be the most powerful god in Slavic mythology and is a male.  Zeus, the almighty king, and ruler of all gods in Greek mythology is a male.  Odin from Norse mythology is the father of two famous gods as well as the king of Asgard, and yet again, is a male.  Tales usually depict a lot about society in general; on how they view certain aspects, the role of people, along with the values of culture and tradition.  People, such as ancestors, thought of how the world came to be and how the natural resources came to be.  With such deep thinking, they may have concluded that someone superior to humans, in general, would be the one who could make such creations.  Therefore, they made stories with familiar archetypes from all over the world and created deities to worship.