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Women in the Odyssey
Was odysseus a good leader
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The Odyssey embodies a range of emotions and judgements based off the laws of the gods. Odysseus formulates decisions solely off of an individual’s violation of the laws. During the slaughter of the suitors, Odysseus showed no remorse to the suitors pursuing his wife, but he did show a strain of mercy to Phemius, the singer and the herald Medon for their lack in threatening his reign as king. However, this type of justice was not given to the women in the house who were engaging in intercourse with the suitors. When examining these parallel incidents, one may say Odysseus as a fair leader. However, when comparing the two passages adjacently, Odysseus gives preferential treatment to men who break his laws while punishing women severely for minor …show more content…
After addressing his father not to kill the men Telemachus mummers, “or ran into you rampaging through the halls” at the end of his plea (381). This phrase was placed at the end of his speech in order to convince Odysseus that he has done enough damage and has taken the revenge he needed on the men who deserve it. Telemachus changes his father’s view of killing every man involved by proving that these two men were minor since they were aiding the suitors by providing comfort in the home. The two men’s lives were put in the hands of Telemachus, which caused the Harold to ask “here I am, dear boy-spare me. Tell your father, / flushed with victory, not to kill me” (388-389). By saying the phrase “flushed with victory,” the Harold is aware that Odysseus has won the battle with the ignorant suiters and is begging for Odysseus’s mercy through his son Telemachus. Telemachus is successful in convincing his father to release the men, however Odysseus demands the men to “tell the next man too” in order to keep an unprejudiced reputation for himself and his son (396). In this instance Odysseus fits the role of a fair leader by understanding that the men’s crimes were not in violation of the laws, so they did not need to face …show more content…
Telemachus refers to the women as “sluts” and the “Suitors’ whores” for having relationships with the suitors, but the suitors were not accused of a crime for sleeping with the women (490). Furthermore, Phemius was involved in singing for the suitors to satisfy their needs just as the women were satisfying their sexual needs, but his crime granted him his release. These parallels are indications of Odysseus’s uncontrollable behavior when it comes to punishing crimes committed. Some may say the women deserved their fate due to the fact that they were not being forced into their actions as Phemius was. However, the idea that the women were “tramping to their shame” as described by the nurse is not a worthy reason for their deaths, since they were not involved in breaking the laws of the gods in the way the suitors
In this paper, I will argue that although the surface meaning of this passage is the slaughter of the suitors by Odysseus and his men, the deeper meaning of the passage is the
Nevertheless, Telemachus has impeccable manners and respect; for example, when Odysseus, who was disguised as a beggar, stood up to give Telemachus his chair, Telemachus replied by saying, “friend, sit down, we’ll find another chair” (VIII: 979). This shows Telemachus’ great self-discipline
Imagine having the lives of your crew in your hands, deciding whether to let them live or die. Try having to choose between having your whole ship destroyed by a giant whirlpool and killing everyone or having a giant six-headed sea monster devour six of your men while they scream for your help. That’s only one of the many dilemmas Odysseus faced in Homer’s The Odyssey. In The Odyssey, Odysseus must try to travel home after The Trojan War has ended in Troy. His subjects back home in Ithaca believe that he is dead and now his house is overwhelmed with suitors trying to court Odysseus’s wife, Penelope to try and rule Ithaka. It’s up to Odysseus to make it back home and claim his kingdom back. During these trials to get home, Odysseus must face
In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus king of Ithaca, treks through his hero’s journey which occurs when returning home from a battle in Troy. As he ventures through various perils and surpasses multiple obstacles, he explores a deep state of self reflection. Throughout this exploration, Odysseus is directed by his fate rather than free will. The decisions and actions that dominate his life are controlled by forces beyond his power. Moreover, noticing the transition that takes place within Odysseus, one can observe how his expectations rely on the concepts put forth by his destiny. Odysseus’ fate guides him along his journey and overall, dominates his life, due to his fixation on his rank in society, godly intervention and self reflection, leading
In most instances of depictions of mother figures in The Odyssey, these are women in need of support and guidance as they are weak and fragile. Without a steady male hand to guide them, these women appear to be lost and inconsolable. Odysseus ' relationship with his wife Penelope is another clear manifestation of gender roles within Homer 's epic. Penelope is the most important female character in the epic. Odysseus ' homecoming is centered on his love for her. She is not only his wife, but also the mother of his son, Telemachus. Since Odysseus has not returned from the war and is presumably dead, many suitors desire to replace him, by taking Penelope 's hand in marriage and Odysseus ' property. While we are unsure of Penelope 's attitudes towards these suitors, we are constantly reminded of her faithfulness to Odysseus. Penelope must not give in to the temptation of her many suitors to ensure that Odysseus has a successful homecoming. Although Odysseus does not know whether Penelope remains devoted to him, the epic would be pointless if he had given up so much to return to a broken home. This situation once again brings up the question of a double standard posed in the Odyssey. Odysseus is permitted to sleep with many of the nymphs he encounters, but Penelope must be faithful
They expect all people to avoid prejudice and allow time to understand the circumstances of stranger’s lives. Though Odysseus did appear seemingly out of nowhere to Nausikaa and her maids, she requests that they return to her side; “stay with me! Does the sight of a man scare you? Or do you take this one for an enemy?...no: this man is a castaway” (6. 213-214, 220). Nausikaa is embarrassed that her maidservants would determine the danger of a man in need so unjustifiably. On the other hand, the unfair assumptions made about Odysseus on his own island, Ithaka, are even worse. He and Eumaios are walking a path, and the goatherd, Melanthios, meets them. Melanthios quickly makes unjust judgments, and insults Odysseus for being a beggar, even kicking at him (17. 278-298); since Odysseus is in disguise, he must control his temper, but Eumaios quickly steps in to defend the man. The swineherd tells his co worker that if he hoped if Lord Odysseus was around, Odysseus would do away with anyone who treated another human like Melanthios treated this beggar (17. 312-314). Eumaios is ashamed that a peer would disregard a human as the goatherd did. The kind pair, although on the separate islands of the Phaiakians and Ithakians, defend Odysseus, unknowing that he is a king. Nausikaa defends him to her maids, and Eumaios defends him to
