The Role of Women in The Odyssey
Homer wrote the classic epic The Odyssey more than 2,500 years ago. At that time in ancient Greek society, as well as in the whole of the ancient world, the dominant role was played by men. Society was organized, directed, and controlled by men, and it was accepted that women occupied a subservient and inferior position. Women, of course, were valued, but were expected to possess certain traits and perform certain tasks that men demanded of them. Does Homer's writing in The Odyssey support or refute the common belief of his time regarding women? Homer endorsed the dominating belief of his time concerning women by treating the female characters unequally and differently compared to the male characters in The Odyssey. By examining the women of The Odyssey one comes to one conclusion about women in Homer's epic. Homer's male characters in The Odyssey consistently treated women differently and unequally throughout The Odyssey. Concurrent with the time's belief that women held a subservient position in society to men, the male characters in The Odyssey often expected certain traits and actions that they didn't expect from men. Also all the societies and lands Odysseus visited that were inhabited by mortals were domina
me finish my weaving before I marry...' So every day she wove on the great Despite the fact that Penelope's home was being invaded by these suitors, they were stealing her food and wine, and destroying her life, the suitors had the audacity to claim that Penelope was the one to deceive and trick them. In fact it was the suitors who were doing wrong to Penelope. However, because Penelope is a women the suitors felt they had the right to do as they please. At some points even Penelope's faithful and loyal son Telemachus talks down to his mother. On pg. 379 Telemachus criticizes Penelope about her sometimes poor judgement, "...my mother is like that, perverse for all her cleverness; she'd entertain some riff-raff, and turn out a solid man." These examples demonstrate how it is accepted that men commonly speak disrespectfully to women and nothing will be done. However, if a woman speaks insolently to a man, there are severe repercussions. On pg. 347 when the maidservant Melantho speaks impudently to Odysseus when he is still incognito as a beggar, he scolds her fiercely and threatens violence on her, "...let me tell Telemachus how you talk in hall, you slut; he'll cut your arms and legs off." Many times throughout The Odyssey men speak condescendingly to women. Several examples can be cited that show the suitors speaking angrily about Penelope. The suitors first accuse Penelope of leading them on. Then on pg. 449 Amphimedon explains to Agamemnon in Hades the trickery and deceit of Penelope: Another example of how the rules and expectations for women did not apply to men in The Odyssey is when Eumaeus, the loyal swine herdsman of Odysseus, recounts how he came to Ithaca as a captive of a slave woman, Phoinikia. This woman was seduced by a roaming seafarer who, "...made such love to her as women in their frailty are confused by, even the best of them." The god Artemis later kills Phoinik
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Approximate Word count = 1291
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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