Gender In The Iliad

In the first section of Odyssey, mortal women are presented to us as controlled by the stereotypes and expectations of the culture of the day, and it is only within that context that we can consider the examples Homer provides of women to be admired or despised. He provides us with clear contrasts, between Penelope and Eurycleia on the one hand, and Helen and Clytemnaestra on the other.

They fought for Helen as if she was an object in which they had to have as their property. This also shows what role a woman’s beauty can have in a Greek man’s life.

Women in ancient Greece had very few rights in comparison to male citizens. Women were unable to vote, own property, or inherit wealth. A woman’s place was in the home and her purpose in life was to rear children. Considering this limited role in society, we see a diverse cast of female characters in Greek mythology. We are presented with women that are powerful and warlike, or sexualized, submissive and emotionally unstable. In many myths, we encounter subversive behavior from women, suggesting, perhaps, the possibility of female empowerment. While produced in an ostensibly misogynistic and oppressive society, these myths consider the possibility for a collapse of male power and the patriarchal system. In Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey,

Vietnam war veteran and novelist Tim O’Brien, in his piece titled, “The Things They Carried,” portrays personal war stories of a group of soldiers during the Vietnam War to convey how stories and memories can aid in coping with death. The novel was extremely emotional and thought provoking, causing me to question what was real or not, and how these stories were more than just stories. As the novel progressed, it became increasingly clear how, for O’Brien and some of the other soldiers, these stories were not just stories for the them to reminisce on, they were a form of therapy, helping them to live on, even when faced with death and morbid experiences. Through these various stories ranging from the distant past and the present, O’Brien successfully

In The Iliad by Homer women in the Ancient World period were seen as possessions and property of men and consequently they were inferior to men. The Iliad begins in the 10th year of the war and starts off with Achilles and Agamemnon fighting over their war prizes, Chryseis and Brieseis. Chryseis’s father, priest of Apollo, asked Menelaus for his daughter back or he would pray to Apollo to send a plague to the Greek camp. Menelaus finally gives Chryseis back because

     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.

Homer’s epic, The Iliad, highlights the influence and jurisdiction that beauty provides. The prizes and glory a man accumulates from war measure his power, while beauty measures a woman’s power. Since conquering a woman is the ultimate prize to a man, her beauty represents ultimate power. Though the beauty of mortal women has the power to turn men against each other, mortal women have no influence over this power and are instead objectified by men. Immortal women, however, have authority over their beauty and are able to control men with their power. Helen, on the other hand, though mortal, has the beauty of a goddess. Yet, Helen is bound by her fate to Paris, making her power obsolete. By presenting Helen’s hopeless power and supplying the reader with insight on her suffering through her thoughts, Helen is portrayed as a tragic hero.

Ancient characters in the Iliad, Hecuba and Andromache, are stylized as modern, early feminists in The Mediterranean Chronicles. However, even on a global scale Hecuba’s feministic strength, character, and willpower is clearly illustrated in the Iliad, film version of The Trojan Women, and Jean Giraudoux’s translated play Tiger at the Gates. Andromache, in her own way, also emblems feminism in these same works through various way, such as her strength and intelligence in the face of war and her lament after her husband’s death. In The Mediterranean Chronicles, both of these characters are also portrayed with feminist aspects. However, they both encompass and emanate the more contemporary characteristics of the average twenty-first century woman.

It is very unusual to disagree that Nora, the main character in Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll House”, is an uneducated lady. For example, she seems too play dumb in the beginning when receiving money from her husband, also acting like a stereotypical housewife in those times. We slowly get to see her intelligence when hiding the macaroons and coming up with lies right on the spot without hesitation. I want to argue that even though I do not support her lies and hiding secrets from her own husband, it obviously shows that she can play dumb just to get what she wants in life. As a housewife who must secretly do things behind her husband’s back just to enjoy a few macaroons, you can tell right off the bat that Helmer loves the fact that he can control Nora as if she was one of the dolls in the house. Soon Nora begins to show her true colors as Helmer pushes her to the brink of destruction.

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,

Women have always been recognized for their strong influence on the actions of men. Because of his love for Delia, Samson told his secret of his power and ended up losing it. In Shakespeare's Macbeth, Lady Macbeth urged Macbeth to commit murder. More recently, Eleanor Roosevelt strongly influenced the decisions that Franklin D. Roosevelt made. Women of Homer's epic, The Iliad, were considered primary instigators of the Trojan war. The characteristics attributed to women in ancient Greek mythology may have been key to the outbreak of the war. But many ask why Homer would choose to reflect so deeply on the feminine roles of this war fought by men.

Trisha Yearwood said, “What’s meant to be will always find a way.”; does this statement hold true? The Iliad, by Homer, and Destino, by Walt Disney and Salvador Dali are similar because the curious girl in Destino and Helen in The Iliad both choose a partner from many options, there are stereotypical gender roles present, and there are symbols of hope used. In both The Iliad and Destino the idea of love and sacrifice is very common. Helen chooses multiple guys to be her partner and doesn’t find the right one until she meets Menelaus and they get married.

In Conrad's Heart of Darkness Marlow, the main character, symbolizes the positiveness of Imperialism. Marlow, as a character realizes the evil that negative Imperialism has caused and decides it is truly unnecessary. When Marlow says, "I had got a heavenly mission to civilize you," he is expressing his intentions to assist the Africans in their development and advancement. Marlow recognizes the fact that he is an invader into an unfamiliar land when he says, "I was an impostor," yet he sticks to his moral values.

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?"

The role of women in Greek literature has demoralized them and showing them in a maligned light. The women are portrayed as frail, cruel, insensitive, or as seductresses. These characteristics have been integrated into today’s society and [have] built the standards and defined the moral outlook of women. However, in Greek mythology, powerful and strong women are not as well celebrated, such as Athena. Homer’s The Odyssey construes the positive and negative role of women through the epic poem. The women in the poem are depicted through the contrasting actions of Penelope and the maids, in addition with the opposite personalities between the goddess Athena and the nymph Calypso.