Mythology was very important to the men and women of ancient Greece. They worshiped gods and goddesses, wrote poems about them, and based a great deal of artwork on them. The Greek people turned to the gods and goddesses for help in all aspects of their lives; including health, agriculture and warfare. Reading Greek mythology can inform people about Greek society itself because the Greek gods were created by the Greek people. Three main goddesses worshiped by the Greeks were Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. These three goddesses represent three different types of women in Greek society. Sarah Pomeroy, author of Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves, believed that “goddesses are archetypal images of human females, as imagined by males” (8). Pomeroy understands the significance of the differences between Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite and what those differences meant for Greek women who were required to follow three important rules. The first rule was that women lived a life of domesticity and motherhood. This was very important to the men of society. Women were the only ones capable of having children. Furthermore, if forced to stay at home, men could maintain more control over their wives and not have to worry about them having affairs. The second important characteristic was virginity until marriage. Its importance to Greek culture lay in the fear of female power. The men of the society thought it best for a woman to remain a virgin until she got married; yet this same attribute was not required of a man. Their belief can be explained by this quote written by P. Walcot in the article “Greek Attitudes Towards Women: The Mythological Evidence”: “The Greeks believed that women... middle of paper... obliged to obey, can be seen in the myths of the goddesses Hera, Athena and Aphrodite. Whether or not the Greek goddesses obeyed these rules; their importance for Greek culture is always strong. Works Cited Abbott, Elizabeth. A history of celibacy: from Athena to Elizabeth I, Leonardo da Vinci, Florence Nightingale, Gandhi and Cher. 1st ed. United States: Simon and Schuster, 2000. Print.Blundell, Sue. Women in ancient Greece. China: Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data, 1995. Print.Homer. The Homeric hymn. Trans. Susan C. Shelmerdine 2nd ed. The University of Virginia: Focus Pub, 2000. Print.Pompoy, Sarah B. Dee, Whores, Wives, and Slaves. New York: Schocken Books Inc, 1975. Print.Walcot, P. “Greek Attitudes Toward Women: The Mythological Evidence.” Greece and Rome 31 April 1984: 37-47. JSTOR. Network. May 10 2011.