![]() ![]() Of course, it could just be that Hera hated to lose an argument. Not to mention that all of a sudden, the tables are turned, and men having sex with women is now a gift to the women, rather than a chore for them to endure. Suddenly men may think that women will be just as “put out” by a sex strike as they will, and “call a bluff” if you will. If women are NINE TIMES as lusty, then it removes some of that political power. What does all this have to do with poor Tiresias, though? Well, have you ever heard the phrase “thinking with the wrong head?” We assume that some of the poor decisions men make are because you cannot make logical decisions when you are being controlled by lust. It is often said that it is the true power that women hold (although in our current culture, we try to be a bit more open about what kind of power women can hold!) Women have gotten what they want from powerful men by promising or withholding sex (or blackmailing them with it). ![]() More recently, it has been seen in the Phillipines, Kenya, and Columbia ( ). Aristophanes tells us in one play of Lysistrata, the woman who convinced all the women of Athens and Sparta to withhold sex from their husbands until they ended the Peloponnesian War. Our first horticultural and agricultural societies were likely matriarchal, but as men started taking over the business of power, women had to find other ways to make their desires known. Now, in the history of women, sex has often been used as a political tool. Zeus was a known philanderer, and many of the stories involve Hera taking her anger out on the women he fooled around with, turning them into cows or having them guarded by a 100 -eyed giant. Some versions of her story have her giving birth to her three children without the aid of any male, similar to how Zeus gave birth to Athena from his forehead, fully grown, dressed, and armed, and similar to many virgin birth stories across the world. ![]() Hera was the wife of Zeus, but regained her virginity each year. Unfortunately, I cannot find the original source, and now looking through my Google search history will produce some search terms that I am not entirely anxious to explain. I was doing research for a completely unrelated topic when I came across an alternative reason. Now, the reason I chose this particular myth to discuss today is because near the end of The Power of Myth, Joseph Campbell recounts the tale, but claims not to know why Hera would be so upset, beyond the simple reasoning that she hated to be wrong. With this gift, Tiresias became one of the most famous seers, appearing in stories including Heracles, Oedipus, The Odyssey, and the repelling of the army of the Seven against Thebes. Since gods could not undo what another divine had done, Zeus was unable to restore his sight, but gave him the gift of “true sight” or prophecy. Hera, angered by his siding with her husband, struck him blind. Tiresias responded that women have nine times the pleasure of men during sex. Since Tiresias was the only mortal or god who experienced both genders, he was often sought out for his wisdom in solving problems like this, so they summoned him. ![]() Hera claimed that men enjoyed sex most, while Zeus claimed the opposite. Some time later, Zeus and Hera were arguing over which of the sexes enjoys sex more. This time (s)he struck the snakes, killing the male, which reversed his condition turning him back into a man. Several years later, Tiresias as a woman was walking through the forest and saw two snakes again. Hera, the most “feminist” of the goddesses, was enraged, turning him into a woman, presumably so that he would experience the pain that is woman’s life. He struck them, killing the female (or placed his staff between them in some accounts). Tiresias was walking through the woods when he saw two snakes “coupling”. The one that is most common, however, is as follows: His blindness has a couple different origin stories, including Athena, a Virgin goddess, striking him blind when he tried to watch her bathe. He lived for seven lifespans and was the only person who had ever lived life as both a man and a woman. Tiresias is a very interesting Greek story. ![]()
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