Abstract

This introductory chapter outlines the methodology and the trajectory of analysis in the chapters that follow. Like every chapter of this book, it begins with a fragment of Sappho that will frame the analysis—here, Sappho’s fragment 188 reads μυθόπλοκον, which means ‘myth-weaver’ as imagination in the creation of narratives is a primary objective of this project. The images of ‘motherless daughters’ and ‘female monsters’ are explored in the context of the Ancient Greek myths that will be studied throughout the book, and the narrative of Athena winning the Olympian throne is introduced as a guiding theme. Unlike the tradition of patricide that precedes her, I suggest that Athena will win the Olympian throne from Zeus through cunning rather than bloodshed. Complicit with her mother, Metis, the first wife that Zeus swallowed, Athena will use her metis—which translates to ‘cunning resourcefulness’ as her birthright from her mother and outwit Zeus. Each chapter closely studies a concept, theme, or text in Freudian theory in order to reveal the patterns of androcentric fantasy that underlie them; this introduction ends with a short summary of each chapter’s themes and arguments.