...A Women's Role in The Odyssey "So by day she'd weave at her great and growing web- / by night, by the light of the torches set beside her, / she would unravel all she'd done.", stated Antinous in book two on page 21 of The Odyssey. By saying this Homer, the author of this epic poem, shows that women used their wits to out smart men. Women mortal and immortal show great influence over the men in the poem. The women not only seduced and guided the men in The Odyssey they were also over looked and forgotten. The Odyssey is mainly describing a mans long journey home after the Trojan War, but women play an important role in the story. Different roles women present in The Odyssey can be explained by looking at Athena, Calypso, Circe, and Penelope. Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, used her knowledge and abilities to guide Odysseus. Throughout all of The Odyssey Athena majorly impacts Odysseus and his son, Telemachus. In the book one of The Odyssey, with Zeus' consent Athena disguised herself as Mentes, one of Odysseus' old friends and seeks out Telemachus....
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...The Appropriation and Contextualisation of The Maids Written by Mary Gizzi for Preliminary Extension English Ever since the beginnings of ancient civilisation, literature has been used to express unique concepts, cultures, and historical events. As the world we live in continues to change, our ideas & values must adjust to our transforming environment, and as a result of this, the meaning of older works of literature may become lost. To overcome this, earlier texts are appropriated. This means that the old stories and texts are transformed into a new context, which leads to new ideas forming and an introduction of differing perspectives. Homer’s ‘The Odyssey’ was written almost 3000 years ago, and is considered to be part of canonical literature....
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...Homer’s, The Odyssey, is a story about Odysseus journey back Home to Ithaca. His journey back home took him twenty years because the Gods kept interfering with Odysseus plans because thought his journey Odysseus made many enemies and the gods wanted to punish him for his acts. After Odysseus and his crew have finished of the suitors, his wife, Penelope, having been told by the old nurse, Eurykleia, that Odysseus is waiting for her downstairs, she goes down the stairs and she sees a man “leaning against a pillar, sat a man and never lifted up his eyes, but only waited for what his wife would say when she had seen him” this quote shows how Odysseus was not going to be the first one to make the move he was going to wait for his wife to recognize her husband. “I cannot speak to him… question him... keep my eyes upon his face. If really he is Odysseus, truly home, beyond all doubt we two shall know each other better than you or anyone. There are secret signs we know, we two.” This quote shows how Penelope is the only person that can truly determine if this man is indeed Odysseus. “An old trunk of olive grew like a pillar on the building plot, and I laid out our bedroom round that tree…There’s our sign! I know no more. Could someone lese hand have sawn the trunk and dragged the frame away?... as she heard it told, her knees grew tremulous and week, her heart failed her. With eyes brimming tears she ran to him throwing her arms around his neck, and...
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...house, etc. Men are still free to do as thy wish while no one bats an eye, whereas women are scrutinized for their non-conforming actions. This pushes females to morph, pressed by their situation, into more complex characters. A perfect example would be “The Odyssey” by Greek poet Homer. It’s very much an epic tale of male oriented heroic quests when, however, women play an incredibly large role as well. This epic tale revolves around Ulysses’...
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...Themes, Themes, Themes So what is it with all these themes coming and going throughout the story, or what is the most important theme of The Odyssey? The title of the book is The Odyssey. The book is translated by Robert Fitzgerald. The book itself is bunched up into a book with fifteen sub-stories, books, or chapters; whatever you want to call them. This essay will be about; what is the main theme of this story? The lesson that should be learned with reading this essay is, “Stay true to your dreams, stay true to yourself (Persevere yourself).” The first example shown in the text when it shows symptoms of perseverance is somewhere towards the end. It is when Odysseus finally arrives home after being at least gone for twenty years from a ten year war, and also a ten year journey to getting back home. For instance, in book 23, page 573, lines 97-103, Telemachus states, “Mother, cruel mother, do you feel nothing, drawing yourself apart this way from Father? Will you not sit with him and talk and question him? What other woman could remain so cold? Who shuns her lord, and he come back to her from wars and...
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...find fault with you. Your fame, belive me, has reached the vaulting skies” (19.127-128). This is what Odysseus says to Penelope when he first saw her after 20 years of separation. In The Odyssey, there is a big question that many people have. Is odysseus loyal to penelope though the whole book? Although Odysseus slept with different goddesses, he is still loyal because, he took the hard way home, he risked his life on his way home, and lastly he protected penelope when he finally made his way home. In The Odyssey, Odysseus tries to return home and comes upon many people and obstacles on the way home. The whole way home Odysseus has one thing on his mind and that is to return home and see his dear family....
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...Besides showing the queer aspects of The Odyssey, the some of the male characters do not conform to their traditional gender norms. For example, in spite of being the ideal male warrior that “Odysseus the great soldier” is, he, like many of the female characters, weaves his way through conversations to solve his problems. For instance, in book five, Kalypso the nymph, who is keeping Odysseus captive, says: “’though you wanted her forever, that bride for whom you pine each day… can I be less desirable than she? Less interested? Can mortals compare with goddesses in grace and form’ To this the strategist Odysseus answered: ‘My lady goddess, here is no cause for anger. My quiet Penelope… would seem a shade before your majesty.’” (Bk. 5 ln 218-226)...
