In many societies today, individuals are led to believe that the concept of women possessing their own strength or independence is abnormal. As a result, women experience the world in a constrained way in comparison to men, even if they are in higher classes of society. However, these extensive aspects of females are contradicted in some ancient Greek literature. In the epic poem, The Odyssey, Homer portrays women as a vital and powerful force through the characters Penelope and Circe, who counter the normality of misogyny in Homer’s time.
Penelope’s character displays how some women are able to exceed society’s standards and show strength and cleverness when it is necessary. For the many years that Odysseus has been away, Penelope is able
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Circe’s aggressive display of hospitality is the opposite of the general standard of how women are expected to perform. For instance, when Odysseus’ men arrive at her island, she deceives them into eating a meal with “her own vile pinch, to make them lose desire or thought of [their] dear father land” (Homer 10.30-31). While other women are expected to welcome men with open arms, Circe disregards the common notion and goes against them. Her ability to control and manipulate the situation for her own benefit shows how she holds a strong authority over anyone who might wish to challenge her. Including her firm control, her knowledge and intellect causes her to have a great effect on Odysseus’ future. For example, with her ability to see what is to come, Circe predicts “destruction for [Odysseus’] ship and crew” (Homer 12.104-105). Circe’s knowledge controls the choices that Odysseus makes in order to avoid his downfall which proves how he relies on her guidance and wisdom. Her prediction determines the fate of Odysseus’ men and impacts the course of events that happens afterwards. As well as her knowledge, Circe uses her appearance to seduce Odysseus and keep him on her island. Generally, Circe is perceived as “a dominant figure that tempts and empowers men” (Phillips). While men are generally known to take advantage of women, Circe misleads and overpowers them for her own gain. Her need to show dominance helps build her strong and formidable character that has a vital impact on the lives of Odysseus and his men. Throughout the poem, Circe’s character establishes how women are able to conquer and prevail over others with their own strength and
In Homer’s novel, The Odyssey, many values from society in that time period are shown throughout the story that helps us see what things were like in that era. For example, the way the women in the story are portrayed reflects how women were treated as less than men in that time period. In the chapter, “The Witch Circe”, Odysseus’ men are captured by the powerful goddess Circe, but when Odysseus goes to fight her “The witch, realizing she has met her match, frees Odysseus’ men”, (Homer 2000), and he is able to persuade her into letting them off the island. Odysseus is able to easily take down a goddess who is so powerful she is called a witch, suggesting that in this society it was thought that women were possibly helpless and weaker than men.
Women are often looked upon as weak; how men are more superior and more dominate in the world. What happens when the roles are reversed? What happens when women turn malicious and do what ever it is they can, to come out on top? Throughout the Odyssey and Oedipus, the roles of women in both plays are different as one will do anything in their power to be more powerful and as the other is doing anything to become powerful on her own. Each woman differs in their abilities as it has both positive and negative effects.
Since the beginning of time, men have always been portrayed as stronger and more powerful than women. Throughout the epic poem, The Odyssey, women's role in society is made clearly evident. Homer wrote the poem somewhere between 1200-500 B.C.E in Ancient Greece. During that period, women were seen and treated differently than they are today.
The Odyssey by Homer bares a multitude of symbols, such as the sirens, Calypso, and Circe. However, in the story they are more than temptresses meant to lure Odysseus away from his task at hand with their alluring voices and beautiful visages. The mesmerizing women are personifications of the faults of men. When Odysseus succeeds in escaping their clutches it makes him more heroic because he doesn’t suffer from the flaws many others before him have died from. Calypso, the banished nymph of Ogygia kept Odysseus on her island for eight years due to her love for Odysseus.
“let’s go to bed together, mount my bed and mix in the magic work of love…” (240). There were an abundant number of powerful female roles in The Odyssey. Every female role used their strengths differently; the most reoccurring use of their powers was for alluring men. Man’s greatest weakness is women, and with such powerful women, it causes temptation and conflict leading to a more interesting story.
