The Storytelling of Women in Ancient Greece

To understand the importance of weaving and its function in Ancient Greece, first, we should focus on the roles of women, how they were seen by patrıarch society at those times, and the way they conveyed their ideas or how they expressed their feelings, and thoughts. 

There were distinct gender roles between women and men. For example, while men were seen as the exact authority who rule their belongings such as their wives, children, and servants; women were seen as submissive creatures who were expected to be loyal to their men all the time. They belonged to their domestic places and they were put in this place like they were in a cage. There were main duties for which women were responsible such as bearing children--preferably male--and running the household. In conclusion, it is obviously notable that while men were allowed to go outside and act freely, women were kept inside having no free will.

If we are to examine the way of living at those times, we can talk about the existence of incessant wars. People were to fight in order to survive and not lose their independence. Men were to fight and women were to take care of their children watching the war from afar. Wars also affect the feelings of women and the way they live. Sometimes they lost their lovely husband, their family, or even their hometown where they lived safely and they were sent as a gift to another man. Such situations enslaved and objectified women and made them more silent.

With those life conditions that were both provided by the norms of society and the necessities of the time, women tried to find a way to express their feelings. They were so oppressed that they had no chance to have a voice and express themselves aloud. So they started weaving their thoughts and events that they went through. Weaving became a way of storytelling for them.

We can find examples of weaving in literature. For example, Pat Barker mentions Helen’s weaving in her book which is titled “The Women of Troy”. She says “ Helen’s designs were absolutely original. She was weaving the story of the war. While poets told the story with compositions and lyrics, she was telling the story with wool and silk. I assumed she was continuing, I was not mistaken, a huge wooden horse was forming on the loom. There were fetuses curled up in two long rows in the horse’s belly and baby males lying in a womb.” This quote is an exact example of how women’s weaving functions. We can see that the war has affected Helen’s feelings and she tries to depict it.