When researching the topic of genders in relation to love and sexuality, it occurred to me that there are only three goddesses in the Ancient Greek mythology that do not engage in sexual relations: those being Artemis, Athena and Hestia. The reasons for these are explained in the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite: ‘The work of golden Aphrodite does not please Athena, the owl-eyed daughter of Zeus who bears the aegis. Athena rejoices in warfare and the work of Ares: 10 combat, struggles, and glorious deeds. She first taught earthbound craftsmen to make carriages and chariots inlaid with bronze. She also taught glorious work in the house to young women, instilling skill in each one. Smile-loving Aphrodite cannot tame Artemis with passion, not the one with baying hounds and the golden distaff. Artemis delights in bows, hunting beasts in the mountains, in lyres, dances, and the shrill songs of women, in shady groves and the cities of righteous men. The work of Aphrodite does not please Hestia, the modest first born of conniving Kronos (last born, too, through the plan of Zeus). Wooed by Poseidon and Apollo, she was unwilling and hard, refusing their offers of marriage. Touching the head of Zeus who bears the aegis, she swore a great oath, since then fulfilled, to remain forever virgin, divine among goddesses. Instead of marriage, Father Zeus gave her a prize: Hestia rests at the hearth, the highest honour. All people revere her in every temple, Hestia, the most august of the gods. Aphrodite cannot persuade or deceive these three goddesses’ In this section of the hymn it is explained why these three goddesses in particular vowed to maintain their virtue, and as a result they are therefore immune and unaffected by the powers of Aphrodite. In Athena’s case the poem claims that it is down to the fact that ‘Athena rejoices in warfare and the work of Ares’. This suggests that she is occupied by traditionally male activities, and as the goddess of wisdom this explanation lends itself to the idea that Athena holds the pursuit of knowledge and war strategy in a higher regard, than wasting time engaging in sexual relations. This theory could be expanded by looking at the nature and contrast of the births of Athena and Aphrodite. Athena emerging from Zeus’ head, this birth creates an impression of A sexuality around Athena when paired with her disinterest in sexual pursuits focusing solely on the pursuit of knowledge and not of physical pleasure, whereas Aphrodite emerged from sea foam as the result of Ouranos’ genitals being removed and thrown in to the ocean. The biological difference between the areas in which these goddesses emerged in their mythology, tailors their commitment to their own virginity and begins to explain both their roles as well as their choice on whether or not to engage in sexual activity. In the case of Artemis, the poem explains her abstinence by stating that ‘Artemis delights in bows, hunting beasts in the mountains’ this is a very similar explanation given to Athena, attributing the lack of interest in sexual activity to the interest in predominantly male activities. This theory is incredibly intriguing considering the affluent sexual appetite of Artemis’ twin brother Apollo. It could be argued that due to her twin brother being so sexually promiscuous, being his twin and therefore his mirror image, it could be argued that she then must represent his polar opposite, her vow of abstinence then coming naturally to her. This poem suggesting that her lack of interest in her own sexuality due to her interest in male activity suggests that sexual weakness is a feminine characteristic that she doesn’t possess, where as her brother is prolific in his sexual weakness, attributing this feminine characteristic to him. In a feminist interpretation this could be alluding to the suggestion that females are stronger of will than that of males reflected in the mythology of the twin gods. Hestia’s role on the other had could give her justification to engage in sexual activity being goddess of the hearth and of the home as it is the sexual act in which a family and so the household grows. However, ‘Touching the head of Zeus who bears the aegis, she swore a great oath, since then fulfilled, to remain forever virgin’. This oath is the reason Hestia remained a virgin, not out of disinterest like that of Artemis and Athena but due to a promise she made to her brother. This oath is what gives the hearth it’s innocence as the heart of the home, becoming, arguably the purist place in which the family gathers, this then makes sense when paired with her choice to maintain her purity, as it is the purity of a daughter that secures her marriage and a new household to which she is patron. Regardless of why these goddesses have chooses to maintain their virginity it is a fact that these are the only three virgin goddesses within Greek mythology and there are no male gods that abstain from sex. This therefore shows that when it comes to the maintenance of one’s virtue, this is an activity in which only women participate in. However, it is not limited to one particular sex when it comes to promiscuity. The obvious subjects to look at would be that of Aphrodite and Zeus, both of whom, despite being married, engage with numerous different sexual partners. Aphrodite, being the goddess of Love and Sexuality, carries the expectation with her of being sexuality promiscuous, frequently being linked with the words ‘Paitho’ the Greek word for persuasion and seduction. It is believed that she has one of two personas, as outlined in the Symposium by Plato during Pausanias speech, which I have mentioned before in my first blog post on love and sexuality in Ancient Community, suggesting that ‘there are two kinds of Aphrodite – common and heavenly' and it is this ‘common’ love which encompasses physical attraction. Aphrodite has been sexually linked to numerous people, mortal and immortal such as: Zeus (her Father), Ares (her brother), Hephaestus (her husband), and her mortal lovers Anchises