Mythogyny

Undergraduate students Emma Brown, Helena Chowdhury-Westlake and Lilliana Mitchell were part of the 2025 Modern Classics cohort, and designed the following Applied Classics podcast project to bring ancient and modern women’s experiences of sexual violence and misogyny into productive dialogue with each other. They describe their project below:

Ancient myth is rife with narratives of sexual violence, often excused or normalised within the framework of heroism or divine intervention. These myths mirror the harmful ‘rape myths’ that persist today. Just as modern digital spaces perpetuate myths that blame victims, dismiss consent or frame sexual violence as inevitable, so too do ancient myths reinforce these mindsets.

As three young women, often frustrated with studying a subject so dominated by the narratives of men, and by the misogyny we have experienced in our own lives, we were instantly drawn to focusing our project on gender inequality. We settled on a few key problems we wanted to tackle; mainly the misuse of classical sources within misogynistic narratives, and the silencing of female voices and stories in classical history.

Storytelling is an important weapon for collective action regarding contemporary issues. Sharing myths equips us with knowledge that empowers us to turn these narratives to our advantage. Our podcast aims to allow women to do just that: by taking the stories of women in myth and connecting them to the contemporary world, we create a space for women, past and present, to make their voices heard. The choice of a podcast is intentional, reflecting the long oral tradition of storytelling. By giving voice to women’s stories, we empower them and we empower other women.

To find out more, please explore the recorded presentation below. You can also download our ppt for further information.