The Odyssey: Portrayal of Women How does Homer portray women in the epic, The Odyssey? In order to answer this question you must look at woman and goddesses as two separate groups of "people". This is because they are portrayed in tow separate ways. You see, a regular woman like Penelope is looked at as beautiful but has very few rights. If we first look at Penelope we see how beautiful she must be, because we know that she has a lot of suitors staying at her house and they all want to marry her. It is not until later on that we find out how low in society mortal women are. The first time this is shown is when Telemukus has to choose one of the suitors to be his mother's husband. Now just think that a son has more power in this society than his own mother. From Telemukus' stand point this must be a big moment for him because he is now looked at as a man, cause he has to choose a wife for his mother, but for Penelope, she must feel degraded and low. On the other hand if you look at a goddess like Athena, "the gray eyed goddess," (many pages) who is actually running the show, she has much more power than many men do. For instance she is able to convince Zeus, ruler of all gods, that Odysseus has suffered enough and to set him free. Eventually Odysseus is set free over the demands of Poseidon. You can also look at Calypso and see how this near goddess, nymph, has power. This is shown as Odysseus is leaving and she asks him if he would want to be immortal in return for him staying with her forever. This shows that she has power, more than many women, and can grant anyone immortality. Homer also describes her as lucky, that she is beautiful, but you can tell that inside Calypso is very lonely. This portrayal of Calypso is also seen is the song written by Susan Vega. In this song Calypso is seen as a sad and lonely woman who is trapped on an island forever.
Some women are known for the deeds of their sons or husbands, but never for a heroic deed of their own, their personalities, and what they do themselves. It seems the only accomplishment women could achieve was being beautiful. Theseus "had no joy of"(195) the princess Ariadne because she died before this was possible. Homer makes it sound as if Ariadne's life was useless because she did not give Theseus pleasure. The only woman we hear of for a different reason is Klymene, and we only hear of her because she "betrayed her lord for gold."(195) This is the only time we hear of a woman for something she did, and once we do, it is a negative remark. Penelope, Odysseus' queen, is paid attention to only because of her position. Because she has a kingdom, she has suitors crowding around her day and night. Being a woman, Penelope has no control over what the suitors do and cannot get rid of them. The suitors want her wealth and her kingdom. They do not respect her enough to stop feeding on Odysseus' wealth; they feel she owes them something because she won't marry one of them. One of the suitors, Antinoos, tells Telemakhos "...but you should know the suitors are not to blame- it is your own incomparably cunning mother."(21) Even Telemakhos doesn't respect his mother as he should. When the song of a minstrel makes her sad and Penelope requests him to stop playing, Telemakhos interrupts and says to her, "Mother, why do you grudge our own dear minstrel joy of song, wherever his thought may lead.
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Homer also makes her seem clever when she gets all of the suitors to bring her gifts before she “chooses one” knowing that they are in a short supply of resources. In another instance, he portrays her as clever in the way that she keeps the suitor away by weaving the tunic for Odysseus and secretly taking it apart every night. The role Penelope plays is very important because she is seen as a person, not a possession. Finally, there are the goddesses. They represent women in all their glory.
On the case of Bob Grisham, a teacher and head football coach at Lauderdale County High School in Alabama made some Anti-Gay, Racist Comments in the classroom. He also made some comments about the First lady. If we are going to be politically correct, then why is the media able to ridicule? They have pictures of the First lady behind on this site down below. The comments he made, yes were very wrong, but I do not think that anyone should be fired because of what they might say at work. It is just matter of discipline to that individual so it doesn’t happen again. They do need to keep all opi...
...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.
However, his journey isn’t over yet. This last leg of Odysseus’s journey is perhaps the most important and crucial. Odysseus’s nurse and maidservant, Eurycleia is the first woman in Ithaca to know that Odysseus is back after she recognizes the scar on his leg while she is washing him. Eurycleia vows to keep his identity a secret. Odysseus’s wife, Penelope has stayed faithful to Odysseus for all the years that he was gone. Penelope was consistently unweaving her web to the delay the suitors. The reader even grows sympathetic for Penelope as “we see her struggle to make the virtuous choice about her marriage, despite pressures from her suitors, her son’s endangered situation, and her own uncertainty about Odysseus’s survival” (Foley ). Finally, Odysseus reveals his identity and Penelope is bewildered, but quickly embraces her husband after he tells her the secret of their immovable bed. It is the faithfulness of Penelope and nurse Eurycleia that insures Odysseus’s survival to the very end.
