The concept of the evil woman has existed... well, for a very long time. There is, of course, the garden of Eden...
Greek and Roman mythology have their share of evil women - supernatural females using their charm and beauty to lead men astray. Adding to the complexity and intrigue, they are also hideous monsters that must be defeated. Take for example the Gorgons - three
daughters born of Typhon and Echidna - Sthena, Euryale, and Medusa.
With snakes for hair, they can turn men to stone simply by looking at
them. And then there are the Sirens, evil women luring sailors with their beautiful song, to crash their ships on a rocky island shore.
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| Odysseus and the Sirens, Athenian red-figure stamnos C5th B.C., British Museum |
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| Pandora’s Box story: The Greek god Hephaistos creates Pandora |
Pandora, the first mortal woman, was entrusted with a jar of all the world's evils and warned never to open it. This doesn't end well.
As Hesiod elaborates (590–93):
From her is the race of women and female kind:
of her is the deadly race and tribe of women who
live amongst mortal men to their great trouble,
no helpmates in hateful poverty, but only in wealth.
