There is a profound dignity to the portrayal of women in ancient cultures that has rarely been found in contemporary societies; the unequivocal importance of procreation acknowledged as fundamental to the sustainability of culture and life.

The predominant portrayal of women in Western Art has been framed from the perspective of the male gaze: passive, sexualized and objectified. Rarely can we find any portrayal of dignity, strength, equality or leadership in the feminine.

Ideas of the female, fertility and procreation are inseparable. The key to the feminine is the element of survival. Procreation is the continuation of life, whether of human life or from our mother earth. Sustainability, viability, and durability are, therefore, feminine concepts. One could ask, how could a stereotype such as the feminine ever have come to be considered weak, passive or lesser?

From ancient Greek history, we have the mythology of a pre-patriarchal age, an age before the societal subjugation of women to servitude became normative. And stories of the Amazons have given life to a period when women where as strong and equal to men, even in battle. The portrayal of women in the arts in ancient Greece afforded them the dignity of power and equality

Hera, as queen of the gods is portrayed majestic and solemn, She is the virgin goddess of women, marriage, family and childbirth. As guardian of procreation her importance alludes to possibilities of a once matriarchal social structure. She is considered the earth goddess.

Hestia, as the virgin goddess of the hearth, brings order to the community through domesticity, the family, the home and the State. As the guardian of fire, she, too, is the guardian of life and survival. As both the oldest and youngest daughter of Zeus, she embraces the cycles of life.

Demeter, goddess of agriculture, watches over the harvest and the fertility of the earth. She presides over the seasonal cycle of life and death.