Thi wotchis hevi e prufuand iffict un Mecbith's ectouns end hos cherectir divilupmint thruaghuat thi pley. Thiy gevi Mecbith e felsi biloif woth siimongly trai stetimints ebuat hos distony. Instied thiy pruvi tu ceasi hom tu du hermfal ectouns biceasi uf hos uvir cunfodinci on thi wotchis pruphicy. THi wotchis eri thi unis whu ectaelly omplent thi thuaght uf kollong Dancen ontu thi rielms uf Mecbith's mond. Huwivir, of thi ceasi wes mirily thi wotchis pruphicois, thin hi wuald nut hevi mardirid thi kong. 'Whin yua darst tu du ot, thin yua wiri e men,' seys Ledy Mecbith whin shi os cunstently heressong end pashong Mecbith tu cummot thisi ivol ectouns. Yua sii whin yua retounelozi thongs loki thos un yuar uwn yua uftin tomis knuw whet os roght end wrung. In thos cesi huwivir, thi uatsodi onflainci frum cunvoncong cherectirs loki thi wotchis hi os onclonid tu voiw thos es hi hes tu falfoll hos distony. Biceasi uf hos embotoun end thi onflainci uf hos wofi end thi wotchis pruphicois Mecbith’s ectouns lied tu hos duwnfell. Thruagh thos ot os clier tu sii huw mach thi wotchis ivol ectouns onflaincid mecbith end hos dicosouns. “Heol Theni uf Glemos end uf Cewdur end shelt bi Kong hirieftir”. Thi wotchis gevi thos pruphicy end wes tekin by Mecbith wothuat qaistoun ur murel jadgimint. Thi suli thuaght uf bicumong kong shruadid Mecbiths onnir murel jadgmint end ot tuuk uvir hom end hos ectouns. Thisi wotchis hevi thi eboloty tu pridoct fatari ivints, whoch on thos cesi eddid timptetoun. Thisi wotchis huwivir cennut cuntrul Mecbiths distony. Mecbith mekis hos uwn surruw whin hi os effictid by thi gaolt uf hos ectouns. Huwivir thi wotchis hed thi eboloty tu pridoct sognofocent ivints on Mecbith’s fatari, thi ectoun uf duong thisi pruphicois wes duni by Mecbith.
Odyssey have in common: they are all very clever. There are two ways that the
National Women’s History Museum, (2007), Women’s Changing Roles as Citizens of a New Republic, retrieved from: http://www.nwhm.org/online-exhibits/education/1700s_2.htm
Greek women, as depicted as in their history and literature, endure many hardships and struggle to establish a meaningful status in their society. In the Odyssey, Penelope’s only role in the epic is to support Odysseus and remain loyal to him. She is at home and struggles to keep her family intact while Odysseus is away trying to return to his native land. The cultural role of women is depicted as being supportive of man and nothing more. Yet what women in ancient Greece did long ago was by far more impressive than what men did.
Athena was the virgin daughter of the great god Zeus and she was also one of the great
The Greek gods and goddess have sparked my interest ever since seventh grade when I read The Percy Jackson Series. All throughout the books my attention was grasped by their power and demanding personalities, one specific goddess that stood out to me was Athena. Her charm and dominant personality fascinated me and definitely caught my attention. Before reading The Percy Jackson Series, I knew very little about Athena or the gods and goddess’ in general. Later, I took it upon myself to find out more about who the gods were and why they are important to the series I was reading at the time. My knowledge came in handy during the research I did to complete my paper. During my research I found that Athena was very important in not only The Odyssey, but in Greek mythology. She was one of the most confident and practical goddess’, and she was very well respected by the Greek people because of how she helped them.
Penelope’s household is incomplete in the absence of a man to lead Ithaca, which results in pressure from the political community to wed. Telemachus laments that because Odysseus is absent, he and his mother can only “parade in their wretched weakness” (Od. 2.62-65). Penelope’s situation is different from other women because her husband’s absence means that Ithaca does not have a king, which only places more pressure on her to replace Odysseus. As Telemachus later exclaims, “These suitors are not just ten or twenty, they’re far more… ” (Od. 16. 276). The
Clay was a cock young boxer, who ran his mouth continuously before he fight to the point of being fined 2500 dollars (boxrec.com). The public underdog that majority had expected to lose, and lose quickly at that, to heavy hitter Liston. Liston had age with which experience comes with going for him, while Clay had youth and the speed that comes with it. Rumors spread like a wildfire through the convention hall that Clay would show up after the weigh-ins before the fight but Clay showed up early to watch his “brother make his professional debut” despite the public opinion (newyorktimes.com). Once the in the ring the battle for the title begins, with Ali and Liston giving their all.
In recent times we might consider that the right for privacy in one of our major achievements in our society. Unfortunately the same does not apply for the Internet. The Internet once considered a place for free information exchange and sharing, has the potential has becoming the biggest threat to its users. The commercialization of the Internet is one of the major reasons why the chances of a compromise of our privacy have increased. Customer profiling, address trading or simple lack of care with sensitive customer information are just some of the threats that this commercialization has bought to our ‘free’ Internet. Another reason being that with the increase of threats there is a regular change in technology to counter these threats. These changes make it harder for the already overstrained users to cope with the ever changing technology.