Double Standards In Homer's The Odyssey

Throughout The Iliad, Homer highlights the gender inequalities between Helen and her male counterparts Agamemnon, Achilles, and Paris. Homer accentuates the objectification of women through conflicts between male characters. In Book 1, the audience is first introduced to this idea in a speech by the King of Mycenae, Agamemnon. The mighty king demands, “I don 't want to see the army destroyed like this. But I want another prize ready for me right away.

In Homer’s The Odyssey, particular characters have some sort of disguise that allows them to deceive others. In the epic, there is also a demonstration of inequality between men and women. The idea of guile in The Odyssey was raised multiple times throughout the epic and it was often considered to be wisdom. From the beginning of the epic, we see characters praising men for their “wisdom” and women are oppressed for the majority of their actions, including lying.

Othello is easily convinced his wife is cheating on him and feels emasculated and humiliated as a result. We should also note that it 's impossible to discuss gender and sexuality without considering race – several characters in the play, including Othello, believe that black men sexually contaminate white women, which may partially explain why Othello sees his wife as

Although in the book men are the ones who mainly objectify females, the women themselves also seem to do the same. In the context of the book, the women play a role in how men sexualize their bodies. A great parts of this reflected on Beli, the mother of Oscar, her body was one that could mesmerize a man, prospering infatuations with her curvy features. At a young age Beli realized what her body can do to boys, to men. “ It dawned on Beli: that men liked her!

Where Pericles said that money did not matter, but did not really mean it; Socrates said money did not really matter and means it. “A citizen of the great and mighty and wise city of Athens, -- are you not ashamed of heaping up the greatest amount of money and honor and reputation, and caring so little about wisdom and truth and the greatest improvement of the soul” (Plato, 66)? Socrates said, “Not to take thought for your persons or your properties, but first and chiefly to care about the greatest improvement of the soul. I tell you that virtue is not given by money, but that from virtue comes money, and every other good of man, public as well as private” (Plato, 66). Socrates believes that Athenian citizens are more concerned with their wealth, but they should not be.

Odysseus did not tell the full truth to his men, he slept with the goddesses and he was impatient. If Odysseus would’ve told the truth and done what the gods told him to do, he would’ve gotten to Ithaca faster. Based on the story and the facts, Odysseus was prideful, unloyal and irresponsible, therefore, I deem that Odysseus is not an archetype hero. Odysseus was prideful. He thought that he could beat anyone who came up on his path.

Some people consider him a hero and some people don’t. Whether he seems heroic or not, he has a story full of mentors and helpers which were vital to his journey. His main mentors and helpers were Zeus, Athena, and his family. Zeus kept the other gods from punishing Odysseus, especially Poseidon. He decided most of Zeus his actions were justified and should not be punished.

Until today many people are unable to admit that

However, in Lysistrata, the characters never reach the kind of love Plato described in Symposium; where people would “have built noble temples and alters, and offered solemn sacrifices in his honour” (Plato, Symposium). In Lysistrata, even though the war ended, the nature of love between both sexes never changed; it was still based on sex. Personally, I think that men never understood the power and strength women possess, they only appreciated the sex more. Yet, in Symposium, both sexes were equal; Aristophanes never said that one sex was stronger than the other. Instead, he described how strong both were when united and how helpless both were when

A true hero would sacrifice himself instead or at least try to come up with an alternate plan that did not involve fatalities. Odysseus did not even try to reason with the gods, but instead just went with what the gods said. If Odysseus had stuck up for himself to the gods instead of sitting around following orders, then his best six men would not have died. Meanwhile, Penelope continued being strong by setting a remarkable example of sticking up for oneself. In fact, Penelope can attest to the fact that knowing who you are and what you want carries you relatively far in life.

In the article “Religions: The Basics” by Malory Nye talks about female writers, inequality and the distinction between males and females. In the article it mentioned how the term Androcentricism assumes that the male’s perspective and experiences are the most vital and key point of reference. I agree with Mary Daly that the concept of belief in a male deity leads to profound sexual inequalities. The reason I agree with Mary Daly is due to the fact there is a lot of gender differences and that women are viewed as inferior, while men are more superior. It is surprising that in western culture, they can’t go a day without woman-male distinction.

This male audience would have taken it as a potential threat to “male hegemony that was demonstrably dangerous” (Fletcher 30). Euripides for the better or worst, depending on how the male audience reacted, controversially sobered the viewers into the reality of honoring women. To add, “in Aristophanes 's Frogs, the poet Aeschylus complains that Euripides has made tragedy democratic by allowing his women and slaves to talk as well as the master of the house“(Foley 13). This is unquestionably true, especially with how the play begins.

His plays are based on the combination of different kinds of humor and political and social satire. One of his most important plays is Lysistrata. In the lysistrata, it is about women withholding sex from their husbands to end the Peloponnesian war. Lysistrata persuades the women to not have sex with their husbands to basically have some peace, but it only caused problems between the sexes. This play shows how much mind control women have over men.

Whether its intoxication, risqué attire or innocent flirting, women are always blamed for men’s inability to keep it in their pants- just as Janine is blamed for being gang-raped. Society has made women fear things they shouldn’t have to fear because of the expectation that men want to have sex. In a male-controlled society penetration becomes the norm. Excuses are made for the perpetrator and the victim is shamed. Sexual assault is perceived as NORMAL- to the extent where public figures defend it.

Most societies, both past and present, worship one or multiple deities. The powers and characteristics of these gods vary among cultures, and the personalities of one society’s deities directly influence the culture and beliefs of its people. The discrepancies between the religions of different civilizations can be observed through the literary works of their religion and mythology. The Judeo-Christian God, who is shown in the Bible to be absolute both in power and in judgment, is antithetical to the Greek gods, who are depicted as having human traits and flaws. In Homer’s Odyssey, many gods are shown to act on their own self-interest, keeping favorites among the mortals and conspiring against other gods.