Though ancient Greek considered him a hero, the protagonist of the story, Odysseus, doesn’t present many values we have today. His character embodies a selfish, egotistical and ungrateful person whose actions are only in his own self-interest. When Odysseus makes many of his decisions, he neglects the possible consequences his crew might face and decides what
In The Odyssey Odysseus is portrayed as a god-like mortal put through harsh trials that greatly delay his trek back to Ithaca. Many of the temptations throughout The Odyssey are uncannily similar in that they are represented as female characters. It is imperative to analyze how his interactions with Calypso, Sirens, Circe, and Naussica affected Odysseus’s behavior and impaired his judgment during his journey home. Homer depicts many of the temptations of Odysseus as female to induce the reader that women, both goddesses and mortals, possess a seductive quality that cause men to err and become irrational thinkers. I believe Homer was bringing forth his idle supposition that men need to be cautious because women are mischievous. Thus begins our
As Agamemnon tells Odysseus, “Let it be a warning even to you. Indulge a woman never, and never tell her all you know. Some things a man may tell, some he should cover up” (Book XI 199). This is not news to Odysseus, who treats all women with caution ever since he was betrayed by his wife Helen, who acted in a way that defiled all womankind. Agamemnon did not come to this realization all by himself, however; his statement represents the common sentiment that existed throughout all ancient Greece. Even before Odysseus speaks with Agamemnon, he exhibits a similar attitude in his many encounters with women during his long journey home. Every major female character that Odysseus comes across uses deception in one form or another to get the better of him. This being the case, Odysseus fights fire with fire, using his own cunning deception against the evils of womankind.
This is not public place / this is Odysseus’ house- / my father won it for me, so it’s mine / you suitors control yourself. No insults now, / no brawling, no, it’s war between us all.” (Homer 20.291-296). Here you can see Telemachus showing courage and confidence both things he wanted to do as soon as the suitor got to his home but couldn’t do. But what changed? As the reader, what really showed me that Telemachus found his voice was when he said “don’t let me see more offenses in my house, / not from anyone! I’m alive to it all, now, / the good and the bad- the boy you knew is gone.” (Homer 20.345-347). When Telemachus uses the word now in this sentence it shows that the Telemachus in the beginning of the book is totally different from the one in book 20. He now has more experience and the guidance of his father, both crucial things that he didn’t have in book one. This is why I believe the challenge of not having his father around combined with the infestation of the suitors is what really lead Telemachus to transform into the man he always wanted to
Compare and Contrast : In The Odyssey, by Homer, Eurycleia is a nurse that takes care of Odysseus before he leaves to Troy. When Odysseus gets back home after 20 years, he find out that the suitors have taken over his palace, and are trying to take Penelope’s hand in marriage. He then murders all the suitors, then tells Telemachus, his son, “‘And when you have set in order all the house, lead forth these slave-maids out of the stately hall to a spot between the roundhouse and the neat court-year, and smite them with our swords till you take life from all’” (Homer 282). Odysseus makes the maids clean up the dead bodies, and makes them clean up, and then because they are not fully loyal to Odysseus, kills
The reader first finds the character of Telemachus sitting among the suitors in his father’s palace. This seemingly unimportant detail yields information regarding his temperament. The suitors, whom Homer portrays as malicious usurpers, continue to take advantage of Telemachus’ hospitality. Instead of defending his home, his mother, and his belongings from these men, Telemachus numbers among them. This lack of assertiveness displays his frailty and his helplessness given the overwhelming circumstances. At this point, Athena, disguised as Odysseus’ old friend Mentes, visits Telemachus in order to “inspire his heart with courage” (I.105). The two share a meal and engage in a lengthy conversation. The goddess discusses how Telemachus should handle the troublesome suitors and suggests a journey to try to ascertain the whereabouts of Odysseus. The conversation appears to immediately galvanize the young man’s resolve. In fact, immediately after her departure, he summons the courage to confront the suitors, demanding that they are to leave his house at once. The assertiveness that Telemachus displays in this instance is a dramatic departure from ...
More broadly, we can look at Finkeleberg’s analyses of Odysseus compared to other heroes in Greek literature. In relation to other Achaean heroes, Odysseus is described as choosing a bow rather than the common weapon of heroes, the spear. Odysseus is also the only hero that is shown to be concerned about food and receiving gifts. Lastly, Odysseus is the only Homeric hero that has the epithet polutlas, meaning ‘much-enduring,’ which is shown through his experiences having to compromise and suffer humiliation (Finkelberg, 2). Furthermore, we can use Menelaus to compare some of the traits he shows as a hero compared to that of Odysseus.
This shows how badly they were treated and how much higher the expectations of staying faithful are for the women than the men. Many times throughout Odysseus’s journey we read about him “sleeping around” with beautiful women while receiving no punishment. Coming home and hearing about the maids sleeping with the suitors, he gets angered and states, ”I would not give the clean death of a beast/ to trulls who made a mockery of my mother/ and of me too--you sluts, who lay with suitors” (22.514-16). The punishment of the maids is getting hung, which was seen at that time as an unhonorable death. This connects to our society today because women still get called names like the maids were and are shamed for sleeping with someone while the men are applauded.