Women and Deception in Homer's Odyssey Essay

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.

      Penelope and Helen are the real human women who can steal men's hearts with their own feminine ways and they never let their man go.  Helen stole the heart of Paris and later married Menelaus-the love that Paris had for Helen began the long Trojan War.  Even with her shaded past, Helen is able to live her life as a proper adjusted middle-class matron.  Penelope and Odysseus were only together for a few years before he was sent off to war and, while he was gone for over twenty years, his love for her lasted.  Penelope is the symbol of marital fidelity, of trust, honor  and devotion.

Odysseus has no reason to save his men’s lives but for his own convenience. Finally, Odysseus is home and after a long journey in which he shows no heroic actions and yet proves to be nothing but a villain, he once again proves throughout his actions that he is a villain. Odysseus is finally home, on Ithaca, and is then helped by Athena and disguises himself as an old beggar. He proves then to be a villain by seeking his revenge for the suitors and maidservants that once betray him (696, summary). Another way in which Odysseus shows he is a villain is when he finally reunites with his wife Penelope and reacts with rage when she tests him. This reveals Odysseus is a villain because he reacts as if he was innocent and some way being betrayed by his own wife. Of course, though, he never tells his loyal wife Penelope about his love affairs with Calypso and Circe. In conclusion, Odysseus throughout his actions proves to be not only veil but a villain. He leads his men into trouble, kills the suitors and maidservants without mercy, and betrays loyal wife. This allows readers to truly see Odysseus other side. He was a villain and there is no doubt about it. However, think about his so called heroic actions and the way he made everything work out for his own benefits. He knew he was a villain and somehow still got away with

In the Odyssey, Odysseus proves to be a very selfish person because he often leaves his loyalty towards his wife to have relations with other women and goddesses. He sleeps with other people for his own pleasure, making this a very selfish act. In book ten, he was trapped on the witch-god Kirke’s island of Aeaea for a whole year. During this three hundred sixty five year period, he does not attempt to leave. By not leaving he demonstrates how he puts his wife aside to live with other women and leaves his wife sick with worry and full of grim thoughts. While he was there, he and his men lived in luxury, but every night Odysseus would sleep with Kirke. This means that every night Odysseus broke his loyalty to Penelope and committed the selfish act of having relations with other women. By being with Kirke, Odysseus prioritizes his life in such a way that being with other women is more important than loving his wife, who during the time Odysseus has been gone did not have relations with a single man even though one hundred and eight were in line to be with her. Odysseus proves again and again that his love

Odysseus is unheroic because he is not loyal. Odysseus has committed acts of adultery throughout his journey that is improper because he is married to his only faithful wife, Penelope and had a son with her, Telemachus. When Homer wrote, “As he thus spoke, the sun went down and darkness came; and going to the inner chamber of the hollow grotto, they stayed together for the happy night.” (Homer 62) This quote shows that Odysseus went with a goddess, Calypso, to be happy in her small picturesque cave. In other words, that meant they went and had intercourse since the author described the night’s mood as “happy” in her hollow grotto (what else do they do in her dwelling?). On page 127, it says, “Poor fools where are we

Odysseus was both physically and emotionally unfaithful to Penelope, his wife. On the island of Ogygia, Odysseus slept with Kalypso numerous times over the seven years. Although it was Kalypso that wished to lay with Odysseus, it was his choice to agree to her, “She received me, she loved me.” (224) His decision to be unfaithful to his wife was caused by no one but himself. His promiscuous behavior followed him to the island of Aiolia. He was smitten by Kirke, a witch who had transformed Odysseus’s men into pigs. His affair with her lasted for an entire year. If it were not for his crew, it is without a doubt that Odysseus would have forgotten about Ithaka and remained on Aiolia forever, “So day… year grew fat.” (pg 179). All the while Odysseus had been

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.

            Odysseus was a man of honor, a man who had fought in a war and won.  For such a courageous man to return home to find it full, idly standing by would not be considered virtuous.  In order to prove that his status of King remained a strong title, Odysseus had to purge his home of rogues, and fancy women who had dishonored his lady.  Such was acceptable at his time, and therefore considered common.  Odysseus’s sense of honor was vital in his role as an adventurer and a monarch of Ithaka. 

Does Homer exhibit gender bias in the Odyssey?  Is the nature of woman as depicted in the Odyssey in any way revealing? Upon examining the text of the Odyssey for differential treatment on men and women, it becomes necessary to distinguish between three possible conclusions.  One, differences in treatment reflect the underlying Homeric thesis that  women are "different but equal in nature,"  Two, different treatment  of men and women in the text reflect a thesis that women are "different and unequal in nature" -- arguments about misogyny fall in here but a host of other interpretive possibilities are possible too. Three, the different treatment reflects simple ignorance. How much do we attribute what we discover to male authorship -- or

Odysseus is doing nothing wrong when, despite knowing his wife was alive and faithful, commits adultery with two other women. However, it would most likely be unforgivable to Odysseus if Penelope had been unfaithful and remarried not knowing whether her husband was still alive, and desperately needing a husband. Male seducers are represented by boys sowing their oats; a normal part of male life. Seduced females are viewed, however, as weak, frail, and treacherous. These examples speaks volumes about Homer's view regarding the inequalities between men and women in his epic.

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

The first woman that I think caused Odysseus problems on his journey is Calypso. Calypso, her name meaning “the concealer” in Greek, using her beauty kept Odysseus captive on her island for seven years. “He is left to languish in misery in the island home of Calypso, who keeps him captured there.” (Page 63) Odysseus is upset because firstly on the island of Ogygia, Odysseus is powerless: he is no

The islands of Circe and Calypso in Homer’s Odyssey are places where Odysseus’ most challenging problems occur. In contrast to battles with men, Cyclops, or animals, sexual battles with women are sometimes much more difficult to win. These two female characters are especially enticing to Odysseus because they are goddesses. Though it is evident that Odysseus longs to return to Penelope in Ithaka, it sometimes appears that he has lost vision of what life was like with a wife, a son, and with thousands of people who regard him as King. Although his experiences on the islands of these goddesses were similar in that he was retained from Ithaka for the longest periods of his adventure, these goddesses and the

Who is the ideal Greek man? It can be argued that through the illustration Homer weaves throughout the Odyssey, Odysseus's character traits cast a lens as a prime example of a man in ancient Greek society. He appears to be brave, intelligent, well-spoken, and clever. Much of his knowledge is discovered by his travels, absorbing the local culture around him and using it as a guide. Aristocratic and a warrior. Perhaps the best warrior of all time. It is the Iliad which presents these attributes initially. The commander of the Greek army, Agamemnon, calls on Odysseus for assignments frequently, ones that required someone cunning and brilliant. He sends Odysseus off to ask Achilles if he would be willing to return the army and has Diomedes come along also into the Trojan camp to gain more information. Odysseus must act quickly on his feet impulsively in order to not be caught. Interestingly enough, despite how valiant he can be during battle, it is in the Odyssey in which it becomes clear how Odysseus can be seduced and enchanted by women. In the Odyssey, myriad examples of such temptation reflect the importance of gender and the role of women. His specific interactions make this clear, creating an interesting duality between the power of men and women as illustrated throughout the poem.