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...imperfections like humans do. If one were to read The Odyssey, one of the most controversial questions that would be asked if whether or not Odysseus is a hero. Certainly, some may say he is not because of all the terrible things he did throughout, but remember a hero has flaws. Otherwise than that Odysseus is a hero. Throughout his journey, it is shown that he possesses many qualities of a hero such as intelligence, the strength he shows, the hardships he encounters and how he deals with them, and so on. According to The Odyssey written by Homer, it is shown that a hero has a quality of being a risk taker, a trait Odysseus demonstrates in his adventure. The part where Odysseus stabbed the Cyclopes in the eye is considered a huge risk. “Straight forward they sprinted, lifting it, and rammed it deep in his crater eye” (Homer, 414). The reason is, is because Odysseus already knew what the Cyclopes was capable of. If he was not successful then he along with his crew would become the Cyclopes dinner. Odysseus also shows how smart and cunning he is. When he is talking to one of the suitors he says “ I too once lived in a lofty house that men admired; rolling in wealth I’d often give to a vagabond like myself, whoever he was, whatever need had brought him to my door. And crowds of servants I had, and lots of all it takes to live the life of ease, to make men call you rich. But Zeus ruined it all- gods will no doubt” (Homer, 393). In this quote he basically wanted to teach a lesson to the...
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...Philosophies (Women)- Women play either a motherly role or that of a seductress. They are weakened along with being lost without a guide and a support. An example would be Penelope, wife of Odysseus since she is a mother, but while Odysseus is gone, and when suitors come along, in a way she tempts them in terms of power (of the role of king) and as a woman, but she actually never gives in to any of the men. The purpose of women was mainly to lament the losses for their men and also persuading for their safety. Criticism- Homer had written the Odyssey with a bit of over-the-top reiteration, along with the missing component of a sense of unity. However, even when Odysseus wasn’t on a scene, the lines of the story still indicate that he is...
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...Gender Inequality in The Odyssey In Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, female inferiority and gender inequality are recurring motifs. As a woman during this ancient time period (approximately 700 to 750 BCE), it was common to be regarded as “a man’s property”, or in other words, to be held to a double standard. In his poem, Homer demonstrates the inferior role of women compared to men, through multiple female characters. One specific character that significantly captures the idea and role of female inferiority is Penelope, Odysseus’s wife. Through close analysis of Penelope’s character and her relationships with men, it is evident that women in The Odyssey are held to a double standard. Penelope’s relationship with the suitors reveals female...
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...many obstacles that the person has to surmount. Heroes are everywhere. Odysseus is the hero of the “Odyssey” by a blind poet, Homer. Odysseus fights in Trojan War for 10 years and it took him another decade for him to get home. He had to pass many hardships to get to his homeland Ithaca. The three main stages in Campbell’s “The Hero’s Journey” that exemplified in Homer’s The Odyssey are the crossing of the first threshold,the road of trials, and freedom to live. For example, Joseph Campbell describes that the crossing of the first threshold is the hero which is Odysseus who is accompanied by the guide which is Athena, the goddess of wisdom goes beyond the boundaries of his or his everyday, enter the wilderness, and has the first encounter with...
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...Love comes in many different shapes and sizes. Their is no doubt that a good story like The Odyssey by Homer includes the major emotional theme of love. The idea of love is emphasized throughout The Odyssey in a variety of different ways: Romantic love, familial love, and love within a helping hand of someone. These types of love all come together in perfect harmony to make The Odyssey the amazing story that it is. In life we often look and search for someone to share the love and journey with. Odysseus and Penelope’s strong and powerful relationship was no different when it came to a pure representation of love. Their relationship stayed strong throughout all the hardships they both faced. Odysseus was gone on a journey for over two decades,...
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...themselves in love”, it reveals the adultery and the disloyalty of Odysseus towards Penelope, as he entwines himself in an affair with Calypso. Another example would be Odysseus’s involvement with Circe, the nymph or Aeaea, whom Odysseus made love to. According to the text, it states: Straightaway she began to swear the oath that I required–never, she’d never do me harm–and when she’d finished, then, at last,...
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...The Odyssey, written by Homer, is a series of poems that describe the heroics of Odysseus following the events of The Iliad. Throughout the books, there are many characters who show the features of a hero, who is someone who overcomes an impossible task or foe, even themselves, and can be occasionally given recognition for their feats. Two characteristics that a great hero and a great leader need are caution and cunning, and none show these better than Penelope and Odysseus. Penelope shows caution and Odysseus shows cunningness, who show these traits the best, which shows that great leaders need to be cautious and cunning. Caution, as shown by Penelope, illustrates the concept that great heroes need to be cautious. In book twenty-three, lines 94-100, Penelope is in distress, trying to think of how to approach the stranger who...
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...El Zohiry Class Section: 91066 October 27, 2015 Loyalty is one of the major themes discussed in both “The Odyssey” and “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” Loyalty is seen through Penelope and her husband in the book, and McGill and his friends in the film. In this paper I will explore and compare the theme of loyalty in both the film and the book. Loyalty is seen in many aspects of the book, one of which is Penelope’s wait for her husband for twenty years without committing any act of infidelity. Moreover, she was in a very dangerous situation because of the suitors, and she didn’t just give up in order to survive. Instead she used her intelligence and fooled the suitors by telling them that she will choose after she is done with the shroud....
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