In the epic poem The Odyssey the author Homer was put in the unique position of portraying women in a light they had not been seen in before. Women in The Odyssey function as both obstacles and guides, and are contrastingly portrayed as both powerful and subservient. Women in The Odyssey, are contrastingly portrayed as both almighty gods, and powerless mortals. The goddesses play very controlling, and demanding roles in the epic. The role of the goddesses is to be a supernatural force, that use their power to help mortals.
In the epic poem, The Odyssey, by Homer, there are many female characters who play the role of a villain. Calypso, Scylla, Charybdis, and the sirens are among the women with the largest, negative impacts on Odysseus’ journey home. Though some women, such as Athena, Eurycleia, and Penelope, are loyal to Odysseus throughout the poem. With such a wide range of female characters, they all contribute different things throughout the book, whether the impact of their actions is negative or positive. Regardless of the outcomes, Homer has quite a modern view of female representation in his poem.
Oedipus the King and Antigone, by Sophocles, represent the various responsibilities and characteristics of women, as well as how society and men affect their positions. Jocasta and Eurydice demonstrate the role of wives in ancient Greece, while Jocasta and Antigone highlight the roles that women occasionally take as rebels. The roles of wives and rebels illustrate the strong contrast between the societal expectation of weak women and their ability to fight against men’s and god’s tyranny; and the play Antigone demonstrates this more powerfully than Oedipus the King. By revealing women and their different standings in a society, Sophocles shows how they are often objectified to demeaning attributes and are expected to be inferior to men.
These women influenced the conditions of the journey by guiding Odysseus in different directions, and aiding him crucially. Their authority showed the idea behind an old proverb, which states, “Behind every great man there’s a great woman”. Throughout The Odyssey, the women exemplified their power during the course of Odysseus’ journey. Odysseus’ wife, Penelope, bravely held down the front in Ithaca while her husband struggled to find his way back home. In Book 18, Penelope spoke to the ever-so-desperate suitors about what Odysseus “told” her before he left.
The odyssey, an epic story, written by Homer portrays women in several different ways and therefore women play an important role. Set in a period close to the Trojan War, Men were recognized as of higher status then women, and were seen as the stronger gender. Stereotypically, a woman was judged by the wealth and position of her husband or father. A woman would be required to be married at a youthful age and have children. Typically, women were not educated.
The respectable male characters such as Odysseus treat women well, but mostly for their appearance and marriage potential. Near the beginning, after washing up on the island of the Pheaecians, he meets a girl and says, “Mistress: please: are you divine, or mortal? If one of those who dwell in the wide heaven, you are the most near to Artemis, I should say,” (8). To
Circe was one of Odysseus greatest adviser during his time with her. Penelope stayed strong while Odysseus was gone and raised a son while staying faithful to her husband. Women are not only the beings that start life but the ones that make it so much easier for all of
In spite of the fact that Homer’s Odyssey is an epic story of a man’s gallant journey, women play a huge part throughout. Their unique yet controversial personalities, intentions, and relationships are vital to the development of this epic and adventurous journey of Odysseus. The poem by Homer was written at a time when women had an inferior position in society, yet that didn’t stop them from being any less influential. All of the women throughout the Odyssey possess different qualities, but all of them help to define the role of the ideal woman.
Faithful Odysseus What does fidelity mean? Merriam-Webster defines this term as, “The quality or state of being faithful.” (webster) In the book The Odyssey by Homer, we are introduced to the Trojan war hero named Odysseus, who spends 20 years venturing home to be reunited with his loving wife, Penelope, and son Telemachus. Through twists and turns of the epic, Odysseus is faced with scenarios which might leave the reader thinking that he is an adulterer.
Of all things that live and have intelligence, we women are the most wretched creatures” (Euripides, 21). This relates to the historical background, because, as demonstrated by Medea, women have no equality in their male-dominated