In The Odyssey by Homer, the worlds of Odysseus and Ithaca is a complete surreal world in which is unimaginable. This is a tricky epic that twists the true and makes the lies a reality. Odysseus is shown to be an untrustworthy man who uses others for his own success, specifically women. Not only does he take advantage of them but uses the limited gender roles to enhance himself. Even though Odysseus is king and has a lot of power, he still exhibits gender roles and claims that females are inferior to males. Gender roles are used to his advantage allowing him to become powerful and giving him the ability to control what he needs in order for him to triumph. Odysseus believes it is okay to treat women with disrespect due to the fact that he
Women are often treated as tools to accomplish men’s goals because of this authority and are seen as beings who cannot live without the support of men. In The Odyssey, Penelope, Telemachus’ mother, is used by Telemachus to show his authority as the man of the house by sending her away to her room by his “masterful words” (Homer 186). By doing so he is also warning the suitors who have come to take advantage of the xenia he and his mother provided to them. While Penelope is strong by refusing the passes of the suitors, she maintains the vulnerable image by weeping for Odysseus who has been gone for ten years (Weimer 1). In The Epic of Gilgamesh, Shamhat the Harlot is used as a tool to seduce Enkidu, Gilgamesh’s male partner and friend. Ninsun’s reaction to Enkidu brings to attention to her worries of Gilgamesh being taken away from her, showing that relationships between men were held in much higher regard than mother and son relationship (“The Epic Of” 51-52). Men are depicted more powerful than women thus leading to supporting women, especially those they are related to.
The Odyssey is a tale that has changed literature and storytelling. In this tale Odysseus is a Soldier from the battle of Troy trying to get home to his island of Ithaca, where he is king. His wife and son must wait ten years while he is trying to make his way home. In Odysseus’s absence wooer’s, or better known as suitors, learn of his absence and travel to Ithaca to win his wife’s hand in marriage. These men come every day feasting on Odysseus’s food and wine, and give his servant’s orders. His son Telemachus, does his best to keep the suitors from ruining his fathers house but he is only a boy, and doesn’t receive the respect of an adult. Telemachus then has a visit from the god Athena, whom Odysseus is friends with, who advises him to travel to find out about his father. In his travels he hears that Odysseus may still be alive. Meanwhile Odysseus goes through a series of adventures and hardships that prove his wisdom. It is interesting in contrast of the Iliad, even though Achilles was much stronger and a better warrior, Odysseus was portrayed as a greater hero due to his wisdom. He uses this wisdom to escape from the Cyclops.
In Homer’s The Odyssey, there are a lot of traits displayed that are considered important in ancient Greek culture. These are shown by many different characters, but mostly by Odysseus (he is, after all, the main character in the epic poem). Odysseus is the epitome of a Greek ruler: he has a lot of admirable traits. His only fault is his hubris, but that is overcome and taken care of. Throughout Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus displays wisdom combined with strong loyalty and inspiring leadership through the evident trust of his men and the ability to conquer any challenges that he may face along his journey back to Ithaka.
“A woman cannot be herself in the society of the present day, which is an exclusively masculine society, with laws framed by men and with a judicial system that judges feminine conduct from a masculine point of view” (Ibsen). This saying also applied to the times of the Odyssey, an epic constructed by the blind, eight century B.C.E. poet, Homer. As one of the few representatives of ancient Greek social order, the blind, Homer witnessed women as substandard to men, regardless of their actions; many of them existed as seductresses, prostitutes, or slaves. He engraved into his poem women’s roles; the roles of women, as mothers, wives, seductresses, and goddesses are exemplified in this epic, when shown in comparison to the men of that era.
In the era of Homer, women played a very specific role in society, and even in literature. Women of this time were basically put in a box, and expected to never step out of line. If they did go against the arbitration of men, then they would face serious consequences. However, female characters play a huge role in both aiding, and delaying, Odysseus’s journey home. I will proceed to analyze, and interpret, the actions and intentions of every major female character in The Odyssey.
Although some could possibly call Odysseus, the protagonist of Homer’s The Odyssey, a great leader, the fact that he fails to earn his men’s respect, endangers his men’s lives repeatedly and allows them to die due to his own selfishness states otherwise.
