The Odyssey Of Homer, A Homeric Epic Essay

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.

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.

Penelope rules over her kingdom and house for most of the poem, a position that almost no women could claim to hold in Homeric times. Ruling over such a large house is very hard for Penelope, she is constantly surrounded by liars who claim information about Odysseus. As she surmises to Odysseus one time, “I armed myself / long ago against the frauds of men, / imposters who might come” (23. 242-5). Furthermore, she must invent reasons to stay unmarried so no other man may rule Ithaca while Odysseus is at sea. As one of her suitors describes her tricks he points out one of her more infamous tricks. stating “So everyday she wove on the great loom- / but every night by torchlight she unwove it, / and so for three years she deceived the Akhaians” (24. 157-159). These tricks to fend off suitors and her wariness of foreigners allows her to rule the house in her husband’s stead while he is at sea. Homer also implied that carrying this position of power has not been

‘The Odyssey’, like other epic poems, is patriarchally centered. The poem is focused on “godlike” Odysseus and his laborious journey home (Homer __). In Ancient Greece, the time of Homer, women were commonly viewed as part of oikos headed by the male kyrios. They were expected to be submissive, domesticated, and viewed as their master’s property. This raises an important question in the context of this epic: are women only secondary characters that blindly follow the decisions of their male counterparts or do they have the ability to make their decisions freely? Homer, a forward thinker for his time, allowed the reader to make this judgement by including two paradoxical characters: Penelope and Calypso. Penelope, the “faithful” wife of Odysseus, spends most of her time crying and longing for her husband. She is compliant and passive, never making a decision without her husband (homer __). Calypso, on the other hand, takes her sexuality into her own hands. She traps Odysseus in Ogygia and attempts to force herself on him, showing that she does not follow the norms of being an obedient woman. Through the inclusion of Penelope and Calypso, Homer is able to address the view of women in typical epic poems by both accepting it and challenging it in order to redefine what is expected of epic tradition.

A hero isn’t shaped by his strengths but by the values he possesses. Homer’s epic, The Odyssey, reveals the moral and ethical constitution of the ancient Greeks. Over time, certain cultures have grown to value a number of human characteristics. Those who acquire such values become respected heroes. After the fall of Troy, the protagonist of the epic, Odysseus, set sail for his home, Ithaca, where his faithful wife and son were waiting for him. Over the course of his journey, Odysseus faced some of the most ferocious opponents known to the Greeks. Even through this formidable journey, Odysseus and his family have stayed true to the diverse aspects of the ancient Greeks. The Odyssey exemplifies the human ideals of hospitality, loyalty and

he Odyssey, as written by Homer, intricately and excitingly weaves Colin Renfrew’s Subsystem Theories throughout the entire play. Many of the five subsystem theories can be seen and support understanding of the novel. Of the five systems, trade/communication, social/ political hierarchy and symbolic subsystems will be the focus of analysis in this paper. All of these subsystems come together in The Odyssey to explain the characters and their lives, and also how they fit into the society which they live in. To understand the growth and development of the characters, we must understand the systems theories, “many human actions have a meaning at several different levels, with undertones and overtones… it is the complex interconnectedness of the subsystems which gives human culture its unique potential for growth.” As this paper will demonstrate within The Odyssey, trade and communication, social and political hierarchy and lastly symbolic subsystems create adventure in Odysseus’s harrowing, yet exciting journey back to his kingdom and family. These specific subsystems add depth and excitement because we see how each specific one impacts Odysseus’s journey back home. They help us understand who Odysseus is a man and sympathize with all that he goes through. The communication subsystem helps explain how communication between people (and gods) in different lands aid to the success of his return home. We are able to see from the social subsystem how Odysseus and other men

The monsters of Homer’s The Odyssey as written by Robert Fitzgerald all share traits in common, but there is always the small differences which make each close encounter more gripping than the last. When the not-so-glorious Odysseus, son of Laertes just manages to elude the cannibalistic clutches of the blinded Kyklops (IX) and takes to the high seas, he becomes arrogant and taunts his nemesis. He does not realize this, but the very words he uttered then sets the holy executioner upon the necks of his crew. Every island he passes or makes port at, his men become feasts for native monsters; however upon the beautiful island of Aiolia his men are not eaten, nor do they die at the hands of any mortal or immortal foe. What is so significant

The #MeToo movement has brought the most recent revelations of misogyny in modern society. Sexism has been present throughout history, and the Greek society in Homer’s The Odyssey is no exception. It tells of the hero Odysseus’ journey back to his wife, Penelope, and his son, Telemakhos, on Ithaka, including his delays by the nymph, Kalypso. Throughout the epic, Homer portrays that society’s perceptions of female inferiority lead to harsher expectations of and stereotypes for women, as shown by the powerlessness, sexual double standard, and seductive stereotypes of women.

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.

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.

     Until recently, the role of women in literature has seemed to reflect the way they were treated in society. Women were seen as secondary to men, and their sole purpose in life was to please a man’s every desire. This is not the case in three specific literary works. The Odyssey, The Wife of Bath, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight use the actions of its women characters to greatly enhance important thematic elements. The women in each of these works use feminine psyche to persuade men to do things that men of the time would not usually do. The use of women in these literary works is very contrary to the prevailing ideals of the female and her responsibilities at the

Penelope and the maids have contradicting personalities, which is one of the highlights of the epic poem. Penelope’s nature is that she is strong, independent, and does not give in to their constant woo, whereas the maids bring dishonor to the royal family by prejudicing Odysseus in his beggar outfit, and sleeping with the suitors. Penelope is originally depicted as weak and frail, however, this is a ploy for her primary intentions. The suitors had approached Penelope, after years of Odysseus being away at war, and finding his way back home. Eventually, they decided that one should secure the king’s throne of Ithaca, and become Penelope’s husband. Her actions are shown as cunning and manipulative, “‘There she was all day long, working away at the great web; but at night she used to unravel it by

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,

In Homer's epic poem, the Odyssey, the recurring theme of intelligence is important because through intelligence, Odysseus is able to utilize wit and cunning to suit his needs and wants, as well as defeat bigger and stronger opponents than he. Through the stories of Odysseus' sufferings throughout the Trojan War and his struggles of homecoming, Homer portrays intelligence as being an effective application of strength used to gain an advantage over his opponents. Odysseus is depicted as an intellectual hero, who focuses on brain and sophrosune, rather than the typical martial hero, such as Achilles in the Iliad, who focuses on brawn and action provoked by emotion.