The female archetypes, according to Greek mythology

The feminine archetypes They are behavioral patterns that are present in the woman’s psyche and in the collective unconscious.. They correspond to shared traits that are not always explicit, but that create models, and these are frequently represented in different mythologies.

Greek mythology is a good example of a true collection of female archetypes. The different goddesses of classical antiquity represent those models that also appear in myths and legends of other cultures.

Although feminine archetypes correspond to different representations of women, these traits can also be found in men, although modeled in a different way. They are also present in modern mythsthis time embodied in influencers, movie heroines or famous figures.

The feminine archetypes in the Greeks

Greek mythology is very rich in female archetypes. Scholars of the subject indicate that the female deities of antiquity They are classified into three groups: virgin goddesses, vulnerable goddesses and alchemical goddesses..

As can be assumed, virgin goddesses represent the inaccessible part of the feminine side. The vulnerable talk about the woman crossed by the human drama; For their part, the alchemical goddesses refer to the “mysterious” powers of women. The feminine archetypes, represented in goddesses, for the Greeks were the following.

1. Artemis, the warrior

Artemis was a virgin goddess who represented autonomy and defiance. We could say that corresponds to the woman who challenges male power: the feminist. At the same time, she maintains emotional distance, and this makes her hermetic and inaccessible. She is the great friend or sister of other women, but at the same time she maintains tension with the man.

2. Athena, the strategist

Athena is another of the virgin goddesses who challenge the masculine. Represents mental ability, calculation and cunning, without any empathy. Its thing is practicality, functionality. Of all the feminine archetypes, it is the one that is closest to the masculine. Ambition and success dominate her and she has great ability to establish alliances with men.

3. Hestia, the wise woman

Unlike Athena, the goddess Hestia has an intelligence that is expressed as wisdom and not as strategy. She is sensitive and intuitive, solitary by nature and virgin due to lack of interest in material matters. She enjoys spirituality and carries out enriching processes of introspection. She represents the spiritual essence of women.

4. Hera, the wife

Within the feminine archetypes, the goddess Hera It is the one that represents women as creators of commitments. She is very emotional and sensitive, with a great ability to establish close and passionate bonds with men. She is usually dominated by anger, jealousy and the thirst for revenge; That is why she belongs to the group of vulnerable goddesses. She is loyal to the end.

5. Demeter, the mother

Is about a luminous figure that fertilizes or makes everything around it grow and develop. He is sensitive and works for the well-being of others. She is generous and nurtures those she brings under her embrace. In its negative aspect, it tends to create and feed bonds of dependency; He is also prone to depression. She is part of the vulnerable goddesses.

6. Persephone, the girl

Within the feminine archetypes, the girl could not be missing, which does not refer to a particular age, but to a personality pattern.

Persephone represents the dreamy and romantic woman, capable of bringing reality to a dream state.. In order for his dreams to come true, he does not hesitate to manipulate others. Likewise, he flees when the ordinary prevails. She is the last of the vulnerable goddesses.

7. Aphrodite, the lover

Aphrodite is the only one of the female archetypes that represents the alchemical goddess. This is because its essential trait is creativity. He is emotional, sensual and loves beauty. He wants to improve reality to make it more pleasant and knows how to enjoy pleasure. On her negative side she can be volatile and impulsive.

One woman, many feminine archetypes

Each woman would carry within herself all the feminine archetypes. However, it is usual for one of them to manifest itself more pronouncedly than the others. This does not prevent the dominant pattern from changing over time or through evolutionary processes.

As in all archetypes, each one has a light side and a shadow. The first refers to the virtues and the second to a misrepresentation of them. Although they are not formal psychological classifications, they do constitute a reference point for reflection.

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