Abstract
How and why did a bias against women originate and become so entrenched in Western culture? Archaeological evidence chronicles the high status of women in Mesopotamia several thousands years prior to the advent of Greece. In this paper I link this evidence with Greece, the earliest Western state, and its attitudes towards women. Greek mythology contains prehistoric content and these myths are scanned for masculine bias and the subterranean issue which shape their content. The mythological and prehistoric foundations are examined along with the major factors triggering their emergence and significance to the development of states and the associated subordination of women.