Critical Review Essay Women In the Iliad The role of women in the Iliad is a subject that remains open to debate. Lefkowitz, in her article The Heroic Women of Greek Epic, argues that without the role of women in the Iliad the story would not have occurred (504 ). Lefkowitz points out that the Iliad opens with a description of a plague that was caused as the result of the capture of Chrysies by Agamemnon (504). Chryseis is the daughter of a priest named Chryses. Chryses wants his daughter back, so he offers a ransom to Agamemnon to try to get him to return his daughter. Agamemnon doesn't accept the ransom, so Chyrses prays to Apollo to help him. Upon Chyrses's prayer, Apollo sends a plague on the Greeks. Once the plague is sent and it starts to affect Agamemnon's people, Agamemnon then agrees to return Chyrses to her father. Lefkowitz then goes on to discuss another battle in this story that was caused because of a woman. That is the battle between Agamemnon and Achilles. Once Agamemnon had returned Chrysesis to her father, he felt that he should have another prize in her place. Agamemnon decided that he wanted Briseis, a war prize that belonged to Achilles. Achilles did not want to give her up because he won her in a war. Agamemnon didn't agree so he sent some men to take Briseis away from Achilles. Once Briseis had been taken away from Achilles, Achilles refused to fight in the war. When Achilles decided not to fight in the war it caused the Greek side to suffer many losses, and it also led to the death of his best friend Patroclus. Lefkowitz believes that the Iliad wouldn't be complete without the role of women. In comparison, Michael Murphy, author of Vows, Boasts and Taunts, And the Role Of Women In So... ... middle of paper ... ... would not have occurred. Questions do arise from the theories of these two authors. One may wonder if women in the Iliad played roles other than being the main force of war in the story, further research would help clarify that issue. Works Cited Lefkowitz, Mary R. "The Heroic Women Of Greek Epic." The American Scholar Autumn 87, Vol. 56 Issue 4: 503-518. Academic Search Premier. EBSCOhost. Montgomery, AL. 2 Feb 2006 troy.blackboard.com/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab=courses&url=/bin/common/course.pl?course_id= _98329_1> Murphy, Michael. "Vows, Boasts, And Taunts, And the Role Of Women In Some Medieval Literature." English Studies; Apr 85, Vol. 66 Issue 2: 105-112. Academic Search Premier. EBSCOhost. Montgomery, AL. 2 FEB 2006 //troy.blackboard.com/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab=courses&url=/bin/common/course.pl?course_i d=_98329_1>
In The Iliad, the gods and goddesses have completely different roles. The females are usually the ones in the battle fighting, while the male gods are putting courage into hearts, but that isn’t to say that is all that they do. This is a completely different role than the mortals have. While the men are out in battle, the women are knitting and cooking. The women are also described so that it seems like they are property and not humans, and that they don’t have any feeling. Where the female gods act and are treated as if they are equal, if not ranked higher.
The Role of Women in Greek Mythology In learning about the feminist movement, we studied the three articles, discussed and reviewed the different authors perspectives on the topic, and learned how important the role of woman in Greek mythology is. In presenting the feminist theory to the class, we analyzed the three articles, Women in Ancient Greece; Women in Antiquity: New Assessments; and Women in Greek Myth, and discussed how although the three articles provided different views on Feminism in mythology, they all essentially are aiming to teach the same basic concept. In order to understand the feminist theory, we have to understand the notion that although myths are invented and that they involve fantasy, the concept of mythology does not necessarily imply that there is no truth of history in them. Some of the humans may have lived while some of the events may have taken place. Most importantly, the social customs and the way of life depicted in the myths are a valuable representation of Greek society.
Yet, despite the fact that no two women in this epic are alike, each—through her vices or virtues—helps to delineate the role of the ideal woman. Below, we will show the importance of Circe, Calypso, Nausicaa, Clytaemestra, and Penelope in terms of the movement of the narrative and in defining social roles for the Ancient Greeks. Before we delve into the traits of individual characters, it is important to understand certain assumptions about women that prevailed in the Homeric Age. By modern standards, the Ancient Greeks would be considered a rabidly misogynistic culture. Indeed, the notoriously sour Boetian playwright Hesiod-- who wrote about fifty years before Homer-- proclaimed "Zeus who thunders on high made women to be evil to mortal men, with a nature to do evil (Theogony 600).
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.
Both the Women of Troy and the Iliad are great works of Greek literature that emphasize different aspects of war. While both these works deal with the Trojan War, their perspectives and emphasis are very different. Whereas in the Iliad, the focus is the war and the glory of the warriors, the Woman of Troy highlights the aftermath of the war. While the Iliad projects the women in the highest reverence, the Women of Troy dehumanizes them. The Iliad is about bravery and higher virtues of mankind, the Women of Troy is about the lecherous nature of mankind who preys upon the helpless and the weak.
