Comparing Women In The Odyssey And The Epic Of Gilgamesh

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Recommended: Traditional roles of women in society

Married women were valued and respected in ancient society, although almost all of women's roles were to have children and domestic jobs, they weren't given significant jobs or power. The role of women in marriage in The Odyssey and in The Epic of Gilgamesh, have major impacts on the development of the heroic epics. 
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. …show more content…

He presented views on marriage during this time. Of all the female characters, from goddesses to demons, Odysseus's wife, Penelope, is the main woman in the story. She possesses the characteristics of the ideal woman in Greece, such as her loyalty to Odysseus. Even after twenty years, Penelope refused to remarry and deceives suitors, as they wait for her to finish a tapestry that she never plans on completing2. Penelope's marriage with Odysseus is different than one with a suitor. The suitors feared shame and were interested in Penelope for her status as queen, she was something to be owned. They wanted her for a trophy, whereas for Odysseus, she was worth coming back for. Odysseus fell for Calypso's temptations, but rejected her and immortality in the end for

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