The Odyssey and The Aeneid are epic poems that focus on the aftermath of the Trojan War. One deals with the Greek hero, Odysseus and the other deals with the Trojan hero, Aeneas. Greek and Roman culture revolve around a patriarchal society. A patriarchal society implicates males hold primary power and predominate roles in leadership, social privilege and that they have control over any property. They also have authority over women and children. The Odyssey and The Aeneid depict women in a stereotypical way but each one has their own difference. The Odyssey is about Odysseus’ journey home after defeating the Trojans in the Trojan War. His voyage home is extended to ten years due to his insolence against the gods. His wife, Penelope, is waiting for his arrival back on Ithaca. If Odysseus does not return, she is to marry when Telemachus becomes a man. She is the definition of a faithful wife for she avoids making a decision to remarry. Her delaying tactics make her sly and artful for she devises creative ways to avoid marriage. One of such is to “weave” her husband’s burial shroud, “Then in the daytime would she weave at the great web, but in the night unravel, after her torch was set. Thus for three years she hid her craft and cheated the Achaeans,” (Homer 14). …show more content…
When Odysseus arrives, she comments that she has not seen a man in over 100 years. She keeps him captive for 7 years in hopes that he will eventually marry her. She is egocentric and likes to think that letting Odysseus go was her idea. She releases him when Hermes gives her a message from Zeus. Although she is self centered with keeping Odysseus, she also promotes early advocacy for women sexual equality. It is seen unjust for a goddess to have sexual relations with a mortal man. She told Hermes, “‘Hard are you gods and envious beyond all to grudge that goddesses should mate with men and take without disguise mortals for lovers,’” (Homer
How much control do women have over their emotions in the Aeneid? In his poem, Virgil frequently shows women in situations where irrational thoughts lead to harmful choices. Specifically, Virgil presents women as being easily influenced by their emotions. Consequently, these characters make decisions that harm both themselves and those around them. Throughout Aeneas’s journey, divinities such as Juno and Venus are seen taking advantage of the emotions of different women, influencing these characters to act in ways that ignore important priorities. Not only does Virgil present women as completely vulnerable to their emotions, but he also shows the problems that arise when these women engage in decisions where they put their own feelings ahead of their people. Virgil explicitly shows women neglecting important responsibilities when he describes passages concerned with Dido’s affair and her death, the Trojan women burning their own ships, Queen Amata’s opposition to Latinus’s proposal and her tragic death.
Penelope’s husband, Odysseus has been at war for the past twenty years and is presumably dead. During this time, Penelope and her son Telemachus end up living amongst numerous suitors who attempt to court Penelope. However she continues to mourn the “loss” her husband
Homer's great epic, "The Odyssey" was written several thousands of years ago, a time in human history when men played the dominant role in society. The entire structure of civilization was organized and controlled by men; It was an accepted fact that women held an inferior position in society. Society was constructed as if women were around only to serve the men. The involvement of women in any circumstance was almost completely dominated by what the men allowed. The women were valued in society, only they were not given important roles or any decision making power. It is as if they held no power in the ancient Greek society. This is why Homer's Odyssey is very unique, Homer put women into roles that were previously unheard of for women to possess. Unlike in The Iliad, where women served merely as an object to men; female characters of Odyssey are distinctive because they possess personality, and have intricate relationships with the male characters of the Odyssey. By characterizing the women in "The Odyssey", a reader may come to some conclusions about the role of women in this epic. Along with the belief that women played a secondary role to men in society, the female characters displayed certain traits that could not be exhibited by the men. Athena demonstrated the most intelligence and valor out of all the characters in "The Odyssey." The male characters play the most significant roles in this epic, but without the support of the females in "The Odyssey", Odysseus would not have made it through his journey.
The women in The Odyssey are a fair representation of women in ancient Greek culture. In his work, Homer brings forth women of different prestige. First there are the goddesses, then Penelope, and lastly the servant girls. Each of the three factions forms an important part of The Odyssey and helps us look into what women were like in ancient Greece.
Odysseus faced many challenges and monsters along the way but one of the biggest challenges was when he returned home to his wife Penelope. She was testing Odysseus because he did not believe it was home that really came back. Penelope challenged Odysseus with a bow and arrow . But she said that there was a “ … have sawn that trunk and dragged the frame away” ( Homer 615 ). This is important because of the fact that in The Odyssey the whole story is based on the fact that. Odysseus is coming back home but since his wife does not believe it is him it has to prove to his wife that he came back .
...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.
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.
