Female Characters In The Odyssey

Throughout the epic poem “Odyssey” we see many great characters who all bring a different feel to the story. “Odyssey” is a story that has a male main character and many male side characters, but it also has several female characters found in it. Each one of these females have an important role within the story and it would not be the same without them. Athena, Penelope, and Eucycleia are a few examples of female characters.

The cultural role of women in the Odyssey In Homer’s Odyssey the cultural relevance of a preferred woman’s role in society generally stands out in the roles of the female characters of Athena and Penelope simultaneously rejecting the negatively viewed characteristics of Calypso and Circe. The entire structure of Ancient Greek culture boasts its men in more superior roles than that of women. Greek society was largely built upon an idea that good women were only around to faithfully serve and support their husband and that it was very important not to stray from those essential traits. Athena is a very involved character from the beginning of the book when she wants to help Odysseus get back home to Ithaca. However, as fate would put it

The women in Agamemnon are as powerful as men but slaves to the divine. Clytemnestra’s early sacrifices parallel her vengeful slaughter of Agamemnon. After Clytemnestra makes sacrifices in celebration of Greece’s victory, the chorus cries, “hope glows through your victims” (Agamemnon, 658). They reference both hope for Greece 's victory and hope for avenging Iphigenia 's death. Sacrifices of thanksgiving make Clytemnestra an ambassador of victory and the sacrifice of Agamemnon makes her an ambassador of Justice. Agamemnon’s slaughter is an act in the name of heavenly Justice; it is a retributive sacrifice to Fate. Despite its moral significance, the murder of the war hero invokes a cycle of death within the house of Agamemnon. Like the

The Odyssey, by Homer, was written with the Greek mindset that women were supposed to be submissive. If the woman in question was not submissive enough, she was depicted as cruel, selfish, a monster, or a whore. This is true for both mortal women, such as Penelope, and immortal goddesses, such as Calypso. Mortal women were expected to be good faithful wives who listened to everything the head of the household said, while goddesses were expected to follow the gods every order and were called sexist slurs if they ever got involved with a mortal man.

Imagine you are left by your husband after he leaves to go to war and you must protect your kingdom and yourself. How would you handle the situation? In Homer’s The Odyssey a wife is left alone to raise a child and to protect others from taking her husband's position on the throne until Telemachus is old enough to take it himself. Penelope must give her son experiences that normally a father would give a son, along with having him grow up to be fair and just. Telemachus and Penelope push through the hardships without a husband, father, and a ruler. Penelope raises telemachus while persevering through sexism, abuse, and loneliness.

Although “The Odyssey” by the Greek poet Homer is very much an epic tale of a man’s heroic quest, women play an incredibly large role. Homer’s epic tale, “The Odyssey” revolves around Ulysses’ quest to return back to his wife, Penelope, so that he may be reunited with her and assume control over his palace, which has been overrun by suitors. Ulysses’ son, Telemachus attempts to regain authority in the presence of the many suitors but finds this difficult and embarks upon his own journey under the guidance of Athena and other deities. The main thrust of Homer’s “The Odyssey” centers upon the adventures of Homer as he endeavors to get back home, which he finally does. He overtakes the suitors through his cunning and the tale ends happily.

For this informative report I will attempt to point out the roles women and how they are viewed in ancient Greece. I will then show how these views are present in Homer’s "The Odyssey." How are women, goddess or mortal, conveyed in "The Odyssey?"

     Many people regard Homer’s epics as war stories—stories about men; those people often overlook the important roles that women play in the Odyssey. While there are not many female characters in the Odyssey, the few that there are, play pivotal roles in the story and one can gain a lot of insight by analyzing how those women are portrayed. Homer portrays the females in contradictory ways: the characters of Athena and Eurykleia are given strong, admirable roles while Melantho, the Sirens and Circe are depicted in a much more negative way. Penelope—the central female character—is given both negative and positive attributes.

Odyssey have in common: they are all very clever. There are two ways that the

Women are important to the plot and overall theme of the Odyssey. In fact, without many of the women there would not be a complex plot to this epic poem. In the narrative and in Greek society women played a variety of roles, as mothers, herons, and many other strong roles yet, they were treated as less significant, and were made to be loyal and submissive to men. The women were required to wait on and sulk for love, as Penelope did for 20 years. In Greek society, the women had very little authority but the little control that they did have was sort of a sexual power, which at times they could use to outwit the men. Obvious examples of this sexual power would be Circe and Calypso. Calypso and Circe however, are not the

Often times in ancient works, women do what they must to reach their goals. In the Odyssey and the Theogony, women use deceit to achieve their goals, with the difference being that in times of trouble Penelope is able to create and enact multiple plans on her own while Rhea must ask for help. While Homer gives some agency to his female characters, Hesiod does not.

In book one of the Iliad, a plague is placed on the Achaian army because Agamemnon wouldn’t release Chryseis, a maiden he’d taken as a prize for sacking a Trojan-allied town. Agamemnon refuses to give up Chryseis until Achilleus surrenders Briseis, another maiden, to him as consultation. This insults Achilleus’ pride and is the first event in the epic to fuel his burning rage (1.8-1.611). Due to his leader, Agamemnon, wounding his pride, he refuses to fight for the Achaians for the first 15 books. However, the tide turns in book 16 when Patroklos, Achilleus’ friend, is killed (16.816-16.821). His rage causes him to join the Achaians once more and develope aristeia, where a hero in battle has his finest moments. He nearly single-handedly slaughters the Trojan army by splitting their ranks and pursuing half of them into the river, where he recognizes Lykaon (21.1-21.35).

It could be contested that The Odyssey was intended to appeal to women as the main audience, as evidenced by a strong focus on relationships and female characters. Homer maximizes women, subtly drawing out their power and making them appear larger than life; Penelope is a prime example of this. J.W. Mackail, a Scottish literary historian, also agrees, stating that “Penelope is one of the great women of history. If at first sight she seems more remote from, or even contrary to, modern ideals, a larger and more intelligent view will alter that misconception. She will reveal herself as no obsolete type, but as an individual figure, of extraordinary complexity, and intensely human because

Achilleus was a Greek hero, who fought in the Trojan War. Achilleus' most famous defeat during the Trojan War was the killing of the extraordinary hero Hektor, outside the city of Troy. In The Iliad of Homer, Achilleus’ character is inexorably altered by the nature of the experiences to which he is subjected. These consist of his fall out with Agamemnon, his emotional removal from battle, the death of Patroklos, and the killing of Hektor. Achilleus' actions had over sized impact on the outcome of battles and the lives of many warriors on both sides. Achilleus struggled with anger, respect, satisfaction, loyalty and love. At first Achilleus’ character is unlikable and self-centered. By the end of the Iliad, we see an Achilleus

More often than not male characters are the main protagonists in ancient literature, but they are not the only driving force in their stories. Women are, arguably, the main driving force in any epic, poem, or text from old age literature. Without women the men’s journeys and lives would be so vastly different from the original stories readers all know. Without the Harlot from The Epic of Gilgamesh and Enkidu would have never become a man and would have never changed Gilgamesh, which would have resulted in a completely different story. Without Penelope keeping the suitors at bay by tricking them with her burial shroud then Odysseus wouldn’t have enough time to make it back home.