Women played a limited but complex role in Greek mythology. Very few of the writers who recorded the myths were women, so female characters were filtered through a male lens (Lefkowitz 209). This is the limitation that Duffy seeks to rewrite in "Mrs Midas": male Greek authors would not have imagined telling the myth of Midas through the lens of a woman in his life. However, scholar Mary Lefkowitz argues that women in Greek times knew the myths and gods, since they were widely accessible stories encountered by all in Greek culture (Lefkowitz 209). Additionally, Greek myths prominently featured goddesses as central characters, which did allow for some exploration of women's experiences and an acknowledgment of women's power in society.
One theme in Greek myth is that of women withholding something from men or withdrawing from men in order to gain power. For example, Demeter, the Olympian goddess of agriculture and the harvest, recovered her daughter Persephone, who had been captured by Hades, the god of the underworld. She did so by refusing to allow seeds of grain onto the earth, causing humans to starve and therefore to stop sacrificing to the gods, which damaged Hades. These empowering stories are exceptions to the rules, however, since the "great majority of myths about goddesses or women concentrate on their relations with males," particularly through marriage (Lefkowitz 210). Duffy's poem ironically comments on this focus on marriage in Greek myth by showing how Midas's wish led to the dissolution of his marriage and thus to Mrs Midas's independence as a single woman.
Finally, there are the two best-known Greek goddesses, an analysis of whom highlights the conflicting and limited views about women in Greek society. Aphrodite was the goddess of beauty and love and was mainly described by her relationships with male gods, who constantly desired her due to her beauty. While her beauty gave her significant power in society, Aphrodite was objectified and valued only for her physical beauty. By contrast, Athena was a notable figure who was the goddess of wisdom, craft, and war. Athena emerged out of Zeus's forehead after he attempted to swallow his children, fearing that they would become more powerful than him. She was a heroic figure who was the namesake of the famous Greek city of Athens, and demonstrated how the Greeks could see women as powerful warriors. Notably, Athena never took lovers and remained a virgin, showing that the Greeks saw empowerment in woman's independence. This connects with a major theme in "Mrs Midas": In her new life as an unmarried woman after Midas's presumed death, she was able to forge an identity outside of her husband and family.
