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Greek women in mythology
Greek women in mythology
Odysseus the hero's journey
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Although the story is about Odysseus and his crew's trials to get home, the female characters each have an impact on their odyssey. Calypso, Circe, and Penelope are three very different women whose traits and personalities affect the roles they play in the Odyssey of Odysseus.
After ten years of war, Odysseus and his crew spend seven years with Calypso on her island in the Ionian Sea. She is a lonely sea nymph who lived alone there until Odysseus and his crew arrived. She doesn't appear evil, just lonely and desperate to keep the man she loves with her, even though he belongs to someone else. When after seven years, Odysseus remains loyal to his wife, she still isn't willing to release him, it takes Zeus to step in and get her to release
Judged by modern Western standards, the treatment of women by men in Homer's Odyssey can be characterized as sexist. Women in Homer's Odyssey are judged mainly by their looks. If important men and gods consider a woman beautiful, or if her son or husband is a hero or has an important position such as king, the woman is successful. The way women in The Odyssey are treated is based on appearance, the things men want from them, and whether the woman has any power over men. During Odysseus' journey to the underworld he sees many different types of women. We hear about their beauty, their important sons, or their affairs with gods. We hear nothing about these women's accomplishments in their lifetime. Odysseus tells how Antiope could "boast a god for a lover,"(193) as could Tyro and many other women. Epikaste was called "that prize"(195) her own son unwittingly married.
The women presented throughout The Odyssey provide a respectable representation of women in ancient Greece in general. There are several women introduced in The Odyssey, all of various backgrounds and social classes. The most notable women or type of women in this epic include goddesses, Penelope, and the housemaids and servants.
Circe and Calypso both manage to delay Odysseus for quite some time despite Odysseus eagerness to return home. They both are seductive in their ways and appear as temptresses throughout the epic. Circe is such an excellent lover that Odysseus stays on her island for a year, and even then is convinced only by his men to finally leave. Calypso also holds on to Odysseus for ten years despite his willingness to return back to Ithaca. These two immortals show the power that women exert over men in this book, Odysseus successfully evades and destroys all other distractions and monsters during his journey but falls victim in the presence of women. The Sirens also display man’s weakness, although they are unable to destroy man they definitely hold a powerful seductive supremacy over men. “INSERT QUOTE HERE.” Athena wants Odysseus to return home to Ithaca and Poseidon on account of Odysseus blinding his son, does not. When these two immortals are put to the test against each other, Athena prevails as Odysseus does manage to reach home eventually. However, women’s subservient role in society is still prominent in many ways. When Calypso is visited by Hermes it shows how powerless women are in society, “o
For this informative report I will attempt to point out the roles women and how they are viewed in ancient Greece. I will then show how these views are present in Homer’s "The Odyssey." How are women, goddess or mortal, conveyed in "The Odyssey?"
In The Odyssey by Homer, the worlds of Odysseus and Ithaca is a complete surreal world in which is unimaginable. This is a tricky epic that twists the true and makes the lies a reality. Odysseus is shown to be an untrustworthy man who uses others for his own success, specifically women. Not only does he take advantage of them but uses the limited gender roles to enhance himself. Even though Odysseus is king and has a lot of power, he still exhibits gender roles and claims that females are inferior to males. Gender roles are used to his advantage allowing him to become powerful and giving him the ability to control what he needs in order for him to triumph.
“Known as the birthplace of Western Civilization”. It is widely recognized for their contribution of math, sciences, literature (Greek mythology and poetry) and most importantly philosophy. One of Greece's most notable poets is; Homer. He is well known for his book called “The Odyssey”. Now the story is about a man named Odysseus and his journey of returning back to Ithaca after fighting in the Trojan war. Now the book is centered on a man, but what about women? What role do they play in the book?
The portrayal of women in The Odyssey is represented by both divinities and mortals that influence men in a particular way. Prominent examples include: Calypso, Circe , as well as Penelope. Although women held an entirely different position in society compared to men, both divinities and mortals alike held a certain field of influence and power; they simply exert it in ways of temptation, trickery, and deceit that eluded the men of the story.
