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Role Of Women In The Odyssey, By Term Paper

¶ … role of women in "The Odyssey," by Homer, by discussing our well-defined thesis based on the Odysseus' temptations in life. The Works Cited five sources in MLA format. Role of Women in Homer's Odyssey

The lexical meanings of the word epic are though many but all discuss the same notion. However, according to the American Heritage Dictionary, an epic is "an extended narrative poem in elevated or dignified language, celebrating the feats of a legendary or traditional hero or a literary or dramatic composition that resembles an extended narrative poem celebrating heroic feats." Hence, Homer, a distinguished Greek literary figure whose poetic as well as heroic works considerably influenced the Western Literature of even today, produced intricate but moralistic epic legends of his times. Little is known about the "life history of this principle figure of ancient Greek literature, the first European poet," dates back to 700 B.C, residing in "Asia Minor" (Homer, Encyclopedia 7th Edition). Although Homeric Hymns are inaccurately credited to him, Homer produced Iliad and Odyssey, two epic poems with "dactylic hexameter and are of nearly the same length" (Homer, Encyclopedia 7th Edition).

Homer produced Odyssey after he unfolded the undertakings of the Trojan War that the Greeks fought and won the crusade that lasted for ten years with the help of their audacious and heroic warriors. The epic Odyssey revolves around the gallant hero of Homer's work, Odysseus, his daring moves on the field of battle, his manly style and the shortcomings of his character. Hence, our research, information and analysis throughout the paper will be based upon the following thesis statement:

In the Odyssey, Odysseus is portrayed as a hero's hero and a man amongst men, although his greatest weakness is the temptation of women.

The following passages of our

After Achilles, Iliad's hero, Odysseus is the famous icon of Greek heroism. He certainly appears to be a hero's hero and a man's man, for Odysseus had all that it takes to be a hero and to perform accordingly; the prowess to fight on the battle field with courage, confidence, tolerance and most of all tactics. All the chapters of Odyssey provide sufficient evidence to its readers to consider Odysseus sensible and wise for he displayed the qualities of an intellectual man with "an inquiring mind and outstanding prowess and bravery" (Odysseus, the Hero). His muscular strength that made him a superior athlete (Odysseus, the Hero) strengthens our belief as well as advocates our thesis statement that considers Odysseus as the man amongst men. Blessed with the ability to weigh all the pros and cons and wait for the right moment to make a sensible and most expedient move makes Odysseus a rational individual (Odysseus, the Hero), unlike many heroic warriors like Achilles who are impatient and highly sentimental. The translucent example of his utter tolerant nature is when the hero dressed and disguised as a beggar leaves for Ithaca and patiently waits to reveal his real self at the right time (Odysseus, the Hero). The long poetic work of Homer is full with examples of Odysseus's valor.
However like all other human beings, Odysseus was not the perfect man. He displayed qualities that stood in the path of righteousness and ceased his way to quick victory. One weakness of
character that he displayed, which procrastinated his expedition back to Ithaca was his inability to control his inflated ego (Odysseus, The Hero). Odysseus took pride in what he achieved however he was far from being humble about what he possessed. This is obtrusive…

Sources used in this document:
Works Cited

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language; Fourth Edition, Houghton Mifflin Company.

HOMER, The Columbia Encyclopedia, Seventh Edition, 01-01-2002

Odysseus, the Hero. Available at http://library.thinkquest.org/19300/data/Odyssey/odysseus.html (November 6, 2002)

Themes, Motifs and Symbols. Available at http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/odyssey/themes.html (November 6, 2002)
The Role of Women in the Illiad and the Odyssey. Available at http://junior.apk.net/~fjk/ill.html (November 6, 2002)
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