Cassandra
Cassandra was the most beautiful daughter of Priam and Hecuba’s daughters. As Cassandra grew older Apollo forced her to love him and as a gift he have her prophecy. However, Cassandra refuses to love him and Apollo became furious. Apollo, out of anger, curses her with always telling the truth and prophecy but no one believes what she says. When the Trojan War breaks out the she predicts the taking of Troy with the Trojan Horse. No one believes a word she says. During the taking of Troy, Cassandra hides in Athena’s temple but is later found and raped by Ajax. Later on in the war her father throws her into a chamber and locks her away because he believes she is too distracting, a terrible daughter, a liar and, a horrible person to
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For example Billy Mitchell believed that Pearl Harbor was going to attacked by air. When he predicted this “crazy” happening, nearly 20 years in advance, this historic event it almost seemed implausible therefore nobody believed him. Later on, as we all know, Pearl Harbor was attacked by air and Billy Mitchell was correct and not insane. Another example is John Lewis the message is still the same but tweaked a little. John Lewis has been apart of a large group of people who believed the same thing as him since he was 25 years old. In 1963 he stood up for what many people believed was morally wrong: Civil Rights. John participated in the March on Washington, doing what many believed was wrong, or they didn’t believe in. Much like Cassandra, John has not been believed throughout his life. Today, John participated in a sit in for gun control. This is something many people believe don’t believe in. Although John’s case is a little different than Cassandra people still don’t believe in what he believes is right. John, Billy and Cassandra all have different stories but all still mean the same thing: no one believes you no matter what you
In her essay "Penelope as Moral Agent," Helene Foley attempts to discuss Penelope, a major character in Homer's the Odyssey, in terms of Classical Athenian portrayals of women and, as her title suggests, in terms of what she calls a "moral agent." In her introductory paragraph she lays out guidelines as set down by Aristotle and his contemporaries that constitute a moral agent: the character must make an ethical and moral decision "on which the actions turns...without critical knowledge of the circumstances" (Foley 93). To this end, Foley ultimately decides that Penelope meets these standards and adds that her social, familial and personal responsibilities play integral roles in making that decision. Foley's examples and her in-depth analysis of the Odyssey all support her thesis as I have interpreted it to be. There are, however, problems in her comparison of the Odyssey and outside texts (especially that of Carol Gilligan), inconsistencies in citations and style, and examples that either have little or nothing to do with her thesis. The largest problem with this essay that I could find is the ignorance of a few facts that could possibly be construed as being in opposition to her findings.
The Cunning and Deceitful Women of Homer’s Odyssey. One of the most famous works from the early Greek era is Homer’s Odyssey. It details the journey home of a war hero, Odysseus. His homecoming entails many adventures, each presented as a separate episode that he must overcome.
Divine intervention is often an integral part of ancient epic poetry as seen in Homer's The Odyssey. The role of the goddess Athena was an essential part of Odysseus's journey back to Ithaka. Athena also played a vital part in Telemakhos's life before the return of his father. Even Penelope is impacted by the help of the "grey-eyed" goddess, often inspiring Penelope to hold off the suitors as well as putting her to sleep when a situation became too difficult. Athena demonstrates that she is a critical component of development within the father Odysseus and his son Telemakhos as well as guiding Penelope as a beautiful mother waiting for the return of her husband.
Homer's great epic, "The Odyssey" was written several thousands of years ago, a time in human history when men played the dominant role in society. The entire structure of civilization was organized and controlled by men; It was an accepted fact that women held an inferior position in society. Society was constructed as if women were around only to serve the men. The involvement of women in any circumstance was almost completely dominated by what the men allowed. The women were valued in society, only they were not given important roles or any decision making power. It is as if they held no power in the ancient Greek society. This is why Homer's Odyssey is very unique, Homer put women into roles that were previously unheard of for women to possess. Unlike in The Iliad, where women served merely as an object to men; female characters of Odyssey are distinctive because they possess personality, and have intricate relationships with the male characters of the Odyssey. By characterizing the women in "The Odyssey", a reader may come to some conclusions about the role of women in this epic. Along with the belief that women played a secondary role to men in society, the female characters displayed certain traits that could not be exhibited by the men. Athena demonstrated the most intelligence and valor out of all the characters in "The Odyssey." The male characters play the most significant roles in this epic, but without the support of the females in "The Odyssey", Odysseus would not have made it through his journey.
