Role Of Women In The Odyssey
The Role of Women in The Odyssey
Women form an important part of the folk epic, written by Homer, The Odyssey. Within the story there are three basic types of women: the goddess, the seductress, and the good hostess/wife. Each role adds a different element and is essential to the telling of the story.
The role of the goddess is one of a supernatural being, but more importantly one in a position to pity and help mortals. Athena, the goddess of wisdom, is the most prominent example of the role; in the very beginning of the story she is seen making a plea for Odysseus' return home, and throughout the first half of the book she assists him in his journey. She is the driving force behind arranging Odysseus' return home from getting Kalypso to release him to making sure Nausikaa found him on Skheria. In books 1-4 she helps Telemakhos, Odysseus' son, gather the courage to go out and get news about his father. Other than Athena, there are many examples of goddesses taking pity on a mortal, usually Odysseus, and helping him out. When Odysseus is suffering in a storm that Poseidon sent for him, Ino, a
Nereid, gives him an immortal veil that saves his life. Even Kirke and Kalypso help Odysseus tremendously with information and supplies. It is the
Role of the woman goddess and not the male god to pity and proffer help to the suffering mortal.
The next and less benevolent role is that of the seductress. Two stories about such women referred to in The Odyssey are those of the half-sisters Helen and Klytaimnestra. The entire Trojan War was caused by Helen's unfaithfulness to Menelaos; her affair caused many deaths and Odysseus would not have had to leave home if she had not run away with Paris. The other sister also caused pain and suffering by having an affair and then killing her husband, Agamemnon, with her lover on his homecoming day. The seductress is always looked upon as dangerous and harmful to mankind. The Seirenes symbolize this role; their song seduces and compels anyone listening to linger until death. Kirke tries to seduce Odysseus before she helps him, and the beautiful Kalypso entices him with sex and immortality and will not release him to go home. It is the hero's job to resist the temptation of the seductress or it will lead to his downfall.
In direct contrast with the seductress is the good hostess or wife. Penelope, Odysseus' wife, is the most important of these characters. She is the image of steadfastness, waiting and hoping for years for Odysseus'
return. Even the intimidating suitors do not bend her from her constancy. Along with Penelope is Eurykleia who matches Penelope in steadfastness to her job as Telemakhos' nurse. Nausikaa is a good example of a girl who is an excellent hostess to Odysseus (she provides him a bath, clothing, food, and advice), and also cares about her image as a virtuous woman. Her mother, Queen Arete, is good hostess as well, and it was said that her favor would assure Odysseus a ship ride home. The role of the hostess is similar to that of goddess because they are both assisting those in need, Odysseus. More significantly the role of the good woman is to provide a model that makes up for the seductresses. They are there to show that Agamemnon's statement about his women, that woman (Klytaimnestra) plotting a thing so low, defiled herself and all her sex, all women yet to come, even those few who may be virtuous, is untrue.
The women in all three of these roles embody an essential part of the events of the story. The hero is helped by the goddess and the good woman, and must overcome her opposite, the seductress. The relationship between the hero and the women, in fact, forms the majority of the story. Thus the role of women in Homers The Odyssey plays an important part to making this epic poem such a wondrous tale and is essential to making this a wonderfully written epic.
