Is Helen A Woman Or A Hoe?

The Iliad uncovers the truth behind what Greeks believed to be the role of women in society. The Greek goddesses and the mortal women represent two sides that women had in society. The Greek goddesses held power over the war, whereas, the mortal women are there as prizes or timé. Aphrodite is the prime example of a goddess who held a lot of power, mainly by using manipulation, in the Trojan War. Helen represents the quintessential idea of a woman representing timé. These two portrayals of women in Greek society depict how people recognized women’s role in society, with Aphrodite representing a woman with power as a manipulative goddess and Helen representing a woman who was merely timé, a prize to be obtained.

Women are a very prominent part of the Greek society. Their role has influenced and shaped the Greek society to a very large extent. Women have been shown in many different lights in the Greek works of Odyssey and Iliad which we have covered in our class. The works that I will be citing in this essay, namely Homer’s poems Odyssey and Iliad talk about many prominent women such as Helen of Troy, Penelope and also many other Goddesses. Homer’s poems talk about the various traits of Greek women and portray their characteristics by describing their traits and the events they were involved in. Through this essay, I would like to illustrate how women were treated as objects of desire for

The Iliad and The Odyssey are tales written by Homer centered on the drama of the Trojan War. First poem deals with the time during the end of the war, while the latter, which occurs roughly ten years later, explains the disastrous journey of Odysseus fighting his way back home. The character of women in the Odyssey is to exhibit the many and diverse roles that women play in the lives of men. These functions vary from characters such as the goddess ' that help them to the nymphs who trick them. Women in the Iliad exhibit their significance in the lives of the ancient Greeks because they are so prominent in a world so dominated with military relations.

Firstly, Helen was one of the most inspired characters in The Iliad. Helen was depicted as powerless, beautiful and an object. After Paris taking Helen home, she realizes that Paris is not able to realize the consequences of her disobedience. Homer allows the reader to understand that Helen’s decisions are made for her. For instance, Aphrodite’s involvement in the duel on Helen’s behalf triggered Helen’s thoughts on blaming the g-ds for the war. By blaming Aphrodite, Helen shows her disrespect for the g-ds. However, Helen does not have a choice when she faces her decisions. For example, Aphrodite’s’ ordered her to return to the bedroom and make love with Paris. Helen rebelled and later on, Aphrodite enraged told her “to not provoke [her]… or in [her] immortal rage [she] may just toss [her] over, hate [her] as [she] adores [her] with a vengeance” (Iliad, 3. 480-482). Secondly, Homer enables the reader to understand that Helen’s guilt and “terrible beauty” is cursed and he is not depicting her harshly. In addition, the g-ds did not allow

     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.

The Iliad by Homer and the Women of Troy by Euripides are both Greek works of literature that look at the Trojan War from different perspectives. Book 6 of the Iliad illustrates that the ultimate glory is to fight for the city with no regard to the impact on the family. The Women of Troy focuses on the negatives that war causes, especially towards the soldier’s wives and children. Whereas the Iliad focuses on the battle itself and centers on the warriors, the Women of Troy focuses on the wrath the war brings upon the families left behind. The central theme in both the works is the Trojan War and they both offer perspectives of the duty of a person, the role of predetermined fate, and the role of women.

Helen with the face of an angel, which everyone wanted, was the reason for the Trojan War. In the end no one blames Helen because she is quick with her words and actions, that she can get her way without anyone knowing it was her idea in the first place. Penelope is the same way, she states to their suitors that she is going to weave a tapestry and when she is done she will chose a suitor. What the men don’t know is every day she weaves then at night she unweaves it to start again in the morning. Homer uses a technique to show that women are these pons in life, he contrasts Helen and Penelope to show that men are more powerful than women in life, but what they fail to realize is that women are sneaky in how they use their

In The Iliad and The Odyssey, Homer has different portrayals of the roles that women play in each epic. These differences are so striking that some readers have even argued that there is a possibility that a woman could have created The Odyssey, modeled after Homer’s Iliad. In The Iliad we see women represented as war prizes and slaves, vulnerabilities to men, and in positions of limited power. In The Odyssey however, we see women capturing men and keeping them as prizes, rising from a status of limited power to dominating their household, and breaking free of the constraints of the “typical” household woman stereotype. We even see them making their own decisions and challenging their husbands. By comparing and contrasting these epic women

In Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, various women, including gods and mortal women, have a pivotal role in Odysseus's journey home from the Trojan War. His journey is assisted and complicated by the intervention of women. The Greek women have a powerful influence in the lives of men.

Female characters from various stories play a significant role in shaping its outcome. In the epic poem, The Illiad by Homer, women stir up further violence and conflict, the same thing they seem to be condemning. The epic poem takes place in the ninth year of a brutal war between the Archaens and the Trojans. The only way either side can make maximum further advancements is through the assistance of divine power. Gods and goddesses govern the fate of the battle, as their immortality and divine powers gives the upper hand to those whom side the gods are on.

Conflict is a natural, recurring problem throughout history. Wars span thousands of years, with conqueror after conqueror trying to overpower the other or gain control over the entire world; however, there is always a reason behind this brutal madness. Greek society and many other cultures have designated certain objects or philosophies that cause mankind to be involved in war, including Homer, who was one of the earliest writers to pinpoint the beginning of conflict. Through the use of similes and imagery, Homer’s Iliad depicts the idea that women, the gods, fate, and vengeance generate conflict with unyielding consequences. The choice of setting in the Iliad also supports his ideas that women cause conflict, by beginning the Trojan War.

Murphy then goes on to discuss the role of women in the Iliad. Murphy states that, "Like the official taunters they do not themselves participate physically in the frequently savage fighting and feuding of the sagas which they often cause in a very direct and deliberate way by goading their men into curses of action sometimes very much against those men's good judgment and mutual friendship (111)."

Both women's roles in the books are influential, Tris advises her brother, Caleb Prior, to leave his faction because the Erudites are going to try and take over the government. Another example would be when Tris and her mother were the only ones out of the simulation and they go out and find their family. Thus prompting the audience to feel in the favor of Tris. The relations of women in The Iliad compares to those in the Divergent. Athena talks Hector into fighting Achilles, even though she disguised herself, it worked well enough that Hector went out and lost his life to Achilles. Another way women can be considered influential is when Theites pleads to Zeus to help Achilles and his loss of the prize, which Zeus ends up

In the world in which Agamemnon takes place, warfare and masculinity could be considered the most emphasized aspect of its society. Due to this, women are usually give the role of caretakers and grievers, and are excluded from decision-making processes. In short, the woman’s role in Agamemnon is that they simply provide emotional support following warfare, and becoming trophies to other warlords are the only aspect of warfare they are involved in. There are characters throughout this play that subvert this role such as Clytemnestra, other female characters, such as Iphigenia, and Cassandra, represent the way warfare has a direct effect on women. In this essay, I will examine a few of the female roles in this play, and give examples of how they are at the whim of their male and war dominated societies; as well as what this means for their society.

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,