She is always spoken of respectfully and is remembered for her heroic deeds. She is not degraded like many of the other women Odysseus sees in the underworld. Everyone worships her and speaks about her achievements with great admiration; she is truly admired, but because she is a goddess. Athena has control over men that most women in The Odyssey do not. Women 's lives depend on what men think of them, on the other hand, men 's lives depend on Athena 's opinion of them. Athena is "Zeus ' virgin daughter" and no one has used her in that way. She is too important to be used as being an enjoyment for men; they depend on her for their own welfare. Another woman that plays a big role in this epic is Calypso. Calypso a nymph, a child of Zeus, and lives on an island in the middle of the ocean. One day Odysseus is sent to her by the god of the sea, Poseidon, because Poseidon was mad at Odysseus for blinding his son, the Cyclops. It is on this island that another woman is used as a sexual toy and is not thought of for her own achievements, but rather for her beauty, and the fact that she is the daughter of Zeus. Men in The Odyssey only value women who they can use for physical needs and wealth, such as the women in the underworld that Odysseus encounters, and Penelope. Homer shows us how men in The Odyssey consider women less important than men. The readers rarely hear of women throughout the book. When they do, they are shown
Hegel’s perspective of Sophocles’ Antigone is accurate in stating that at the center of the tragedy there is a collision between one-sided positions rather than the collapse of one tragic hero. This is best exemplified in Sophocles’ Antigone when two factions battle over the proper way to dispose of a person who was both a family member and an enemy of the state. Looking at each standpoint, both embody some form of selflessness and good. King Kreon was acting on behalf of the people to protect the kingdom from an enemy while Antigone was acting for her family by trying to honor her brother with a proper burial. When analyzed from different perspectives, both King Kreon and Antigone’s actions are equally
In Aeschylus’s, Agamemnon, there is a great possibility that the death of Agamemnon could have been prevented, had the Chorus simply listened to Cassandra’s prophecy. But the words spoken between the two parties seem to have loss it’s meaning when it fell upon the Chorus; yet, they were obviously hearing what she was saying. But while they were hearing what she had to say, they did not listen to her words. Ironically, in this story, it is the women who posses all the knowledge. But once they try to share it, the men, who later suffer the consequence, ignore them. People only listen to what they want to hear, and a woman’s word is not considered important enough to listen to.
Athena is the daughter of Zeus, the king of the Greek gods. She is one of the 12 Olympians that live on top of Mount Olympus. Athena is the goddess of wisdom, strategy, skill, and justice, and the owl is her sacred bird. In Mandelbaum verse translation of the epic poem the Odyssey of Homer, Athena helped Odysseus by providing guidance, physical, and internal help. Without this help, Odysseus would have to forge the path home by himself and face the challenges that are to come alone. He would be left to face the wrath of both Zeus and Poseidon without another major god’s help. Athena aided Odysseus in the trials he was to face, which gave him the guidance and help he needed to return to his home, Ithaca.
Along side with Hera and Poseiden, Athena tended to help the Greek side during the war. With the help from others Athena comes up with the idea of a Trojan horse and that the warriors hide inside the horse and that the horse would be brought into the city and given as a gift. A Classics website states that “The Trojan Horse The latter, a worthy son of his father, slays the a last ally of the Trojans, the Eurypylus, the brave son of Telephus; and Philoctetes, with one of the arrows of Heracles, kills Paris. Even when the last condition of the capture of Troy, the removal of a small statue of Athena, called the Palladium, from the temple of Athena on the citadel, has been successfully fulfilled by Diomedes and Odysseus, the town can only be taken by treachery. On the advice of Athena, Epeius, son of Panopeus, builds a gigantic wooden horse, in the belly of which the bravest Greek warriors conceal themselves under the direction of Odysseus.” In all Athena in the Illiad shows the many roles that she seems to display thoughout the books.Athena goes from the typical goddess to the women that is on the battle field provocking someone kill someone with an
the importance of the conflicting beliefs, by acquiring new beliefs that change the balance, or
Women in ancient Greek times did not have equal or political rights. Athena and Antigone, who were both very heroic women went above and beyond the stereotypical woman. In society today, women are still not looked as an equivalent to men. Athena and Antigone share the Greek heroic traits of honor, perseverance, and of living in a higher class. In Sophocles’ Greek tragedy, Antigone, and Homer’s epic, The Odyssey, the female characters, Antigone and Athena are not solely traditional female characters, instead, they embody the heroic characteristics, honor, perseverance, and high social standing.
Overall, it can be said that one of Cassandra's main goals during the Trojan War was to expose all truths about her society concerning the motive for the war and society's treatment of women. Although this caused a lot of fear in her, she admires the equality between male and female power in Trojan society too much to not face the truth she knew. Cassandra saw war as mostly a patriarchal act, shifting the balance of power to men and societal norms away from the feminine virtues of community to the masculine ones of
Clytemnestra has the ten years of the Trojan War to plan her revenge on Agamemnon. Upon his return Clytemnestra shows him some love. That love she showed quickly changes to rage and hatred when Clytemnestra she’s Agamemnon with his mistress Cassandra.
The character of Penelope in Homer's Odyssey reflects the faithful wife who waits twenty years for the arrival of her husband. Only a strong woman could sustain the stress, anxiety and confusion resulting from the chaos of a palace with a missing king whose fate is unknown. Her responsibilities and commitments toward the man she loves are particularly difficult to keep, under the strain of the situation. Although she does not actively pursue an effort to find him, her participation in the success of Odysseus' homecoming can be seen in her efforts to defend and protect the heritage, reputation and the House of Odysseus in his absence. As Odysseus withstands his trial, Penelope withstands her trials against temptations to give in to the many anxious suitors, to give up on her faith and respect for her religion, her husband and even her self. Penelope's strength in keeping the highest standards in her function as a wife, woman and mother contributes to the success of Odysseus' homecoming by keeping the home and family for him to come back to.
Paris’ brother, Hector, told him: "Paris, appalling Paris! Our prince of beauty-mad for woman, you lure them all to ruin." (Book III) Women are not the only ones drawn to ruin by Paris. The whole Trojan army, not to mention the whole city of Troy, was endangered by Paris’ selfishness. Paris is very likely the cause of the Trojan War. His story was told by prophecies before he was born: The prophecies said that he would be the cause of the destruction of Troy. His parents, Priam and Hecuba, left him to die on a mountain when he was a baby, but he was rescued and returned to Troy as a young man. Paris abducted prince Menelaos’ (of Mycenae) wife, Helen, who was said to be the