Okay so I gotta be honest – this whole female archetypes thing kinda hit me outta nowhere. I was just scrolling through some mythology podcasts last Tuesday while doing laundry, and bam! Some professor dude started ranting about how modern characters like Wonder Woman actually come from ancient goddesses. Got me thinking – how do these old stories still shape what we think women should be like? Grabbed my notebook right there between folding socks.
First Step: Raided My Bookshelf Like a Maniac
Started pulling every dusty book I owned about myths and cultures. Found my college copy of Edith Hamilton’s mythology, some random feminist theory paper from 2010, even my niece’s D’Aulaires Greek Myths book. Spilled coffee all over the Hamilton book – oops. Made two piles: one for goddess stories, one for regular women tales.
- Greek stuff: Athena, Hera, Aphrodite
- Norse: Freya and Frigg
- That Egyptian cat goddess… Bastet!
- Modern pop culture examples too
The Actual Digging Part
Next morning I sat surrounded by books feeling like a detective. Used colored sticky notes: pink for “mother” types, yellow for “warrior” chicks, green for tricksters. Realized most myths categorize women into like six big buckets:
1. The Nurturer – Demeter crying over Persephone
2. The Fighter – Athena busting out of Zeus’ skull fully armed
3. The Seductress – Aphrodite starting wars by being too pretty
4. The Wild One – Artemis running through forests with her posse
5. The Wise Crone – Norse oracles predicting doom
6. The Survivor – Scheherazade avoiding execution by storytelling
Modern Surprise Connection
Was eating pizza while watching Killing Eve and suddenly yelled “HOLY CRAP!” Villanelle is totally that “femme fatale” archetype but modernized! Started making this messy chart in my journal:
- Athena: Detective Olivia Benson from Law & Order SVU
- Hera: Claire Underwood in House of Cards playing politics
- Artemis: Katniss Everdeen surviving in wilderness
What Actually Worked
After four days of this, three key things helped me actually understand instead of just collecting trivia:
- Compared ancient and modern women side-by-side in my notebook
- Asked myself “What does this character say about what society values?”
- Noticed which archetypes get called “crazy” when modern women act like them
Biggest Takeaway
Realized these patterns keep repeating because we’re still wrestling with the same questions. What makes a “good” woman? What’s “too strong”? What’s “too emotional”? The myths give us permission to explore these conflicts through stories. Kinda mind-blowing how Babylonian goddesses relate to our Instagram culture…
Anyway finished this whole rabbit hole while my neglected houseplants gave me judgmental looks. Totally worth it though – now I can’t unsee these patterns everywhere from boardrooms to Disney movies!
