Roles Of Women In The Odyssey

In Homer’s time, men and women were viewed very differently. The role of women has evolved in our society, however our culture still struggles with some of the same issues. In the epic poem, The Odyssey by the poet Homer and translator Robert Fitzgerald, the differences in how women and men are viewed in Homer’s time are exemplified. The epic poem introduces Penelope as the “ideal woman”. The role of women in Greek society was to provide for the men and they were perceived like objects by Greek culture.

Throughout the epic poem there were many more expectations of women than men, one being Penelope’s loyalty to Odysseus. During Odysseus’s twenty year long journey there's a great expectation of Penelope to stay loyal. Odysseus’s journey leaves

many people to believe that he is dead or not coming back so his expectation for Penelope is unfair.
“My lady,
what ordeals have we not endured! Here, waiting
you had your grief, while my return dragged out-
my hard adventures, pitting myself against
the gods’ will, and Zeus, who pinned me down
far from home. But now our life resumes:
we’ve come together to our longed-for bed.
(23.394-400)
Penelope is seen as the ideal women because of how loyal she has been to Odysseus through his journey.

The same can not be said about Odysseus because he has not been faithful to Penelope. The difference in equality is shown through Odysseus’ unfaithfulness and Penelope would've probably be hung like the maids while Odysseus received no punishment for his

actions.
The expectations of women is further shown throughout the epic poem for example, when the maids were punished for sleeping around with the suitors.

This shows how badly they were treated and how much higher the expectations of staying faithful are for the women than the men. Many times throughout Odysseus’s journey we read about him “sleeping around” with beautiful women while receiving no punishment. Coming home and hearing about the maids sleeping with the suitors, he gets angered and states, ”I would not give the clean death of a beast/ to trulls who made a mockery of my mother/ and of me too--you sluts, who lay with suitors” (22.514-16). The punishment of the maids is getting hung, which was seen at that time as an unhonorable death. This connects to our society today because women still get called names like the maids were and are shamed for sleeping with someone while the men are applauded.

In The Odyssey the role of women in Greek society is portrayed as objects for the men. Throughout the epic poem we see numerous examples of how women do not have the same rights as men. One being the ability of women to rule. In ancient Greek society, the women were viewed lower than the men and did not have the ability to rule. The women were viewed as weak and unable of the responsibility. On Odysseus’s depart the society was not the same. In Telemachus’s daydream he

dreams
What if his great father
came from the unknown world and drove these men
like dead leaves through the palace, recovering
honor and lordship in his own domains?
(1.145-8)

Telemachus is hoping his father comes home to recover “honor and lordship”. The quote indicates Ithaka has no ruler while Odysseus is on his twenty year journey. Which makes the question, how come Penelope did not take over the rule come up. This shows how Greek society viewed women as incapable of being strong leaders. The society would rather have no ruler for the time of Odysseus’s absence then have a women rule.
In the epic poem, The Odyssey by the poet Homer and translator Robert Fitzgerald, the differences in how women and men are viewed in Homer’s time are exemplified. This is shown through the role of women in Greek society providing for the men and being perceived as objects in Greek culture. This is shown through Penelope/women not being able to rule, expectation of women being faithful, and the maids faithfulness.