Io and the Gorgon: Ancient Greek Medical and Mythical Constructions of the Interaction Between Women’s Experiences of Sex and Birth

The combined evidence of ancient Greek gynecological treatises, tragedies (Aeschylus’s Suppliants, Euripides’ Ion and Electra) and myths (Io, Perseus and Medusa) shows that women engaging in illicit or unwanted sexual activity were considered to suffer specific gynecological disorders that negatively affected their fertility or ability to give birth. These disorders were thought to be manageable by magico-medical means that relieved guilt, anxiety, and fear.