The Role Of Athena And Penelope In Homer's Odyssey

The role of women in The Odyssey is to exhibit the many roles that women perform in the lives of men. There is a quote that states that behind every successful men there is a woman; to which homer would probably agree. As it was stated before, we can make reference to such quote by picturing The Odyssey without woman in the epic. Without woman, Odysseus would probably make it faster to Ithaca or would probably die in many of the obstacles that Zeus was putting in his way. Men’s position or respect, in ancient Greek mythology, was determinate by the things had successfully fulfilled in their life but no men had ever recognize that such success is part of the role that woman have in their lives.

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.

In The Odyssey, by Homer, Athena influences the lives of Odysseus and his family. In Greek mythology, gods challenge and control mortals. Gods also provide support to mortals and thus, mortals depend and act on behalf of the gods and their decisions. Athena, daughter of Zeus, is the goddess of wisdom, and both Telemachus and Odysseus benefit from her power. Athena possesses the ability to disguise herself and others, and this skill allows her to give advice and guidance. For example, Athena uses her power of disguise to help Telemachus on his journey to find his father. She continues to use this power to disguise Odysseus as a beggar to allow him to reunite with his family and prove his power and worth to Penelope among the suitors. Telemachus and Odysseus are ultimately victorious because of Athena’s power; in fact, Athena is the hero of this epic poem.

Every day she sows a death shawl for her father in law, and each night she unwinds her progress, telling the suitors that she will choose a husband when she is done sowing. She tricks the cunning Odysseus into revealing himself. Penelope knows that as a woman in her own right, she has no political or economic power. It is, ultimately, her father’s decision whom she will marry, and her own son pressures her into remarriage so he can inherit his father’s land. If Penelope had been able to be a powerful single woman, would she have remained loyal to Odysseus? She most likely would have remained single until such a time that a man who deserved her decided to court her. Her suitors were less intellectual than her and almost all of them abused the privilege of staying in Odysseus’s house, eating his livestock, sleeping with his servants. They did not deserve her. Maybe Penelope had ulterior motives in not marrying one of them in that she simply didn’t want to. Whether she held them away because of her loyalty or her own disgust with them, Penelope did it through her own trickery, proving that she was every ounce as cunning as her husband. Penelope is one of the better, less harmful role models to come from a patriarchal

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.

    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. She claimed “He caught my right hand. . .and said . . . ‘but once you see the beard on the boy’s cheek, you wed the man you like, and leave your house behind’. . .” However, that was a lie, since shortly after, Homer wrote “Staunch Odysseus glowed with joy to hear all

Athena favors Odysseus since he reminds her of herself. He portrays the same cunning, guile, and intelligence as she does; Athena had confided to him that “two of a kind, we are, contrivers, both,” comparing how similar they are. “Of all men now alive,” she says, “you are the best in plots and story telling. My own fame is for wisdom among the gods --deceptions too.” (The Odyssey 13.379-384.) She acts as his advisor and protector, aiding him constantly through his journey to return to Ithaca. She even addresses the other gods about Odysseus’s situation, and “if it... pleases the

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.

Athena is a major character throughout the book of The Odyssey and is known as the goddess of wisdom and battle. Throughout the course of the book, it is evident that Athena has a weak spot for the main character, Odysseus. Odysseus is trying to return home after the Trojan War, as the other Greek hero’s have already done, however he faces multiple challenges a long the way. Fortunately, for Odysseus, Athena was there to guide him through a few of these troubling situations.

However, for a woman in Homer’s society, who belongs to either her father and her husband, she is the head of the household for 20 years in the absence of Odysseus. She does not preserve peace in the household, but she takes actions to prevent the destruction of ranks of the household by delaying her marriage so that when Odysseus come back home, he can reclaim the kingship, or when Telemachus is old enough, he can take the throne which is rightfully his. In the position where women have no power, she uses her intellectual strength to control the suitors. Penelope promises the suitors that she will choose one of them to marry after she finishes weaving the shroud for Laertes because it is shameful if she does not do anything for her father-in-law. The suitors eagerly comply to her request without knowing what Penelope plans to do. After discovering Penelope’s deception, the suitors complain, “Her very words, and despite our pride and passion we believed her. So by day she’d weave at her great and growing web- by night, by the light of torches set beside her, she would unravel all she’d done. Three who years, she deceived us blind, seduced us with this scheme” (Homer, Odysseus, 2. 101- 106). With one simple promise, she is able to keep the suitors in control for three years, which demonstrates her intellectual strength. Penelope, a woman who perceives to be a weak character and unable to keep the household together, manages to assert dominance over 108 men with words alone. She shows wisdom in personal management in private household, satisfying the role of head of the household, through

The Odyssey is a well known epic that brings the reader through the tale of how Odysseus and his family reunited. Odysseus spent twenty years away from his son, Telemachus, and his wife, Penelope. He was away for ten years at Troy and spent the other ten years on his journey back to his native land, Ithaca. Within the epic, author Homer reveals characters of gods and goddesses throughout the poem who impacted the families journey. One importantly, was the goddess of wisdom and war, Athena. She stayed present through the entire book playing a very important role in the story as she mentored both Odysseus and Telemachus in their journey to reach each other and regain their place in the palace. Above all Athena is the true hero in the Odyssey as multiple times she would be admired for her noble guidance, strategies, and loyalty.

Typically an literary hero can blow lasers and fly, or Helps children all around the world, But a literary hero is the hero who makes mistakes so s/he can become better.

Odysseus’ continued survival in The Odyssey is an incredible feat, but much of it can be attributed to the Greek goddess, Athena. Athena is a well-known and revered Greek goddess, and is a major hero throughout The Odyssey. Athena is a very powerful, instrumental woman who uses her powers to help those in need, including Odysseus. Athena, the pantheon of Greek mythology, contributes immensely to Odysseus’ journey. She ultimately helps him by persuading Zeus to convince Calypso to free Odysseus, disguises herself several times in order to aid Odysseus and Telemachus, helps transform Odysseus a few times, and ultimately reunites Odysseus with his family.

Women have always been portrayed as the weaker sex compared to men. It has been demonstrated in history itself and throughout literary works. Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Homer’s The Odyssey, however, portray women to be more powerful than men, even when their society thought otherwise and underestimated them because of their gender. Lady Macbeth, The Three Witches, Queen Arête and Penelope demonstrate the astute, charming, and ambitious side of women that was overlooked by men when it came to having power and making decisions. Both works show the hardships of being a woman in power. At the same time, they give their perspectives of the power women disclosed.

Antigone and Penelope are both known as significant women during the ancient Greek time period. Antigone is considered to be a strong-willed woman who is deemed a noble heroine in the book titled Antigone, one of The Three Theban Plays written by Sophocles. Similarly, Penelope, in the Odyssey written by Homer, is considered to be a strong, independent woman who is a loyal mother and wife. Penelope sets an ideal womanly example during ancient Greek time period. While both of these women are known for they individual strengths and fearlessness, they are both motivated to proceed in different manners. Antigone and Penelope demonstrate levels of strength which challenge and uphold the social norms of feminine roles during their time period.