Honor And Dignity In Homer's The Odyssey

Penelope is Odysseus’ wife who is faced with many suitors in her home on Ithaca. She is a very powerful woman in this epic being that she is married to Odysseus and is the mother of his son, Telemachus. Since Odysseus has not returned from the war and is assumed dead, many suitors try to replace him by taking Penelope's hand in marriage and Odysseus' property. She has been holding them off by making the excuse that she must first finish weaving a shroud for

In similar fashion to above, Odysseus shows disloyalty to Penelope, but this time, by flirting with other women and leading them on. Odyssey flirts with many women throughout the Odyssey, but one that really stood out, was him with Nausicaa and even her handmaids. Nausicaa the beautiful daughter of King Alcinous, first saw Odysseus when he ended up on her island after his long journey at sea. Odysseus came out of the bushes with nothing on, keeping his eyes on the beautiful women; “So Odysseus moved out...about to mingle with all those lovely girls...” (6. 148-149). Odysseus getting ready to mingle with the women proves that he is disloyal to Penelope because as a married man he should only be loyal to his wife and not be thinking about other women in that way. Along with that Odysseus is being disloyal through his actions because he is mingling with nausicaa but also mingles with her handmaids. Another example includes Odysseus gushing to Nausicaa, “I see her now- just look at your build, your bearing, your lithe flowing grace...” (6. 166-167). Complimenting Nausicaa further confirms Odysseus is disloyal to Penelope because by giving her compliments Odysseus is showing he thinks she is this beautiful girl which is ultimately leading her on. In addition, Odysseus does not even think about Penelope in this situation. He completely ignores the fact that his actions could have consequences in the future. In the same way as above, Odysseus continues to show disloyalty to Penelope, Alcinous stated in a longing way, “If only- you could wed my daughter and be my son-in-law and stay right here with us.” (7. 355 and 358-359). In this section of the Odyssey, Odysseus showed disloyalty once again to Penelope because Odysseus not only flirted with Nausicaa, but went to her parents house knowing nausicaa thought he might be the one she weds one day. After the fact that Alcinous mentioned this, Odysseus did not deny it at all and. Along with that, He never even told Nausicaa

Although Odysseus is a famous, intelligent and heroic figure, his loyalty to Penelope is nonexistent. This is revealed by his affairs with other woman, his extended journey home, and by the fact that he failed to make Penelope his priority. Loyalty is not a difficult concept, all Odysseus had to do to fulfill this was avoid other women, and put Penelope above his selfish ways. His failure to do this proves him to be an unreliable husband, who does not deserve his selfless and trustworthy wife. Loyalty is an essential part of marriage or any relationship and requires both people involved in the relationship. In this case Odysseus is one of those people, but unlike in a good relationship he fails to uphold the duties to be faithful to the other

In Homer’s Poem, The Odyssey, Penelope is the exceptionally patient and clever spouse of the infamous hero, Odysseus, and the mother of Telemachus. One poignant factor of Penelope’s character is her patience and devotion which is displayed throughout the poem. With her husband absent for a great majority of her life for the later of twenty years and his location unknown, Penelope stays, patiently awaiting Odysseus’ return, all whilst preserving their estate and raising her son by herself. Throughout this time, she had many persistent suitors in pursuit of her, abusing her husband’s absence.

Countless of these tearful songs have been written, describing the image of the woman behind a hero’s victory. In The “Odyssey”, Homer transforms the audience’s perspective about women significantly. All of them, whether beautiful woman or powerful goddesses, are occupied by sorrows. Especially, Penelope and Calypso--the two most influential women in both appearance and the complicated relationship with the guile hero. Although they have very different personalities and backgrounds--one is the queen of Ithaca, and the other is a magnificent goddess. However they are both caught in a same trouble--they expect too much from Odysseus, and they are striving for a hopeless purpose. They both undergo great sufferings, but neither of them is in control

Once back to Ithaca there were many suitors insulting him, his wife, son, house, and the gods and begging for Penelope’s hand in marriage. Odysseus is very vengeful in this situation. He showed no mercy towards them and killed all the suitors. Odysseus is different from other heroes. Well known heroes do not kill people with no sympathy or mercy.

