Typically ancient Greek women are thought to be very helpful, and powerful. Especially those who were queens or in major political positions of power. Contrary to this belief, a large sum of women in The Odyssey are more harmful than helpful. Women play a negative role in The Odyssey, constantly creating obstacles for Odysseus. They are portrayed as evil, manipulative, and even monstrous.
Many women in The Odyssey are portrayed as evil. In the first place, the women are seen as evil because they commit several wrongdoings, ranging in severity. One of many examples of evil women in The Odyssey is Circe who keeps Odysseus’s men captive by turning them into pigs. This is shown when Hermes tells Odysseus that Circe has captured his men. Homer writes “She has enslaved your men by magic.”(122). This presents how evil the plan she had really is, which was to capture
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Moreover, women in The Odyssey are discerned as manipulative because they are seen constantly impeding Odysseus and his men. There are a few examples of manipulation occurring, but the most prominent is when Penelope deceived the suitors, who she promised to mary. For example, Penelope promises that after she weaves a shroud for Odysseus’s father, she would choose a new husband. “She wove all day at her loom for three long years”(15). This demonstrates how she manipulated the suitors by delaying the promise she made of choosing a new husband from the group of suitors. Comparatively, another woman from The Odyssey who is manipulative is the goddess, Athena. She exploited almost everyone by disguising herself as different creatures or people. For example, when Nestor, king of Pylos sees Athena reveal herself from her disguise, he prays to her “Grant fame and good fortune to my wife and sons.”(29). This exhibits how nobody knew who she was when in disguise, but much to their surprise she reveals herself during the feast on
In these examples, Homer is intending to win our admiration for Penelope. Her loyalty to Odyssey and the slim chance that that he may still be alive are taken to a heroic level, which defy the apparent convention of the day that a woman should not be without a husband. Her cunning in keeping the suitors at bay are also to be admired, and have a parallel in the cunning of Odysseus himself, as Odysseus is also often praised for his resourcefulness in overcoming obstacles.
The Odyssey, females play a more significant role in Odysseus’ journey by assisting him with overcoming challenges and directing him toward success, ultimately allowing him to reach Ithaca. Athena and Circe are two major characters who contribute to Odysseus’ success by providing him hospitality and guidance when most needed and helping him defeat the suitors who take over
Women form an important part of the folk epic, written by Homer, The Odyssey. Within the story there are three basic types of women: the goddess, the seductress, and the good hostess/wife. Each role adds a different element and is essential to the telling of the story.
As the request is made of his own mother she simply abides to her son’s wishes, “She bathed now, put on some fresh clothes,” (Homer l 17.60). All throughout the Odyssey Penelope shows her strength to ward off suitors and she manages to live without her husband for years. Remaining faithful the entire time to her husband Odysseus she discloses to her maid, “Eurynome, don’t try to coax me, care for me as you do, to bathe myself, refresh my face with oils. Whatever glow I had died long ago… the gods of Olympus snuffed it out that day my husband sailed away in the hollow ships,” (Homer ll 18.201-206) presenting to the reader that she lost all desire for anyone else when Odysseus’ left for war. This further substantiates the Greek view of how women should remain loyal at all times forsaking others. Lastly Penelope is rewarded for her lasting devotion to her husband with his return. In these characters and their specific roles in the Odyssey the Greeks’ insisted upon their women to accept such roles in their culture of certain hypocrisy when compared to that of their female counterpart. Without Athena’s support Odysseus would have never reached Ithaca and Telemachus would not have been pushed into becoming a man. Without Penelope’s loyalty, devotion, and support Odysseus’ efforts in his journey home would have held little merit of reward. What is most important to note is the male character of Odysseus plays the most prominent role in the epic but
Women play an influential role in The Odyssey. Women appear throughout the story, as goddesses, wives, princesses, or servants. The nymph Calypso enslaves Odysseus for many years. Odysseus desires to reach home and his wife Penelope. It is the goddess Athena who sets the action of The Odyssey rolling; she also guides and orchestrates everything to Odysseus’ good. Women in The Odyssey are divided into two classes: seductresses and helpmeets. By doing so, Homer demonstrates that women have the power to either hinder of help men. Only one woman is able to successfully combine elements of both classes: Penelope. She serves as a role model of virtue and craftiness. All the other women are compared to and contrasted with Penelope.