and Adonis. The number of sexual partners that she has been with as well as their relation to her show that the boundaries that mortal people would not cross in the pursuit of a sexual partner, such as incest, do not necessarily occur to the gods of Olympus. Zeus is no better as he is also adorned with the reputation of frequently descending to earth in order to impregnate beautiful mortal women. Zeus is frequently referred to as a rapist due to his peculiar schemes to sleep with mortals, such as the story of Leda and the Swan in which Zeus comes to earth in the form of swan and proceeds to have sex with Leda, impregnating her which resulted in the birth of Helen of Troy. From both the examples of Zeus and Aphrodite, a conclusion can be reached that no matter the gender of the deity, sexual promiscuity is an action that all gods take. However, it is interesting that both gods and goddesses justify their sexual transgressions with the same excuse. As Ken Dowden states in his book ’Zeus’ ‘in most myths the point of intercourse with a god is the offspring that results’ and in the case of Hera and Zeus the result of their union has only really resulted in one successful offspring, that being Ares. Their other children include Hephaestus and Hebe none of which are major gods; Dowden himself expresses that it is ‘remarkable how few children Zeus and Hera had and how insignificant they are’. This excuse is then also backed up on the behalf of the female in Monica S. Cyrino’s book ‘Aphrodite’. When outlining the story of Aphrodite’s relations with Anchises she states that ‘Anchises is reassured by Aphrodite in a long speech in which she promises that the sexual blending they just enjoyed will be fruitful’. This therefore suggests that the actions of the gods, that on the mortal realm was frowned upon such as rape and incest was justifiable as an act of procreation no matter what gender. What is interesting about both of these characters is the blatant disregard for the institution of marriage to which both have entered. I think this especially applies to Zeus and his marriage to Hera. It is a well-known dynamic between Hera and Zeus in a many number of myths that Hera and Zeus tend to fight constantly and it is usually down to Zeus’ infidelity and Hera’s deep jealousy. A prime example of this would be in the story of Hercules in which Hera sent two serpents to kill him while he was sleeping. However, Hercules strangled both the snakes in his bare baby hands playing with the dead snakes like toys. After this Hera attempted to drown Heracles in a storm and as punishment Zeus hung her upside down from the sky. Hera’s next attempt to be rid of Heracles was in her arranging the twelve labours in which each labour got harder in the hope that one would break symbol of her husband’s adultery. However, in an article I read once that I now can’t seem to find I remember the author mentioning that due to the cult of Zeus and Hera which was based around the idea of their ‘sacred marriage’ that in order for this ritual festival to take place annually the husband and wife would need to fall apart in order to come back together in the most sacred of marriages; this therefore explains the rocky relationship that Hera and Zeus are destined to repeat, forever in a continuous cycle. Although this is a clever and profound justification for the king of the gods and his unlawful activity, Aphrodite does not have the same luxury of being absconded of her digressions. As I mentioned previously, Aphrodite was married to Hephaestus, despite being continuously linked to her brother Ares who Cyrino describes as ‘her favourite lover’ as well as her mortal lover Anchises. This behaviour on her part can only be justified by the fact that the marriage of her parents isn’t exactly a stable role model for her to base her own marriage off of. But it does go to show yet again that the institution of marriage in the world of the gods is treated with disregard. However, going back to the Hymn to Aphrodite further on we are given, almost an explanation as to why Zeus and Aphrodite stray between sexual partners: She even distracted Zeus, who delights in thunder, the greatest god allotted the greatest honour, deceiving even his strong mind whenever she wished, easily mating him with mortal women. He would utterly forget Hera, sister and wife, the most beautiful of immortal goddesses, the sacred goddess whom conniving Kronos and mother Rhea bore. Zeus, wise in eternal plans, made her his honoured wife, careful, and wise, too. Casting sweet desire into Aphrodite's own heart, Zeus made her long for a human man, so that even smile-loving Aphrodite herself could not keep out of a mortal man's bed. Then she could not tell— boasting among all the gods, laughing sweetly— how she made the gods mate with mortal women (who bore mortal sons to immortal fathers) and how she mated the goddesses with mortal men. Zeus cast sweet desire in her heart for Anchises— his body like a god's—who often tended cattle in the high mountains of Ida, rich in springs. When smile-loving Aphrodite saw him, she wanted him: desire seized her beyond all measure. In the beginning of this extract Aphrodite is described as a trickster, playing with the weak of mind for her own amusement. Zeus, suffering the most from the weakness towards the female form, Aphrodite is able to take advantage of and ‘easily mating him with mortal women’ like Leda. In retaliation, Zeus almost embodies the powers of Aphrodite herself and ‘Casting sweet desire into Aphrodite's own heart’ leading to Aphrodite’s obsessive infatuation with Anchises. From this Homeric description of events, the sexual deviance of these gods is not down to theory own free will but are tricks played on each other. This could be interpreted to show how little the Gods care for meaningful relationships and the sanctity of sexual intercourse, as not only do the actions of the gods affect each other, but as a result of these ‘pranks’ mortal women and men are falling in love and as a result, children are born.