The theme of women in the Odyssey is essential in establishing one of the if not the main message in the poem. The paradoxical messages give insights into the lives of the characters and generalizations into the reader's lives. Although this theme would have a noticeable affect on the poem in its absence, it is odd that in a story about war and adventure that they hold such dominating roles. In the setting of the Odyssey, women did not have a status that measured up to that of a man. However, whether seen as demonic or angelic they still hold in the example of Odysseus a significant role in the determination of the final fate of a man.
Often times in life we search for a companion, someone to share our love and life with. Odysseus and Penelope's lasting relationship is an obvious representation of love in the Odyssey. Although Odysseus is gone for twenty years he never forgets his faithful wife in Ithaca. This love helps him persevere through the many hardships that he encounters on his journey home. Penelope also exemplifies this same kind of love for Odysseus. At home in Ithaca, she stays loyal to Odysseus by unraveling his shroud and delaying her marriage to the suitors that are courting her. She always keeps the hope that her love, Odysseus, will return. Odysseus and Penelope's marriage clearly illustrates the theme of love.
Both, The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Odyssey are a balance of the male and feminine principles. It is the prostitute that brings humanity to Enkidu and it is Athena that shields Odysseus from all harm and brings him safely back to Ithaca. The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Odyssey take place in a rigid patriarchal society, but both epics reveal the hidden workings of the feminine figure throughout journey. Perfectly said: “ . . . the initiatory journey of the hero,
Virgil’s The Aeneid and the historical figures Antony and Cleopatra are parallel love stories with striking similarities individuated by inverse denouements. Virgil wrote The Aeneid as a tribute for Augustus Caesar, the leader of the Roman Empire and and integral figure in the story of Antony and Cleopatra. The Aeneid’s lovers Dido and Aeneas parallel the true tale of Antony and Cleopatra with the common theme of a heroic man duty-bound to his state torn between responsibility to his nation and amorous devotion to a passionate, beautiful foreign queen. Virgil’s epic poem The Aeneid, contains a brief romance between the central character Aeneas and the queen of Carthage, Dido. Though only lasting through part of the epic is the famous romance of this tale. While Cleopatra and Antony were less mystical in their relations both couples were stories of star-crossed lovers that despite their political complications found solace and joy in their relations with each other before meeting untimely ends.
Through the readings of the Odyssey and “Medea,” I have recognized parallel patterns in both the marriages between Penelope and Odysseus and Medea and Jason. Odysseus left Penelope with a newborn child while he went off to war. During this time, many eligible suitors, ready to prove their standing and take Odysseus’ place as husband, congregated in the palace constantly. Medea was abandoned and left for another women of higher standing. The way Medea and Penelope carry out deception and trickery differ. Medea and Penelope, both wives whose husbands left them, turned into women consumed with deception, trickery, and cleverness, while differing in their way of implementing their desires, one through murder and the other through mind games.
The Iliad by Homer and the Women of Troy by Euripides are both Greek works of literature that look at the Trojan War from different perspectives. Book 6 of the Iliad illustrates that the ultimate glory is to fight for the city with no regard to the impact on the family. The Women of Troy focuses on the negatives that war causes, especially towards the soldier’s wives and children. Whereas the Iliad focuses on the battle itself and centers on the warriors, the Women of Troy focuses on the wrath the war brings upon the families left behind. The central theme in both the works is the Trojan War and they both offer perspectives of the duty of a person, the role of predetermined fate, and the role of women.
The relationship between Odysseus and his wife Penelope is one of loyalty, love, and faith. Both characters are driven by these characteristics. Odysseus displays his loyalty in his constant battle to get home to his wife. This love helps him persevere through the many hardships that he encounters on his journey home. Odysseus spent 20 years trying to return to his home in Ithaca after the end of the Trojan War. Along the way he manages to offend both gods and mortals, but through his intelligence, and the guidance of Athena, he manages to finally return home. There he discovers that his home has been overrun by suitors attempting to win Penelope’s hand in marriage. The suitors believed that Odysseus was dead. Odysseus and his son, Telemachus,
Just as this genre exemplifies the masculine ideal, it also promotes the feminine ideal, largely by casting female characters who do not meet this ideal in an antagonistic light, and thus maintains the male-dominant system of the societies which produced these works. This paper therefore argues that female characters in epic poetry, namely The Epic of Gilgamesh, Homer’s Odyssey, and Vergil’s Aeneid, play the role of an antagonistic “Other” group by employing their agency to act beyond the established gender roles of their societies, thereby disrupting the social order and creating obstacles for the male protagonists.