The Strengths Of Athena And Penelope In Homer's Odyssey

611 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Women in the Odyssey Homer

Neil Strauss once said, “Without commitment, you cannot have depth in anything, whether it is a relationship, a business, or a hobby.” Athena and Penelope were both very committed to Odysseus, but they could also live without him because they were independent. Penelope was married to him while Athena was dedicated to helping him get home. Each of them had their own strengths that they exhibit throughout the book. Penelope had mental strength but Athena had physical strength as a goddess. Athena and Penelope have come similarities and differences between each other regarding their relationships and strengths. Both Athena and Penelope had their own special relationship with Odysseus. First of all, they were both an essential part of his journey.

Show More
Related

  • Woman Character of The Odyssey, Medea, and Thousand and One Arabian Nights

    1052 Words  | 3 Pages

    Firstly, Penelope who plays Odysseus’s wife is alone tending to her city Ithica until her husband returns. Meanwhile Odysseus is out fighting in the Trojan War and against many of the Greek God’s who are trying to make his trip back home as eventful and hard as possible; “…work out his journey home so Odysseus can return” (Homer 276). While King Odysseus is away Penelope is to deal with a bunch of suitors who are eating and trashing out Ithica, “…if those suitors have truly paid in blood for all their reckless outrage” (559). In order for Penelope to keep peace until Odysseus returns she has to come up with a clever plan to keep the suitors from completely taking over. For almost 2 years Penelope was able to keep the suitors from getting out of hand by saying she will find someone to marry and replace Odysseus after she is d...

    Read More

  • Nausicaa In The Odyssey

    1096 Words  | 3 Pages

    Though the reader is inclined to see Penelope and Odysseus as a more favorable pair, a marriage between Nausicaa and Odysseus would have been very beneficial. Nausicaa is a powerful catalyst, but after her moment of glory, she is quickly forgotten. Because The Odyssey is crafted so that the audience cheers for the hero, Odysseus, many do not consider any other wife for the hero than his faithful Penelope. The noble Odysseus has made many decisions that have shaped his travel home, such as deciding to go to the underworld on Circe’s advice, but one should consider how the decision to marry the young Nausicaa instead of moving on from the Phaecians would have affected many events in a constructive manner.

    Read More

  • What Is The Similarities Between The Odyssey And The Epic Of Gilgamesh

    1574 Words  | 4 Pages

    However, his journey isn’t over yet. This last leg of Odysseus’s journey is perhaps the most important and crucial. Odysseus’s nurse and maidservant, Eurycleia is the first woman in Ithaca to know that Odysseus is back after she recognizes the scar on his leg while she is washing him. Eurycleia vows to keep his identity a secret. Odysseus’s wife, Penelope has stayed faithful to Odysseus for all the years that he was gone. Penelope was consistently unweaving her web to the delay the suitors. The reader even grows sympathetic for Penelope as “we see her struggle to make the virtuous choice about her marriage, despite pressures from her suitors, her son’s endangered situation, and her own uncertainty about Odysseus’s survival” (Foley ). Finally, Odysseus reveals his identity and Penelope is bewildered, but quickly embraces her husband after he tells her the secret of their immovable bed. It is the faithfulness of Penelope and nurse Eurycleia that insures Odysseus’s survival to the very end.

    Read More

  • Penelope Of Ithaca

    716 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the long twenty years of his absence, Penelope earns the title of the ideal wife. And she is, in many ways. She keeps the household and raises her son to be a fine young man, exhibits xenia to all who come to her home and works diligently at her weaving, quiet, serious and constant. Above all other things, she is chaste, loyal and virtuous, despite the presence of 108 suitors vying for her hand in marriage. Although it is certainly true that Penelope does embody the elements of an ideal wife, it can be argued that she becomes the driving force of Odysseus' journey and a central presence in the plot.

    Read More

  • The Role Of Athena In The Odyssey

    1020 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many deities offer help and advice to Odysseus on his journey home to Ithaca in “The Odyssey” but none of them provide as much help as Athena. There are many evidence in the epic poem that Athena favors Odysseus over other mortals because his virtues are similar to hers. Athena is the goddess of war and wisdom and Odysseus is a cunning warrior. However, helping Odysseus can also be a disguise of Athena bringing her wrath to those who goes against her virtues. Athena controls of most of Odysseus’s actions after he gets home to Ithaca. While it seems that Athena is helping Odysseus to get what he desires, she actually takes away some of his free will in order to get what she wants.

    Read More

  • How Does Athena Shape Odyssey's Life

    246 Words  | 1 Pages

    At the a divine council on Mount Olympus, Athena helps out Odysseus by talking to her father Zeus and saying, "to take pity on Odysseus and allow him to return home." That quote shows that Athena is shaping Odysseus 's life because she is the one who is trying to help Odysseus get home to his wife and kids

    Read More

  • Female Role In The Odyssey

    1080 Words  | 3 Pages

    Some could argue she relates to Penelope, and provides protection for her household throughout the years. Others may say she is enamored with Odysseus because of their related character traits. Athena takes on the motherly role of watching over both Telemachus and Odysseus. She monitors both of the men’s journeys, and allows them to go through tribulations in order to grow emotionally and spiritually. Brian Lower, a literature professor from Union College, wrote,” Athena allows Odysseus to experience the storm, but not die.