Wilson is not wrong, as in Greek mythology Calypso is called a nymph (minor goddess.) On the contrary, Fagles illustrates Calypso as “lustrous” (Fagles, book 9, line 34,) making it seem like she, as a woman, needed the attention of Odysseus. By the same token, Fagles arranges it so that Calypso plays the role of the enemy, not Odysseus, though being unfaithful to his wife, Penelope. Wilson may have humanized Calypso more than Fagles because she, herself, identifies as a woman. As opposed to Fagles, who has more sympathy for Odysseus because he distinguishes himself as a
Homer uses many references to women in The Odyssey. He presents a totally different picture of women in relation to men. Ulysses was trying to return home to Ithaca after the Trojan War, and because of the rape of the Trojan princess, Cassandra, by one of his men, he had to overcome the wrath of the gods on his return. The trip home should have taken a few weeks but took ten years because of all the things that Ulysses and his crew had to face. Ulysses left his wife, Penelope in charge of the throne of Ithaca when he left for war. Most people had come to believe that Ulysses was dead because he had not returned from the war in a timely manner. Ulysses wanted nothing but to return to his wife and be reunited with her and his son.
The Iliad and Odyssey present different ideals of women, and the goddesses, who are presented as ideal women, differ between the two epics. The difference in roles is largely dependent on power, and relations to men, as well as sexual desirability and activity.
The women in The Odyssey are a fair representation of women in ancient Greek culture. In his work, Homer brings forth women of different prestige. First there are the goddesses, then Penelope, and lastly the servant girls. Each of the three factions forms an important part of The Odyssey and helps us look into what women were like in ancient Greece.
The Greeks scorn and blame women for Odysseus’ actions in order to maintain his image as an admirable hero. When Odysseus recounts his stay on Ogygia with the “witch, Calypso, a radiant creature,” she is portrayed as the villain for seducing Odysseus because she is a woman, which in Ancient Greek culture means she is always in the wrong (Rouse 3). No one ever recognizes that during his seven years on the island, Odysseus is regularly unfaithful to “his lady” Penelope (li. 1573). He claims that “in [his] heart [he] never gave consent” to sleep with Calypso, but if Odysseus is truly devoted to his wife, then he would not have allowed himself to give in to the alluring nymph (li. 662). Odysseus is just as much at fault as Calypso, but the Greeks only hold her responsible because it is easier to criticize a woman instead of a man. Due to the patriarchy in Ancient Greek society, women hold lower statuses than men and are less respected, so it is easier to cast them in a negative light since ultimately they are inconsequential in comparison to men. Odysseus, like many other men, is a hero who represents the Greeks and is as close to a god as most mortals reach. The Greeks never question or disapprove of his actions because they are more willing to turn a blind eye to his flaws and onl...
Of all the themes in the Odyssey, the one that seems to stand out is Odysseus's struggle to return home. There are many reasons why his journey is deterred, the most obvious being the women he encounters. Of the women, their are two that truly represent "the different aspects of creative and destructive feminiinty." (Taylor, 571)
The epic poem The Odyssey by Homer is a compelling story about a king named Odysseus. Twenty years before this story began, Odysseus, King of Ithaca, voyaged to Troy to fight in the Battle of Troy. During those twenty years, vile suitors pined after his wife, Penelope, while she lamented for him. On the journey back from Troy, women played the important role of being five out of the seven beings that hindered the men’s journey in some form. Although the goddess Athena is shown as someone who succored Odysseus on his path back to Ithaca, Homer presents women in a more negative light, as manifested through the characters Penelope, Calypso, and Scylla.
The poem “Iliad,” by Homer, is known for its violence between men during a war, but under that violence, is the different type of women who play a significant role in the poem (Homer 189). This poem’s narrative seems to show a male dominated world between the Greek commanders. This male dominated world cannot happen on its own, thus the different background roles of women are needed in order to make sense of all this rage. As the University of Michigan article How Do Women Make Their Way Into This Cycle states, “They are seen as the objects of both lust and domesticity, yet they are also used to excuse war, cause conflict, and display the power of men” (www.umich.edu). The focus in this poem steers towards the rage between the men, but this rage most of the time is inspired and initiated by a woman. The women of Iliad play a significant role in the poem such as war prizes, male hero partners, and women gods.