Women play an outstanding large role in "The Odyssey" by the Greek poet Homer, although it is much of a tale of a man's heroic quest."The Odyssey" by homer is majority move around Odysseus's quest to return back to his home and wife, Penelope, so that he may be reunited with her someday and take control over his place, which was overrun by suitors. In the presence of the many suitors, Odysseus's son, Telemachos attempts to regain authority but he finds this difficult and he started his own journey under the guidance of Athena. The most parts of the story of "The Odyssey" focus upon the adventures of Odysseus as he endeavors to get back home, which he finally does in the end. In "Odyssey", it reflects that, attaining glory was much of the masculine sense of glory. Telemachos asserted his manhood by ordering Penelope from public room to go back inside, this indicates his intention to achieve his claim to his father's throne. At one point, one of the bards of the palace was singing about the deadly battles, where Penelope assumes her husband perished and falls to weeping, at that moment the masculine presence of Telemachos bring her to senses and he sates "Odysseus is not the only one who lost his homecoming day at Troy. There were many others who perished, besides him. Go therefore back in the house, and take up your own work, the loom and the distaff, and see it that your handmaidens ply their work also, but the men must see to discussion, all men, but I most of all. For mine is the power in this household." (1.354-359) at this moment, Telemachos affirm his role in the male order of the household. Telemachos also showed the same response in the different situation, where Penelope suggested that if the stranger could ... ... middle of paper ... ... impression that, woman like her, who seem devoted to family, are always tending to fall into the seductress model of femininity, where woman like queen Arete, shows the much equal powerful as the men in the society. The character of Penelope and Arete, in "The Odyssey" shows the complexity of the gender role in the Homeric society. In the 'Odyssey' women can easily play the role of a wife, a mother, caretaker and a loyal lover. These roles do not show many positive implications than the roles that men play in society, yet it is proved that women and their roles in society contributed a bigger picture. The power and authority of women lies within her at the same time using the combination of wit and incline attributes, they seem to fulfill their feminine roles. Even though the role of a man might be to lead, women seem to fulfill the roles of a leader.
The ancient Greeks have brought upon numerous ideas, inventions, and stories to the world. Greek mythology influences modern day literature and life. The Odyssey is an epic poem written by Homer, which tells the story of Odysseus's journey home after the Trojan War. Odysseus does not achieve his goal of reaching home so easily; monsters and gods come in his way and hinder him. The Odyssey expresses Greek values of hospitality from the customs of Ithaca, humility from Odysseus’s reform, and loyalty from Odysseus’s family.
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.
“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.
The society in which classical myths took place, the Greco-Roman society was a very patriarchal one. By taking a careful gander at female characters in Greco-Roman mythology one can see that the roles women played differ greatly from the roles they play today. The light that is cast upon females in classical myths shows us the views that society had about women at the time. In classical mythology women almost always play a certain type of character, that is to say the usual type of role that was always traditionally played by women in the past, the role of the domestic housewife who is in need of a man’s protection, women in myth also tended to have some unpleasant character traits such as vanity, a tendency to be deceitful, and a volatile personality. If one compares the type of roles that ladies played in the myths with the ones they play in today’s society the differences become glaringly obvious whilst the similarities seem to dwindle down. Clearly, and certainly fortunately, society’s views on women today have greatly changed.
Homer’s Odyssey, by, is typically seen as a male dominated poem: the hero is male and the majority of the characters are male. We follow the men on their attempt to return to Ithaca. However, even though women are not the main characters, they are omnipresent through much of the story. Women play a very important role in the movement of the story line: they all want to marry, help or hurt Odysseus. During the course of his journey, Odysseus meets three different women who want him to be their husband: Circe, Calypso, Nausicca, and finally one woman who is his true wife: Penelope. Each of these women has a profound effect on Odysseus journey home. Yet, even though these women are much more powerful than ordinary Greek women are they still carry some semblance of the "good female" in Greek society.
In the epic The Odyssey, Odysseus is on a journey back home after the ten-year Trojan war. He is guided by the goddess Athena and is motivated to return to his son, Telemachus, and his wife, Penelope1. The epic is special because Homer placed women in roles that are uncommon for women to own. Significant roles in society were typically given to men, since women in ancient Greece were considered lesser, and very few women had important roles. But without the important roles of women in The Odyssey, Odysseus would never have made it back home. Women in The Odyssey are different because they have complex relations with men and have their own personalities.
Almost nowhere in The Odyssey can one find a woman doing the same things as a man. No women went off to fight in the Trojan War. There were no female members of Odysseus or Telemachus' crew, nor do any women participate in the battle against the suitors. The character traits that make a man great; strength, courage, and leadership are lacking in female characters of The Odyssey. Throughout The Odyssey women were given a double-standard. They were expected to act a certain way and exhibit certain traits while men had no such limitations. If women did not live up to these standards of behavior, they would be punished. If men broke these same rules nothing would be done. During the time Homer wrote The Odyssey it was the dominant belief that a society should be dominated by men and that women should be subservient to them. This belief is reflected throughout the writing of Homer in The Odyssey.