    Read More

  • Relationships In The Odyssey

    406 Words  | 1 Pages

    While the relationship between Odysseus and Telemakhos is a blind love, the relationship between Odysseus and Penelope is a love between two people who just want to be together. Odysseus shows his love towards Penelope throughout the Odyssey. In spite of the fact that Odysseus has been gone for twenty years, he never forgets his wife back in Ithaca. One example of how much he wanted to go home was when he went to the island of the Lotus-Eaters. He could have stayed on the island of the Lotus-Eaters where everything he ever wanted was there, but the thing he wanted the most was to be with his wife. Penelope likewise displays this kind of love towards Odysseus.

    Read More

  • Odysseus Disloyal To Penelope In Homer's Odyssey

    831 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the book The Odyssey, some of the characters are downright dirty, they lie, cheat and steal just to get their way. One of these characters is the main character Odysseus. Odysseus is the King of one of the parts of Greece called Ithaca, so when he heard that his fellow Grecians were going to besiege the city of Troy, naturally, he left his baby son and wife in charge of Ithaca and left to Troy with his army. But on his way home victorious Odysseus’s ships were blown off course by a storm. He then had to find his way back to Ithaca, but along the way he met a lot of women, and he was not always as loyal to his wife as his wife was to him. So, overall, Odysseus is very disloyal to Penelope (his wife) and does not deserve her loyalty.

    Read More

  • herody Free Essays Homer's Odyssey: Odysseus as Heroic Archetype

    696 Words  | 2 Pages

    Odysseus is an appropriate hero for he embodies the values of bravery, intelligence, astuteness, and competency. While he trying to return home from Ilium, numerous suitors attempt to seduce his wife, Penelope. However, when he returns Odysseus cleverly plans and carries out the demise of the evil and wasteful suitors with the help of Athena, goddess of wisdom: "Come on [Athena] weave me a plan to punish them [the suitors]." Odysseus' wisdom is admired by Athena, the goddess of that aptness. Athena is also impressed by his battle heroics and so she endeavors to provide him with succor: "And you didn't know Pallas Athenaia the daughter of Zeus himself, your faithful stand-by and guardian in all your labours!" With Athena's assistance Odysseus becomes a true hero.

    Read More

  • Greek Women in The Odyssey

    425 Words  | 1 Pages

    Then there is Odysseus’ wife, Penelope. She is depicted as an individual. Homer makes her character appear as very clever and also very loyal. Never once during Odysseus twenty years of absence does she remarry. She tolerates the suitors in her home for ten years but never chooses, always with the hope that her first husband, Odysseus, will return. Homer also makes her seem clever when she gets all of the suitors to bring her gifts before she “chooses one” knowing that they are in a short supply of resources. In another instance he portrays her as clever in the way that she keeps the suitor away by weaving the tunic for Odysseus and secretly taking it apart every night. The role Penelope plays is very important because she is seen as a person, not a possession.

    Read More

  • Women in The Odyssey

    1471 Words  | 3 Pages

    Women play an influential role in The Odyssey. Women appear throughout the story, as goddesses, wives, princesses, or servants. The nymph Calypso enslaves Odysseus for many years. Odysseus desires to reach home and his wife Penelope. It is the goddess Athena who sets the action of The Odyssey rolling; she also guides and orchestrates everything to Odysseus’ good. Women in The Odyssey are divided into two classes: seductresses and helpmeets. By doing so, Homer demonstrates that women have the power to either hinder of help men. Only one woman is able to successfully combine elements of both classes: Penelope. She serves as a role model of virtue and craftiness. All the other women are compared to and contrasted with Penelope.

    Read More

  • Essay On The Relationship Between Hamlet And Horatio

    1760 Words  | 4 Pages

    The relationship between Odysseus and his wife Penelope is one of loyalty, love, and faith. Both characters are driven by these characteristics. Odysseus displays his loyalty in his constant battle to get home to his wife. This love helps him persevere through the many hardships that he encounters on his journey home. Odysseus spent 20 years trying to return to his home in Ithaca after the end of the Trojan War. Along the way he manages to offend both gods and mortals, but through his intelligence, and the guidance of Athena, he manages to finally return home. There he discovers that his home has been overrun by suitors attempting to win Penelope’s hand in marriage. The suitors believed that Odysseus was dead. Odysseus and his son, Telemachus,

    Read More

  • Essay About Love in Homer's Odyssey

    495 Words  | 1 Pages

    Often times in life we search for a companion, someone to share our love and life with.  Odysseus and Penelope's lasting relationship is an obvious representation of love in the Odyssey. Although Odysseus is gone for twenty years he never forgets his faithful wife in Ithaca.  This love helps him persevere through the many hardships that he encounters on his journey home.  Penelope also exemplifies this same kind of love for Odysseus.  At home in Ithaca, she stays loyal to Odysseus by unraveling his shroud and delaying her marriage to the suitors that are courting her.  She always keeps the hope that her love, Odysseus, will return.  Odysseus and Penelope's marriage clearly illustrates the theme of love.

    Read More

  • The Role of the Gods in Homer's The Odyssey

    870 Words  | 2 Pages

    Athena is the goddess everyone wants to have as guardian for his life. She went against her uncle Poseidon to fight for her Odysseus. At one point, we can even think that Athena is also in love to Odysseus because she has never him down. But the real truth is Athena is an amazing goddess who protect Odysseus no matter what because this is the Love she has for him

    Read More

More about The Strengths Of Athena And Penelope In Homer's Odyssey

Open Document