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Recommended: Character essay on the odyssey

“The Odyssey", by Homer and Gilganesh by _______were all written thousands of years ago in a patriarchic society. This was a time in human history when men played the dominant role. The entire edifice of civilization was organized and controlled by the men; It was an accepted fact that women would be dominated. They held an inferior position in society. Society was constructed as if women were around only to serve the men in any way that was necessary. Homer places women into roles that were formerly unheard of for women to possess. However, these women are still confined to the gender roles that exist in Greece. Women were supposed to remain chaste and faithful to their husband while using their sexualities as a prize for men. Women are sees as the homemakers, cooking, cleaning and mending to the house while men were out defending. While women were absolutely not the most powerful gods nor the strongest or wisest of mortals, they still had incredible influence.
Athena is a great example of an influential woman. Athena demonstrated the most intellect and courage out of all the characters in "The Odyssey." The male characters such as Zeus, Poseidon, Telemachus and Odysseus might play the most significant roles in this epic, but without the support of the females in "The Odyssey", lets face it, Odysseus would not have made it through his journey. Athena is a Goddess with a lot of power over mortals, but Zeus has the power over the Gods and Goddess. Yet, she approaches Zeus confidently and says to him; "O majesty, O father of us all, if it now please the blissful gods that wise Odysseus reach his home again, let the Wayfinder, Hermes, cross the sea to the island of Ogygia; let him tell our fixed intent to the nymph with pretty br...

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...Heaven against Gilgamesh and Enkidu. Even though the two do overcome this overwhelming attack Ishtars display of command and power leads to a very significant loss in his life. The Gods agree that Enkidu, Gilgamesh's soul mate and his brother, must die for this action. Ishtar's function in the Epic of Gilgamesh is a powerful manipulator who cons both mortals and Gods to get what she wants.
To refer back to the examples mentioned above, several women were written as powerful influences who have had tremendous effects on the men they encounter and care for. Of course, this is not much different from the society we live in. While many may people believe that women have still not reached the point of true equality, as ref;lected in the odyssey and gilgamrsh, it is difficult to say that they are inferior and the significance of their roles in society is undeniable.

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