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The Gods Views In The Iliad
With our view of God, it can sometimes be difficult to comprehend the actions and thinking of the Greek deities. The Christian God does not tend to take such an active role in the affairs of people's lives, where, on the other hand, the Greeks regarded direct involvement by the gods as a daily, uncontrollable part of life. Needless to say, divine intervention was a major variable in the equation of Homer's Iliad. The gods picked whom they would favor for different reasons. Except Zeus: As the symbol of supreme authority and justice, he makes judgement calls as to the other gods' involvement in the war, remains impartial, and doesn't seem to get caught up in picking favorites. Even when his own son, Sarpedon, was about to die, Zeus chose to let the outcome go unaltered. On the other hand, Zeus's wife, Hera, displayed the more typical actions of a god. After Paris, a Trojan, judged Aphrodite the fairest over Hera, and, after her daughter Hebe was replaced as cupbearer to the gods by a young Trojan boy, she was quite resentful towards Troy and its people. Obviously she sided with the Greeks and would stop at no length to express her will. Scheming and manipulating she even dared to trick her husband, King of the Gods. Hera, along with Athena, who was also passed over by Paris, is seen as the chief divine aid to the Greeks. Being the god of the sea, Poseidon was another strong supporter of the ocean-faring Greeks. Whenever Zeus turned his back Poseidon tried to help the Greeks in the fight. Poseidon felt that he was somewhat Zeus's equal as his brother, but recognizing Zeus's authority and experience, he looked to Zeus as an elder. There were also Gods who favored the Trojan side of the conflict. Apollo and Artemis, twin brother and sister gave aid to the city of Troy. Although Artemis takes a rather minor role, Apollo perhaps angered by Agamemnon's refusal to ransom Chryseis, the daughter of one of his priests and was constantly changing the course of the war in favor of the Trojans. Responsible for sending plague to the Greeks, Apollo was the first god to make an appearance in the Iliad. Also, mainly because Apollo and Artemis were on the Trojan side, their mother, Leto, also helped the Trojans. Aphrodite, obviously supporting Paris's judgement, sided with the Trojans. Although she was insignificant on the battlefield, Aphrodite was successful in convincing Ares, her lover and the god of war, to help the Trojans. One view of the gods' seemingly constant intervention in the war was that they were just setting fate back on the right course. For instance, when Patroclus was killed outside of Troy, Apollo felt no guilt for his doings. It had already been decided that Patroclus would not take Troy, he should never have disobeyed Achilles in the first place. As a god, he was just setting fate on a straight line. Achilles laid blame on Hector and the Trojans. He did not even consider accusing Apollo, who never came into question, although he was primarily responsible for the kill. Apollo's part in the matter was merely accepted as a natural disaster or illness would be today. This general acceptance of a god's will is a recurring trend throughout the poem. A prime example of this trend is in book XXIV. Achilles, angry over the death of Patroclus, brutally disgraced Hectors body. Tethering Hectors corpse through the ankles, Achilles dragged him around Patroclus’ tomb every day for twelve days. This barbaric treatment was uncalled for and displeased the gods greatly. Achilles mother, Thetis, was sent by Zeus to tell him to ransom the body back to the Trojans. One may think Achilles would be possessive of the body and attempt to put up a fuss as he did before with Agamemnon in Book I. Achilles showed humility and respect for the gods and immediately agreed to ransom the body to the Trojans, showing that all mortals, even god-like Achilles, were answerable to the gods. This ideology would seem to give the gods a sort of unlimited freedom on earth; although, the gods could not always do as they pleased and eventually had to come before Zeus. Zeus acted as a balance of sorts throughout the Iliad. He had to keep the gods in order and make sure that what fate decreed would happen. For example, after Achilles re-enters the battle Zeus declared that if Achilles was allowed to go on slaughtering the Trojans with nothing to slow him down, he would take Troy before fate said it would happen. Therefore, to counter Achilles massive retaliation against the Trojans, Zeus allowed the gods to go back to the battlefield. In Zeus's own interests, he preferred to deal with issues more personal to the individual heroes of the Iliad. This can be seen throughout the book as Zeus attempted to increase the honor of certain individuals. Zeus knew that Hector was going to be killed by Achilles, and, feeling sorry for Hector Zeus attempted to allow Hector to die an honorable death. For instance, when Hector stripped Achilles armor off Patroclus, Zeus helped Hector fill out the armor so he would not seem like less of a man then Achilles. Zeus also gave his word to Thetis that Achilles would gain much glory showing his involvement on a personal level. Homer used the gods and their actions to establish twists on the plot of the war. It would not have been possible for him to write the story without the divine interventions of the gods. Indeed, they affected every aspect the poem in some way, shape or form. Yet, from the immortal perspective of the Greek god, the Trojan War, and everything related to it, was only a passing adventure in the great expanse of time.
Word Count: 978
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