Women in the Odyssey
The roles women take in The Odyssey are as varied as society itself. There are good women, weak women, caretakers and even monsters. This paper will discuss three chief aspects women's roles in The Odyssey. The first is the role that mortal women play in the epic. The second is the role immortal women (goddesses) play on Mount Olympus and third the departments of life where women are the most powerful.
The Role of Mortal Women
The women of Homeric society are an integral part of The Odyssey and many of the female characters are held in high esteem. A passage that illustrates this the description of Arete, the wife of Alkinoos:
He "gave her such pride of place as no to her woman on earth is given of such women as are now alive and keep house for husbands. So she was held high in the heart and still she is so, by her beloved children, by Alinnoos himself and by the people, who look toward her as to a god when they see her (vii. 66-71).
The passage goes on to pay tribute to her intelligence, her friendliness and peacemaking abilities. The daughter of Arete, Nausikaa who defended Odysseus, is also compared to a goddess in book vi. 16. Penelope, Odysseus' wife, is a central character in The Odyssey and whom Odysseus ultimately wants to reach. It could perhaps be said that Penelope is his ultimate goal in his wanderings, without her representing...
Odyssey Homer's Odyssey is a classic epic poem, demonstrating all the hallmarks of epic poem structure and the epic journey cycle. The narrative of the Odyssey follows the return on Odysseus from Troy, a journey that takes ten years and spans many locations and setbacks, until he finally reaches his home in Ithaca. Even then, Homer must deal with one final setback before being successfully reunited with his family. This paper
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