Circe and Calypso, while very tricky and sly, are still very strong feminine characters. Circe takes Odysseus' crew and turns them into swine; when Odysseus is able to resist her spell, due to the Moly he had been given by Hermes, she is dismayed and takes him as her lover. She is mysterious and seductive and is strong even up against Odysseus. Calypso is a sea nymph who keeps Odysseus captive for nine years, hoping to make him her husband. She is a strong-willed temptress whose sultry ways are able to reel in even the most determined man.
Other women in the Odyssey are not portrayed as well as Athena and Eurykleia. Melantho, for example, is one of the debauched maids in Ithaka. She is rude and inhospitable to Odysseus when he is disguised as a beggar. She says to him: “Wretched stranger, you must be one whose wits are distracted, when you will not go where the smith is at work, and sleep there, or to some public gathering place, but staying here speak out boldly…” (XVIII, 327-330). She is also
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
In Homer's composition, The Odyssey, the roles women play are very significant. The best examples of the true nature of women occur when Odysseus encounters Circe and Calypso. These two characters illustrate the thoughts and feelings of how women how a woman feels and how they think. As the quote states, Circe and Calypso illustrate how women really can be crafty, intelligent, sneaky, disloyal, and cruel. In contrast to battles with men, Cyclops, or animals, sexual battles with women are sometimes much more difficult to win.
Greek society is highly stratified, one where the distinctions between Nobles, peasants, and slaves are explicit. While many people consider women oppressed in the ancient hierarchy, this notion is somewhat contradicted in the Odyssey, where many women act as powerful figures. Penelope separates herself from the suitors that plague her palace, who are relentless in their pursuit for her hand in marriage. Circe has the capability to seduce an entire unit of Odysseus’ men and turn them into pigs. Athena benevolently guides Telemachus over the many obstacles he faces on his quest to seek out his father. Helen defects from Sparta, rallying all of Troy for her cause. Clytemnestra deceitfully plans Agamemnon's death for her new love interest, Aegisthus. Women in the Odyssey show that through seduction, trickery, and wisdom, women of Ancient Greece are able to obtain significant power.
Women were very important to the Greeks, and they showed this value in many ways. In The Odyssey Homer shows us the different ways women were looked upon through female characters, such as Penelope, Naussica, and Anticlia.
Another example of how the rules and expectations for women did not apply to men in The Odyssey is when Eumaeus, the loyal swine herdsman of Odysseus, recounts how he came to Ithaca as a captive of a slave woman, Phoinikia. This woman was seduced by a roaming seafarer who, '…made such love to her as women in their frailty are confused by, even the best of them.'; The god Artemis later kills Phoinikia for her 'treachery.';
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.
The Odyssey includes many women characters, differing from strong, powerful women to women that don’t have a meaningful role in the story. Some women in the story include Penelope, Athena, and Leucothea. These women play a role in Odysseus’s journey and life.
At the start of the epic poem The Odyssey we are introduced to a smart, cunning, stubborn man called Odysseus, that is being held captive by the nymph Calypso. Calypso has fallen in love with his charming ways and has trapped him on the island of Ogygia. He longs to go back to his home Ithaca, where his wife and son are waiting. He has many difficulties along the way, such as the sea monster Scylla and Charybdis who try to kill him, or Circe turning his men into pigs. But he also has people on his side who are trying to help him such as Athena. In fact most, of the factors contributing to his voyage home are women. In the epic poem the women are portrayed as strong beings and are important to the story. The women in this poem are depicted as resilient, determined, and wise when it comes to giving advice to Odysseus. Within the poem we see three different types of women: the hostess Arete or Circe, the goddess Athena, and the temptress such as the Sirens and even Calypso. The role of women in The Odyssey is one of the most important roles because they help Odysseus through his journey home back to Ithaca by giving him shelter, strategy, and guidance.