The myth of Procne and Philomela demonstrates the refusal of rape victims to be silenced and the importance of women’s collaboration to effect retaliation against abusive men. Morales deconstructs several rape narratives and shows how they inform our perspectives on sexual violence. And Euripides’ The Bacchae is interpreted as a cautionary tale of the dangers and futility of trying to control women. She traces the policing of dress codes for girls and women back to the gunaikonomoi, the women controllers of ancient Greece who enforced women’s dress and behavior as a means of control. She claims the words of Hippocrates have been misappropriated by the diet industry “to promote misery and sickness” and to enforce gender and racial norms. For example, she argues that the killing of girls and women by men can be seen as continuing the legacy of Greek heroes lauded for killing Amazons since they rejected male domination. She argues some myths reinforce a patriarchal agenda, while others can be reclaimed to challenge the dominant ideology by unveiling their subversive power. Using a variety of Greek and Roman myths, Morales contests traditional interpretations of myths to glean their current relevance and to show their continuing influence on our culture. In Antigone Rising: The Subversive Power of the Ancient Myths, Helen Morales, a classics professor, interrogates classical myths through a feminist lens.
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