This essay explores the role of women in Homer's Odyssey, James Joyce's Ulysses (1922) and Derrick Walcott's Omeros (1990), epics written in very different historical periods. Common to all three epics are women as the transforming figure in a man's life, both in the capacity of a harlot and as wife.
In fact, women are credited for ruining, tainting, or damaging the heroes’ journey and later meeting to their failure. An example of this can be seen in the Iliad when Homer chose Helen to be the main cause of the Great War between Troy and Greece which essentially put the blame on her and women in general for causing that tragic event. The point that Homer was trying to show was the distorted Greek view of women by implying or stating directly that a woman was at fault for the Great War whether Helen was abducted or went willingly. Also, when Agamemnon captured Briseis and Chryseis as war prizes for himself and Achilles, is an example of how men treated women as objects. In today’s society, countries are at war over oil, money, and land or other natural resources but in the Iliad, Achilles, Agamemnon’s finest warrior, revolted when against Agamemnon when he tried to take Briseis away from him since Agamemnon had to give Chyseis back. I believe that this was Homer’s way of showing us that women were thought of something that could be traded out or won in a battle. The theme of the Iliad can be seen as a portrayal of the Greek views of women as powerless beings. It can be seen that Homer wants to make this evident by how most of the women in the books read in class are excluded from policy or decision
Women in ancient Greek times did not have equal or political rights. Athena and Antigone, who were both very heroic women went above and beyond the stereotypical woman. In society today, women are still not looked as an equivalent to men. Athena and Antigone share the Greek heroic traits of honor, perseverance, and of living in a higher class. In Sophocles’ Greek tragedy, Antigone, and Homer’s epic, The Odyssey, the female characters, Antigone and Athena are not solely traditional female characters, instead, they embody the heroic characteristics, honor, perseverance, and high social standing.
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.
What is the role of women in the Iliad? Is this another ancient poem that demonstrates male dominance? Throughout the history of Greek mythology, women have had typical and preconceived roles. However, this does not affect the role of Briseis in Homer’s Iliad. In Homer’s epic poem, Briseis, Achilles’ captured Trojan slave, is significant because she is a prize, influenced the Trojan War, and is similar to the other strong women of the Iliad. In the ancient poem, Briseis was a princess who was captured once all her family members were killed by Achilles. The women played a vital role in the fate of the battles in this poem. It is startling because in archetypal Greek
One does not need to go into deep, critical analysis to see that women are portrayed as very weak and servile in the Iliad. We have seen them being humiliated by their husbands, brothers, and even owners. They are often charged with tasks others would find demeaning if left to someone else. The chauvinism is everywhere and it is very clear that the role of women in the Iliad was that of a woman who needs a man to take care of her and keep her lying, twisted heart in check.
In The Odyssey, the poem seems to be a man world and have women portrayed as a muse or siren that lures men “When Calypso, that lovely Goddess, tried to keep me with her in hollow caves, longing for me to be her husband, or when, in the same way, the cunning witch Aeaean Circe held me in her home filled with keen desire I’d marry her, they never won the heart here in my chest” (Bauschatz, 22). In the Iliad, it has similar connections when it comes to portraying women compared to the Odyssey, but not quite. The Iliad has women like trophies or prizes. Agamemnon was threatening Achilles of taking Briseus from him “but I shall take the fair-cheeked Briseis, your prize, I myself going to your shelter, that you may learn well how much greater I am than you, and another man may shrink back from likening himself to me and contending against me” (Bauschatz, 6). In Works and Days, the Women have a duty in the household and getting married “Don’t put things off to tomorrow and then to the next day; no sluggish worker f ills up his barn, and neither does a man who delays. It is care that prospers the work; Do-it-tomorrow wrestles with ruin (Bauschatz,
Walcot, P. “Greek Attitudes towards Women: The Mythological Evidence.” Greece & Rome 2nd ser. 31.1 (Apr., 1984): 37-47. Cambridge University Press on Behalf of The Classical Association Article Stable. Web.
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.
Achilles says that if he was to fight or stay home his destiny would be the same as any man. He would die as all mortals must (Homer 103). Even if Helen is the prize of this war he does not find meaning in fighting for her. Gray also mentions this occurrence where Achilles questions the reasoning for the war and says that she is not a prominent reason for him to risk his life (2). Homer’s acknowledgement of the ignorance of the warriors who fight for women is shown throughout the Iliad. Even though Helen’s abduction was the reason to start the war, Browa notices that although they fight for her not one person in the Iliad gives a crucial reason that justifies the fighting (5). Homer intentionally left out this detail because it supports his idea that men have no reason for fighting for women except the fact that a woman is a trophy. This underlying motif is spread within the Iliad, from the reason to begin the Trojan War, Helen, to the removal of Agamemnon’s and Achilles’s prizes of war, the daughter of Chryses (Wilson 173) and Brisies (Dué 114). Homer continuously shows that women cause conflict, but he believes that the greatest heroes and warriors can learn from these