Roles Of Women In The Odyssey Essay

Throughout The Odyssey, men are considered the heroes and the principal characters who play a huge role as conquerors. Yet, women are the pivotal characters and the underlying heroines who assist the men in ways no others could. Homer displays palpable gender bias and sweeps women under the rug as if they portray a weak role, rather than a supportive and important one. Without these women’s efforts, many of the men, such as Odysseus, would not have been able to succeed. For instance, without the help of Athena, the goddess of wisdom, Odysseus could not have completed his journey back home. With Zeus and Poseidon fighting against him, Odysseus is left with a vigorous and unruly predicament. He has no other choice to receive help from Athena, who could not be happier to assist. In multiple circumstances, Athena disguises Odysseus, which in turn helps him retain information as another persona. As he arrives on the island of the Phaeacians, Athena disguises him in a cloud of mist, allowing him to make an entrance without causing attention. This aids him in the long run because he is able to create trust between him and King Alkinoos, a fortunate ally. Later in the Epic, Athena disguises Odysseus as an old beggar on his home island of Ithaca.

A prime example of this point is Odysseus’s wife, Penelope. Although she has gone through great sorrow, namely the absence of her husband for 20 years, she plays a much more pivotal character than a sad wife. She is faced with a colossal burden, the rude suitors. She is able to ward them off, come up with ways to stall them and trick them, all while staying faithful to her husband. This is a great feat in of itself, yet she is also faced with the fact that her husband has not been faithful to her. Although she is aware of his plight, knowing your husband is with another women is not a comforting