In the poem The Odyssey by Homer the author tells us the story of Odysseus's goal to return to his homeland Ithaca, where he will defeat the rude uncontrollable suitors who are camping in his palace and his main goal is to reunite with his loyal wife Penelope and son Telemachus.
In Ancient Greece and in the odyssey men were expected to be masculine and warriors were women were obedient and looked down on. Throughout the story Men are able to entertain and socialize outside of their home and go to work but women stay at home and do housework. From this background information we can infer that The Odyssey by Homer shows that men are valued more due to the fact that men have more sexual freedom then women and are respected more when they have
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Circe tells Odysseus “ let's go to bed together, mount my bed and mix in the magic work of love- we’ll breed deep trust between us.’ ( 10, 240, 370-372) and of course Odysseus agrees only when Circe swears she won’t do any harm. When Odysseus returns home to Ithaca Odysseus mentions none of his affairs to his loyal wife who had no affairs while he was gone because she assumed Odydsseyus was still alive but instead sentences …show more content…
Calypso is an immortal goddess who holds Odysseus prisoner due to the fact that she loves him and wants to be with him forever. Doing so she sleeps with Odysseus without his consent but thinks it’s ok because every god does it to mortels. “ Hard - hearted you are , you gods! You unrivaled lords of jealousy – scandalized when goddesses sleep with mortals, openly, even when one has made the man her husband” (5,156,130-134). Calypso's speech shows the double standard in the odyssey, when gods sleep with mortals without there consent which in this generation would be called rape in there eyes it doesn’t matter or it’s normalized and nobody says anything about it because there gods but when goddesses sleep with mortals with or without there consent there looked down on and told to stop. During Odysseus's journey he falls in love with multiple goddesses including calypso and Circe. Odysseus falls for their trance and ends up staying more than one year with the goddesses instead of continuing his journey to get back to Ithaca. But back in Ithaca Penelope is faced with suitors who want to marry her because they believe that Odysseus is dead
In the Odyssey, there are typically two ways women are depicted - the pure, devoted housewife, or the enticing, irresistible seductress. For the most part, the housewives are seen as useless without men, only there to do household chores, domestic tasks and to take care of the children. Penelope is seemingly a great example of that; she’s seen as weak and very loyal towards Odysseus, in hopes that he will return. The seductresses mainly exist as trouble for men - drawing them off course and “forcing” them to be unfaithful to their wives. This is the case with Calypso as she traps Odysseus and refuses to let him go until a god interferes.
Calypso’s speech draws attention to the fact that Gods have been able to court women/ goddesses and it would have never been a problem but when Calypso tries to court Odysseyus, Zeus immediately forces him to leave her island. Calypso tries to explain how she gave him hospitality and saved him from being stranded, disregarding the fact that she was more holding him hostage than keeping him safe in her hospitality while she forces him to sleep with her. “ So when Demeter the graceful one with lovely braids gave her way to her passion and made love with Iasion, bedding down in a furrow plowed three times- Zeus got wind of it soon enough, I’d say, and blasted the man to death with flashing bolts. ”- Calypso(5.156.138-141).
In the text of The Odyssey there are many ideas that challenge the morals and sensibilities of the modern reader. By western standards, the treatment of women by men in Homer's Odyssey could be characterized as sexist. Not only this, but the main character, Odysseus, seems to be able to cheat on his own wife, pillage villages, and slaughter innocent people and still maintain his persona of a hero. His leadership also causes his his whole crew to lose their lives out at sea. These activities would seem quite deviant to our own social norms and morals.
When Odysseus is about to be released from the island, he decides to sleep with Calypso, a nymph goddess who lives on the island, before he sets off to return home. In the first part of book 5, Odysseus and Calypso are illustrated kissing and sleeping together(Homer 53). At this moment, Odysseus is cheating and being disloyal to his wife, Penelope, who lives at Odysseus’s house in Ithaca. Odysseus’s actions signifies his unheroic qualities because he did not try
In Homer's epic The Odyssey, Calypso demonstrates the theme of gender roles and grief. This is shown through Calypso’s actions such as sleeping with Odysseus, holding him hostage on her island, and using manipulation. Calypso demonstrates the theme of gender roles throughout book 5. For example, Calypso uses her goddess beauty to keep Odysseus on her island, book 5 says, “the goddess Calypso, lifting her breathtaking voice as she glided back and forth before her loom”. This shows her womanly virtues like her beauty and her graceful voice.
This could be due to that fact that gods and goddesses are also shown to have two sets of standards for sexual fidelity. When Calypso was told to release Odysseus she mentioned these unfair standards, “Hard-hearted you are, you gods! You unrivaled lords of jealousy-scandalized when goddesses sleep with mortals.” (The Odyssey, Book 5, pg 317, lines 130-133) Calypso 's complaint shows that even divine beings in Greek culture have different standards for women and men.
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.
“The Odyssey,” written by Greek poet Homer is an epic tale depicting the brutally enduring quest home of the Greek hero, Odysseus. Within this heroic story, women play a very large and pivotal role in Odysseus’s trip home from the Trojan War. In his attempt to get back to his wife, Penelope, Odysseus’s progress is constantly hindered by the intervention of women who will do anything in order to either convince the heroic figure to stay with them or have him killed. The intentions of the women in the epic are all very different but one of the most prominent roles lies in the seductresses and the alluring women who will deeply influence Odysseus. Most importantly, Penelope plays a large role in portraying the importance of women’s roles in the story.
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.
Women are weak, helpless, and have no real purpose other than to serve men and take care of children. . . or so they were perceived in history. In the Odyssey, one can see that Homer’s portrayal of women challenges the depiction of women during that time period. Throughout the book, many women intervened in Odysseus’ journey home to Ithaca, for better or for worse. One will see Penelope, Athena, Circe, and other women impact Odysseus’ expedition home.
Another piece of evidence relating to the topic of double standard is also in the same situation where Calypso is getting shamed for sleeping with Odysseus. She argues to the gods “Hard-hearted you are, you gods! You unrivaled lords of jealousy-scandalized when goddesses sleep with mortals.” (Homer 317). This relationship shows the way men act in relationships and also how women are treated in this kind’ve illicit affair.
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
Throughout the Odyssey Calypso is depicted as a selfish goddess who is keeping Odysseus in her Island by force. Odysseus was always painted as the victim, always weeping and said to be an "unwilling lover alongside lover all too willing...". She's painted in a darker light when Hermes comes and delivers Zeus's commands. When Zeus tells her to release Odysseus from her island and to let him sail back to Ithaca, she lashes out, claiming that the gods are "scandalized when goddesses sleep with mortals". When the gods ask her to release Odysseus she assumes that the gods are upset at her and are concerned about the nature of her relationship.
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).
Women are greatly judged by their looks throughout the book. They believe that a woman is successful if any of her direct family have an important position (e.g. King, God) or is a heroic figure. Even though Athena and Calypso are very different, one evident similarity, is their ability to influence and control men. Athena greatly interferes in Telemachus’ and Odysseus’ lives by utilizing her intellect. Her power, influence and control on men can either be seen as a positivity or as a negativity.