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A Comparison of the Role of Women in Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad
Homer's iliad and gender dynamics
Role Of Women In English Literature
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The Role of Women in Homer’s Iliad
Homer’s Iliad is undoubtedly focused on its male characters: Achilles, primarily, but also Hector and Agamemnon. Nevertheless, it seems that the most crucial characters in the epic are female. Homer uses the characters of Thetis, Andromache, and Helen as a basis for comparison to the male characters. Homer wants his audience to see and understand the folly of his male characters in choosing war over peace, aggression over kindness, and honor over family. While the behavior of these characters clearly speaks for itself, the contrasting attitudes and behaviors of the female characters proffer an alternative; in comparison, the reader can hardly fail to concur with Homer’s message that war, aggression, and honor are misplaced and self-defeating values.
The men of the Iliad are very emotional individuals; however, the emotions they express are consistently rage, pride, and jealousy. Achilles and Agamemnon jealously bicker over Briseis, a war prize that neither man particularly values. Agamemnon eventually returns her to Achilles with the admission that he never actually coupled with her; Achilles is less-than-enthused to have her back. Not only is Briseis, as a woman, regarded less as a human being as she is chattel, but the real issue dividing Agamemnon and Achilles is petty jealousy and pride. This is symptomatic of a general attitude among men that "might makes right," and the only priority is to exert a dominance over others whenever possible and at any cost. Achilles is willing to risk the lives of his compatriots and eventually forfeits his own life in pursuit of glory. Hector also loses his life and fails his family and country for glory despite having weighed the alternatives and con...
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... remembered for their great glory. Kindness, to them, is a weakness; yet ironically, it is their kindness for which they are remembered and mourned by those who loved them best. One role of the women of ancient Greece was mourning for the dead; the lamentations of the women in the Iliad are a role well fulfilled.
Works Cited and Consulted:
Calame, Claude. Choruses of Young Women in Ancient Greece : Their Morphology, Religious Role, and Social Fucntion. Trans. by Derek Collins and Jane Orion. 1997.
Sissa, Giulia. 1990. Greek Virginity. Trans. by Arthur Goldhammer. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Orig. pub. as Le corps virginal. 1987. 000: Librairie Philosophique J. Vrin.
Steiner, George, and Fagles, Robert, eds. Homer: A Collection of Critical Essays. Twentieth Century Views, ed. Maynard Mack. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice Hall, 1962.
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Charles Macdonald was an early founder of American golf. He recalled playing golf in the Chicago area as early as 1875. Another promoter of golf, a young man named Andrew Bell from Burlington, Iowa, was initially exposed to golf when he went to Scotland to attend the University of Edinburgh. Upon his return to the United States in 1883, he laid out four informal golf holes on the family farm and played a few rounds with his friends. In 1884 Colonel Hamilton Gillispie, a former Scotsman who went into the lumber business in Florida, was known to hit golf balls in a field that is now the main street of Sarasota (History of Golf 7). Also in 1884, the Oakhurst Golf Club was formed in North Carolina now famous for it’s first hole from the Club’s Homestead course, celebrated to...
Lefkowitz, Mary R., and Maureen B. Fant. Women's Life in Greece and Rome. Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press, 2005.
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Walcot, P. “Greek Attitudes towards Women: The Mythological Evidence.” Greece & Rome 2nd ser. 31.1 (Apr., 1984): 37-47. Cambridge University Press on Behalf of The Classical Association Article Stable. Web.
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What is the role of women in the Iliad? Is this another ancient poem that demonstrates male dominance? Throughout the history of Greek mythology, women have had typical and preconceived roles. However, this does not affect the role of Briseis in Homer’s Iliad. In Homer’s epic poem, Briseis, Achilles’ captured Trojan slave, is significant because she is a prize, influenced the Trojan War, and is similar to the other strong women of the Iliad. In the ancient poem, Briseis was a princess who was captured once all her family members were killed by Achilles. The women played a vital role in the fate of the battles in this poem. It is startling because in archetypal Greek
In the Iliad we saw women as items of exchange and as markers of status for the men who possessed them (Chryseis and Briseis, whom Agamemnon and Achilles argue over in Book I). We saw them in their normal social roles as mothers and wives (Hecuba, Andromache in Book VI). We saw stereotypical characterizations of them as fickle (Helen in Book VI), seductive, and deceitful (Hera in Book XIV). We see them as an obstacle that the male hero has to overcome or resist to fulfill his heroic destiny (Andromache 's entreaties to Hector in Book VI).
It is generally accepted that modern golf developed in The Netherlands during the Middle Ages. The game did not find international popularity until the late 19th century. A game similar to golf is recorded as taking place on February 26th, 1297, in Loenen aan de Vecht, where the Dutch played a game with a stick and leather ball.