The Odyssey: The Bewitching Queen Of Aeaea

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The Odyssey Book 10: The Bewitching Queen of Aeaea A functionalist interpretation of ancient greek myths lends itself to legitimizing certain greek social values and norms. In book ten of The Odyssey the bewitching queen Aeaea, Circe is an embodied representation of certain values the greeks held to be true regarding women. First, Circe is beautiful, line 240-241 speak of her lovely braids, and it is clear that Odysseus men thought she was a goddess. Second, Circe is hyper-feminine, which is distinctly different from beauty. Beauty is bound to physical appearance, on the other hand being feminine is closely connected to social norms that were acceptable for females in the ancient world. In lines 242-245 Circe is depicted as extremely feminine …show more content…

Line 261 relays this particular opinion of women “Once they’d drained the bowls she filled, suddenly she struck [them] with her wand, drove them into her pigsties, all of them bristling into swine - with grunts, snouts - even their bodies.” Circe is mysterious and powerful, it is interesting that she first shows hospitality to Odysseus’ men and then curses them violating the greek value of xenia, effectively placing Circe in the (non-greek) non-human category of ancient creatures. A functionalist interpretation of Circe says that women’s sphere of influence is the home (singing, and weaving), however when Circe curses Odysseus’ men, she demonstrates the concept that women are mysterious and can never be fully trusted. The final attribute exhibited by Circe is submission. Once Odysseus’ withstands her spell she crumbles and submits to him, illustrating her craving for male dominance. The surrender of Circe displays the greek ideal that every woman ought to submit to her man because his wily intelligence will ultimately be superior. However it also demonstrates the important quality of men taking charge, and having the ability to care for his woman. Ultimately a functionalist interpretation of Circe from The Odyssey, exhibits the ancient greek ideals of what a woman is, a mysterious

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