The decisions and actions Odysseus makes throughout his Odyssey, not only call upon the person he is but shape the person he becomes, with many of the challenges honing his character. Homer uncovers the traits that most befittingly define Odysseus as honor, courage and guile. The traits that are glorified in The Odyssey, connect to recent times because they are comparable to those we think of when defining a hero or an impeccable human being. Odysseus’ use of his honor, courage and guile showcase how these traits allowed him to excel in his time and also are key traits all should have for the challenges we must face in

Double standards exist everywhere you go. In society, women and men are held to different standards. Whether it comes to strength, leadership, or appearance, they affect everything and everyone. These contrasting principles also apply to sexual fidelity. Often, men are praised and looked up to to having many sexual relationships. On the other hand, women are shamed for having the same relationships. These double standards are portrayed in literature as well. In Homer’s The Odyssey, we see these double standards applied to its’ story and characters. It was especially applied to Odysseus, the main Greek hero in this epic. Greek epic heros are figures that are meant to represent the ultimate mortal the ideals and common values in Greek culture,

Family is the fundamental building block of all societies. It is all inclusive across generations and cultures. Based on the epic poem The Odyssey and current families today, we see that family is where we learn to love ourselves and each other, to bear one another’s burdens, to find meaning in our life and to give purpose to other’s lives, and to feel the value of being part of something greater than ourselves. Family is where we experience our biggest triumphs, deepest vulnerabilities, and where we have the greatest potential to do good.

Another similar terrible sin is not being loyal to your spouse. Thankfully, Odysseus was a faithful husband to his wife, Penelope. Homer agrees when he writes “But in my heart, I never gave consent” (Homer, 917). Even though goddess and immortals desired him, he always only loved and longed for Penelope because of his admirable loyalty. Moreover, the only reason Odysseus remained with Calypso for so long was because she forced him to. That is until Athena pleaded with her powerful father, Zeus, to help liberate him. Justifying my idea, Homer wrote “Though he fought shy of her and her desire, he lay with her each night, for she compelled him” (Homer, 914). If it were not for the hypnotic nymph’s compulsion, the righteous Odysseus would have been reunited with his love and queen years before. In addition to Calypso falling in love with Odysseus, so did the enchantress Circe, who also kept him on her island and away from his home. Homer states “Odysseus and his men beg Circe to help them return home” (Homer, 935). Although Odysseus was given two chances to stay with a beautiful woman and become immortal, his love for Penelope, never ceased. Odysseus maintained his loyalty to his beloved because Homer wanted Odysseus to have heroic traits to make him more appealing as a role model in

In an epic poem, The Odyssey, by Homer, Odysseus struggles to come back home while his wife, Penelope, faces barbarous suitors who plague her house to court her for the marriage in order to claim the kingship of Ithaca. With an absence of the man of the household and a son who is not old enough to rule over the country and handle the domestic complications, Penelope endeavors to keep the household orderly and civilized. In order to prevent further chaos in the household, Penelope maintains her role as the Queen of Ithaca and Odysseus’s wife through her loyalty and cunning.

On his way to Penelope’s room, Odysseus gets insulted by her maid, Melantho. Penelope’s rebukes Melantho for being rude and because she needs to ask the beggar things about her husband. She asks, “Who are you? Of what people? Where is your town and kindred?” Odysseus says that he is “a man of sorrows”, so he can’t answer these questions. Penelope describes that she also has sorrows because she really doesn’t want to marry any of the suitors (185).

In a patriarchal society, women lie at the bottom of the social hierarchy. A patriarchy judges women for their beauty and innocence rather than merit and intelligence. Throughout the twenty-four books of The Odyssey as well as Game of Thrones, a modern day rendition of medieval society written by George. R. R. Martin, women struggle for power in society.

They both uphold the general values society places on their sexes, but through their hardships they are able to gain a fluidity in these roles not often given in their society. Odysseus was able to express emotion without undercutting his masculinity, and was able to appreciate his wife for more than her domestic accomplishments. While Penelope became a paradigm of fidelity, she also embodied inner-strength as she dealt with the turmoil of her missing husband, rowdy suitors, and the destruction of her kingdom; which allowed Odysseus to come to appreciate her ingenuity and his marriage in

During a time where males had complete hegemony over society, its customs, its people and its conventions, several women in the epic The Odyssey became notable through their actions that defied what it meant to be a woman in ancient Greece. As the wife of the renowned hero Odysseus, Penelope demonstrated a level of sagacity that rivaled that of her husband’s through the subtle deception of others. Similarly, the powerful magic wielding nymph Kalypso also revealed the outstanding intellect that enabled her to secure an iron rule over her own island. Although seeming to be radically different, these two individuals both utilized their wits extensively throughout the epic, differing only in the traits that