The Force of Women 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 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.

     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 wrote the classic epic The Odyssey more than 2,500 years ago. At that time in ancient Greek society, as well as in the whole of the ancient world, the dominant role was played by men. Society was organized, directed, and controlled by men, and it was accepted that women occupied a subservient and inferior position. Women, of course, were valued, but were expected to possess certain traits and perform certain tasks that men demanded of them. Does Homer's writing in The Odyssey support or refute the common belief of his time regarding women? Homer endorsed the dominating belief of his time concerning women by treating the female characters unequally and differently compared to the male characters in

In “The Odyssey” there are many influential women, all of whom help Odysseus throughout his journey home. Three of the most influential women are Athena, Circe, and his wife Penelope. Each of these women has large roles in Odysseus’ journey, but only one holds the most power over Odysseus. For instance, Athena, the Goddess of wisdom, skills, and warfare may hold a significant amount of power over Odysseus, but not the most.

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.

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 The Odyssey, Odysseus goes through many challenging trials. He faces trials against monsters, is away from his family, and one his biggest trials are women. Odysseus is faced with four key women characters throughout his journey and two of them had slowed Odysseus down from coming home. At times, the women would help Odysseus through his journey and this will cause Odysseus to succeed in his journey. The Odyssey portrays the women as possibly evil, manipulative at times, and caring and helpful at other times and are loyal to someone or something.

Throughout Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, there are many strong women who help Odysseus on his journey. In Ancient Greece, women were not portrayed as strong because men were always superior to women. But in this epic poem, Homer, ignores these differences and really empowers women in this epic poem.

How are women portrayed in our time in society? Women in current times are portrayed as the home lady and the one who takes care of children and are not ones who show strength and power. The women in The Odyssey show otherwise. Odysseus,the king of Ithaca, lives through many moments where women in the story are very powerful, controlling and, smart. Athena, The Sirens, and Penelope are female characters in the Odyssey, show many ways that women were portrayed in Ancient Greece and how it is different from current day portrayal of women. Penelope, wife of Odysseus, shows that she is very smart. Athena, the god of peace and wisdom, shows that she is very powerful, and the mermaids, also known as

The Portrayal of women in the Odyssey Would you really have to portray a girl to get what you want? Can you do something different? The Odyssey was taken on by a greek legend, Odysseus over sea. In his journey there was different men and women along beside him, but the women were quite different in areas and in heart. Portrayal of women is in answer to all the women in the Odyssey.

Women play a significant role in the text that forms an important part of The Odyssey, an epic written by Homer in the 7th century B.C. Within the poem there are three basic types of women: the goddess, the seductress, and the good hostess/wife. Each role helps to create a different kind of element and is essential to the completion of the story.

Homer wrote two epic poems, The Iliad and The Odyssey. The Iliad is a tragedy that tells about the battles of the Trojan War. The Odyssey is somewhat of a sequel, the story of Odysseus 's travels home after the Trojan War. An article found in “The American Scholar” states, “ One might begin by asking what both epics, The Iliad and The Odyssey, would be like if there were no women in them. The Trojan war would not have been fought, and Odysseus (assuming he had gone to Troy in the first place) would not have bothered to return home.” (Lefkowitz. 504) This statement alone illustrates the importance of the women portrayed in these two epics.

Women play a crucial role in the tale of the Odyssey. Athena and the Circe of Aeaea are two of the most influential of female characters. Both have a high status of power, which makes their characters very prominent and vital to the plot.

Ancient Greek society contrasts Ancient Greek mythology due to the fact that women are portrayed differently in these two settings. Women in Ancient Greek literature, such as in the Odyssey, are shown to have many capabilities, play strong roles, and to some extent have great power and influence. This contrasts actual Ancient Greek society because women did not have much power or were not able to do as much as men could do. The role of women in the Odyssey is important to understand because there were several women in this epic who are seen as manipulative, bad or not trustworthy, and good or loyal.