In the poem The Odyssey written originally by Homer and translated by Robert Fagles, women are a key component to the story. In ancient Greek society “a woman’s place was in the home and her purpose in life was the rearing of children” (Cartwright). Ancient Greece was a patriarchal society in which women were often associated with weakness and thought of as subordinate in this male-dominated society. There are even debates to this day on whether Homer, the author was a woman, with a pseudonym because she could have been looked down upon by the patriarchy for being an author. This discussion alone displays how woman’s rights and voices could have been suppressed in their community. Even with these common images that are often connected with
“The Odyssey", by Homer and Gilganesh by _______were all written thousands of years ago in a patriarchic society. This was a time in human history when men played the dominant role. The entire edifice of civilization was organized and controlled by the men; It was an accepted fact that women would be dominated. They held an inferior position in society. Society was constructed as if women were around only to serve the men in any way that was necessary. Homer places women into roles that were formerly unheard of for women to possess. However, these women are still confined to the gender roles that exist in Greece. Women were supposed to remain chaste and faithful to their husband while using their sexualities as a prize for men. Women are sees as the homemakers, cooking, cleaning and mending to the house while men were out defending. While women were absolutely not the most powerful gods nor the strongest or wisest of mortals, they still had incredible influence.
In Homer’ The Odyssey, a controversial topic is the portrayal of women and whether or not female characters are underdeveloped, sexist interpretations, and are represented as second-rate humans. But at a closer analyzation, one may come to realize in fact, the depiction of women is relatively positive, especially considering the era at which The Odyssey was written. If read farther than the text, one can discover a much deeper person than may be expressed through the words. The female figure is found to be strong, independent, and intelligent through close examination of prominent characters and how they interact with the protagonist.
Over centuries, Ancient Athenian women were tough to be inferior to men and were seen as second class citizens. The role of women in ancient Greek was considered to be insignificant compared to Greek men. Society created rules to keep women oppressed to create the “perfect women”. Women are supposed to be loyal, obedient, dainty, fearful, a mother, and a wife. Women needed to be obedient daughters and housewives, and remain lower class citizens obligated to the men who owns them. Although the rules held women to a lower status, they refused to be subordinated by men. Women were often written as major characters, revealing insights on how they were treated and thought of in society. Through literary texts such as Euripides’ Medea and Homer’s The Odyssey, women have shown that they will not be imprisoned by the rules their society cast upon them. Women have shown they can be rebels. Oppression did not subdue women, hence why they were able to rise above Greek social domination of the male gender, and the laws and
Odysseus treats women much differently than most men in this age of time. Instead of treating them like objects, Odysseus treats them with the respect they deserve. The Odyssey tells about the world of women in dark-age Greece, pointing out different social dynamics, roles, and views held of the opposite sex. This epic was written at a time when women were limited to childbirth and domestic duties. The structure of civilization was controlled by men only and women held a lower position. In this time period women were just there to serve men. Women were valued in society but weren't given important roles or couldn't make important decisions. This is why the odyssey is so unique; homer put women into roles that were unheard of for women to
...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.
Women have held many different roles in society throughout human history. Since the beginning of time men have always been viewed as superior. In Homer’s Iliad, a perfect example of the suppressive role of women is shown. Women are treated as property and are used for the mere purpose of reproduction within the household. Paralyzed by their unfortunate circumstances, they were taken and given as if they were material belongings. In Homer's Iliad, women are seen and introduce as rewards to the male heroines and usually the greatest fighters. They are depicted as being inferior to men both physically and intellectually. Throughout the epic poem, women play an important role that symbolizes their relative significance and the impact they have on the different interactions that take place. The action and drama that over whelms The Iliad belongs to that of a masculine world. The interaction between man and women in this epic is similar to that of child and a toy. The females, being, the toys of the poem are either praised and taken care of, as a prized toy would be, or just kept for the sake of enjoyment. There are not many mortal females in this epic, but very few do play important roles in the plot. The female gods, such as Helen, however, seem to be in more control than the males of the story. By comparing and contrasting the female mortals and divine female’s interactions in The Iliad, we can expand an initiative of what Homer considers the proper place for the females during the time of this Trojan War. Although Homer’s ideas seem antiquated today, they are entirely philosophical of his own historical era.
Homer's epic poem The Odyssey was written after his Iliad which told the tales of the Trojan War. This Odyssey told of the wanderings of a prominent warrior and ruler, Odysseus. Odysseus fought in the Trojan War and, after the Greeks claimed their victory at Troy, began his prolonged journey home. During his travels Odysseus faced many obstacles which he had to overcome. Through his wanderings, Odysseus had to prove his valor, intellect, and determination. Incorporated into The Odyssey are many current-day characteristics of man including a constant dependence on others, the presence of a greater vision, or lack there of, and the essence of a sensitive side behind courage and pride.