How did ancient Greeks reconcile their martial and powerful female deities (Athena, Artemis) with the fairly restricted and certainly non-martial role that women had in Greek life? | AskHistorians Archive Observer

How did ancient Greeks reconcile their martial and powerful female deities (Athena, Artemis) with the fairly restricted and certainly non-martial role that women had in Greek life?

by caledonivs

Athena is a literal goddess of war and Artemis is a goddess of the hunt - these seem to be fairly oxymoronic pairings of gender and occupation compared to the stereotypical women in Greek life. Was there contemporary commentary on this? Did any women attempt to emulate these goddesses and seek martial glory?

jelvinjs7

More can be said if anyone is interested in adding something new, but in the meantime, you may be interested in these older answers:

Why was one of the Greek Gods of war female, despite Hellenistic culture's patriarchal roots? by /u/JoshoBrouwers.
How come some of the most important Greek gods were women (Athena, Artemis, Demeter) yet their society remained so strictly patriarchal? by /u/mythoplokos, which also led to a follow-up in:
Several ancient polytheistic religions (like in Greece or Egypt) included female deities responsible for areas, that were traditionally men's jobs in the respective cultures (warfare, hunting, etc). How did deities like Athena for instance come to be? by /u/UndercoverClassicist.