8 Feminist Women From Mythology

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According to history, the feminist movement started in the 17th century. But in reality, you can trace it millions of years back. Feminism is not there just in history but also in mythology. Women from mythology have also shown the signs of early feminist thoughts. There are many female mythological characters who have feminist shades in their personality.

Most often, women from mythology who showed feminist tendencies were painted as evil and often defiled as 'prostitutes' or 'trouble-makers'. But the story of these female warriors lives on. And the modern day feminist reading of these women from mythology has provided us with an alternative history of our traditions.

If you look at mythology, it is full of stories that tell the story of women and their small struggles against the male-dominated world that they lived in. The female mythological characters rose above their status in society to show free will and a power to stand up against atrocities.

Here are the 10 earliest feminists chosen from the strong women in mythology.

Queen Vasht

Vashti is the character from the 'Book Of Esther' in the Bible. She was the first wife of King Ahasuerus before he married Esther. The king organises a feast for his nobles and after getting drunk, asks the queen to present herself in his court (possible without clothes) so that he can show off her beauty. Queen Vashti refuses and is banished for disobeying the king. She is now hailed as the first feminist in history.

Draupadi

Draupadi is the wife of the 5 Pandavas in Mahabharata. She occupies a strange place among the Hindu mythical figures. She has 5 husbands and yet she is considered the purest women in Hinduism. She brings upon the great war of the Mahabharata for the sake of her honour.

Mary Of Nazareth

The mother of Jesus Christ is one of the bravest female characters in history. She gets pregnant before marriage and without carnal knowledge which was a crime in her time. But she choses to continue her pregnancy. She travels with her husband to Bethlehem when she is heavily pregnant and gives birth to Christ in a cavern there.

Helen Of Troy

Helen was actually the Queen of Sparta. But she did not love her husband Menelaus and showed astonishing courage for her times by eloping with her lover Prince Paris of Troy. This brought upon the great Trojan war that went on for 10 years.

Cleopatra

An Egyptian queen who dared to seduce two Roman Generals for the sake of defending her people, Cleopatra's story is a brave one. Cleopatra was queen of Egypt and lover of Julius Caesar. She also bore Caesar a son. After Caesar dies, she manoeuvred Mark Anthony on her side to protect Egypt but her ruse failed and she killed herself by getting bitten by her pet snake.

Boudicca

Boudicca was the Celtic queen who led the Britons to war against the Romans. She is hailed as a British Queen today. She and her two daughters were raped by the Roman soldiers. She vowed vengeance and led her people to a war against the mighty Romans.

Nefertiti, Queen Of Egypt

Nefertiti was the queen of Egypt who succeeded her husband to the throne. She was the first woman in Egyptian history to try and rule in her husband's stead. She also tried to propagate the religion that her husband and she started together. Nefertiti was hailed as one of the most beautiful women who ever lived.

Sita

Sita was the wife of King Rama and daughter of King Janak. She was devoted to her husband but was abducted by the demon king Ravana. This led to doubts on her character and she was asked to prove her chastity by a test of fire. She passed through the fire once but when she was asked to do so again, she refused.