The Odyssey, an ancient Greek epic poem attributed to Homer, relates to Odysseus’s journey back to Ithaca.1 In the poem Odysseus has had some bad luck getting home, with some of the gods helping him and some hindering him; his journey towards home is a constant struggle. Throughout the epic Homer portrays diverse relationships in Odysseus’s journey. Odysseus experiences a lot of inconsistent emotions; a lot of this is attributed to the physical and mental hell he goes through on this remarkable voyage. This is an epic tale of a man’s heroic quest, from which women play an incredibly large role. Homer’s tale, The Odyssey revolves around Odysseus’s quest to return back to his wife, Penelope, so that he may be reunited with her and assume control
Women play an influential role in The Odyssey. Women appear throughout the story, as goddesses, wives, princesses, or servants. The women in “The Odyssey” dictate the direction of the epic. Homer the blind creator may have contrived the story with the aim to depict a story of a male heroism; but the story if looked at from a different angles shows the power women have over men. The Sirens and women that posses the power of seduction when ever they are encountered take the men off their course, and lead many to their death. The power women in the Epic pose can be seen from the goddess all to the wives. From The nymph Calypso who enslaves Odysseus for many years posses all the way back to Penelope who many argue is of equal importance to
A hero is defined as “a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal.” Homer’s epic, The Odyssey, is mostly focused on pivotal roles like leadership, courage and, patriarchy. Throughout history we notice how male dominance takes place within a society. This is called patriarchy, which is a form of social organization in which the father or oldest male is the head of the family, and descent and relationship are reckoned through the male line; government or rule by a man or men.(OED) That is portrayed in the Odyssey through the actions of the protagonist Odysseus, his journey to get back home, his wife Penelope, his son Telemachus, and the Greek
...tested Odysseus to make sure it was him for she “feared some man might come and cheat [her] with his tale” (Homer, 226) showing how truly loyal she is to Odysseus. Although Odysseus was unfaithful there is no consequence for his actions for he is a man but for those women who were unfaithful it could be see how they are punished by men. In the case of Odysseus’ maids they were “unworthy” for they laid with the suitors and as punishment Telemachus says that “By no honorable death [their lives will be taken]” (Homer, 220). The difference in expectations between men and women when it comes to loyalty promotes gender inequality which makes the views The Odyssey has on society rather misogynistic.
And God help the 12 slave women who shamed Odysseus. To one of those who
Sexism has occurred throughout history and has impacted women significantly.The Odyssey follows the narrative of a man and looks at love from the perspective of a man. The famed poem was written by an ancient greek man and until recently, has always been translated by a man. For these reasons, The Odyssey provides a great example of how love, women, and marriage have been perceived by society, especially men, in the past. By examining the sexist undertones and the perception of women and love from the men in the epic and comparing those to criticisms made today we can truly understand how far we have come as a society.
When Odysseus is lost at sea, his housing staff remains. Within his staff there were fifty and some maids. Twelve of these maids slept with the suitors, doing this it went against both Odysseus’s will and his son, Telemachus. In response to what to do with the traitorous maids Telemachus says, “No clean death for the likes of them, by god! Not from me- they showered abuse on my head, my mothers too! You-sluts-- the suitors’ whores!” (22.488-490). To Telemachus a ‘clean death’ is a quick beheading, which is quite gruesome. For Telemachus to wish something worse upon these women illustrates how looked down upon they are. These women are traitors to the nobles of Ithaca, the worst possible crime. Albeit killing them quick, Telemachus hangs them, and lets their bodies blow in the wind. Not only is this horrific, it completely dehumanizes these women. Thus showing how being traitorous and non loyal as a woman had severe
...ow Greek civilization was founded by women; they were the ones who gave birth to the heroes. Similarly, The Odyssey is a story created by women. The plot revolves around the actions of women. Athena orchestrates all the events. The seductresses, such as Circe, the sirens, and Calypso, attempt to stop Odysseus from reaching home. The helpmeets, such as Nausicaa, Arete, and Athena, aid Odysseus in his homecoming. The wise and virtuous Penelope is the object of Odysseus’ quest. Unlike Helen who forsakes her husband, Penelope remains faithful. Unlike Clytemnestra who assassinates her husband, Penelope patiently waits for Odysseus. She becomes a model of female patience and of female intelligence. Her craftiness is the only one which can match up to Odysseus’. The Odyssey presents a wide array of women and demonstrates the influence that women have in the life of a hero.
Early ages of Greece introduce the norms Homeric society, including the division of genders. Masculinity was portrayed as the better and bigger trait that was found in men because it depicted strength and authority. Femininity on the other hand was portrayed as frail and weak for their submission and compassion. It was the norm for women to answer to the men in charge who made all the decisions. The epic poem, “The Odyssey” written by Homer illustrates Telemachos and Penelope have a controlling male dominant relationship, symbolizing the ideal gender roles in Homeric society, where as an Odysseus’ encounter with Arete shows a controlling female dominant association, representing a complexity in gender roles of Homeric society switch.