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hrough an analysis of the myths of Isis, Hathor and Durga, it is

evident that the theme that stands out most about the role of women in

society is that of a protector. From the readings the woman is depicted

as the one who faces challenges and hardships in order to protect the

ones that she loves from evil. In the story of Isis, the character trait

of a protector is evident in how she hides and Horus, her son and the

rightful n heir of the throne, from his uncle (Young 129). Through the

myth Isis is depicted as the protector of pharaohs and the royal

succession (Young 128).

The goddess Hathor is also depicted as a fierce protector ofthe royal household. When Re, the creator of the Universe, is faced witha rebellions, Hathor is sent to protect his Kingship by killing thosewho threatened to rebel against the Re (Young 130). Her wrath is sofierce that she has to be tricked in order for her to stop the killing.Through her actions, it can be argued that both Hathor and Isis areprotectors of the royal household.

The role of the woman as a protector is also evident in themyth of the great goddess Durga. The goddess protected other gods fromthe buffalo demon that threatened them by killing the demon (Young 289).Through an analysis of the story, it is evident that the buffalo demonthreatened the lives and welfare of the other god and they created theDurga to protect them since the demon could only be killed by a woman(Young 289).

Through their roles as protectors it is also evident from thestories that women are also bringers of order in chaotic situations. Inthe myth of Durga, the buffalo demon represents the bringer of chaosinto the world (Young 289). Through her act of killing the demon, Durgabrings order to the chaotic situation. The goddess Isis is alsoportrayed as the bringer of order in chaotic situations. The act ofkilling Osiris brings chaos to the train of royal succession as he hadno heir at the time.

Isis brought about order to this chaotic situation by searchingfor Osiris body parts which were scattered in different areas,impregnating herself with Osiris child and grooming Horus, Osiris son,to take the throne back from his uncle. By ensuring that Osiris son isthe one who takes the throne, Isis brings order to the chaotic situationat the time. In the myth of Hathor, the role of woman as a bringer oforder is evident through her actions of killing those who sought torebel against Re. the threat of rebellion against Re brought chaos tothe natural order of the time and Hathor was able to stop that chaos.

Through the text, it is also evident that women occupy therole of mothers in society. In the story of Isis her role as a mother isseen in her actions of giving birth to Horus and raising him. It isalso evident in her portrayal as the mother of all pharaohs. The role ofa woman as a mother is also seen in the story of Durga who is referredto as the mother of the world. She is also depicted as the mother ofKali a goddess whom she gave birth to while in the heat of battle (Young299). Post NUMBER #2

Paganism and Polytheists Discussion

There are two critical themes that come out of women, and which seemsto pervade and span across multiple cultures. The first common themeabout women that seems to span multiple cultures is that the presence ofwomen brings about life and prosperity. In this respect, the pervadingtheme about women is that they are both the source of life and thesource of prosperity. For example, the myth of the goddess Laksmi holdsthat she arose from the ocean following its churning, and became thesource of “good fortune and prosperity” (Young 302). Therefore, the mythof the goddess Laksmi holds the common role of women as that of giversof life, emphasizing that the eternal Sri “is the mother of the world”(Young 302). Similarly, the theme of women acting as both the source oflife and prosperity is present in the myth of the goddess Innana, whichintimates that she also played the dual role of “the goddess of life andfertility” (Young 140). Indeed, the concept of women being able togive rise to both life and prosperity is manifest in such greatmagnitude, that the women’s ability has been termed to be “as broad asthe earth” (Young 141). The concept of women being perceived as thesource of life and prosperity in the society is also repeated in themyth of the goddess Hathor. The myth holds that Hathor, “as the goddessof fertility, is associated with sexuality and agricultural plenty”(Young 130). In essence therefore, the myth holds that women arecritical source of provisions for the living. It can therefore beconcluded that one of the common themes about women that span acrossmultiple cultures is that women are at the core of fertility andprosperity of any society.

The second common theme about women, which also seem to span multiplecultures, is that of women being multifaceted, or at least possessingduo personalities. On the one hand, women’s personality is that ofserving the society by being the critical source of life, fertility andprosperity. On the other hand, women also play a critical role as keydestroyers of the society. For example, in the myth of the goddessLaksmi, she has been termed as “the firewood”, while also being termedas “the desire” that puts greed into the male gods (Young 302).Consequently, the women’s desires contribute to evils such as greed inthe society, which ultimately leads to its destruction. In the samefashion, the myth of goddess Innana also holds her as destructive,asserting that “you devastate rebellious lands…you devour cadavers like adog” (Young 141). These attributions to goddess Innana indicate that;although she is the goddess of life and also fertility, she also has aseverely destructive side of her, which can also devastate the society.The myth of the goddess Hathor also stamps on the duo-faced concept ofwomen, by asserting that “her nature is not always benign. An early textinscribed on the three royal tombs…reveals the destructive side of hernature” (Young 130). The myth goes ahead to state that once women havereverted to their destructive nature, even the gods cannot be able tocontrol or appease them. For example, the goddess Hathor goes ahead todestroy and kill and devastate uncontrollably, until she is tricked intodrunken stupor.