...Over time, the roles of both men and women have changed slightly, but in a lot of cases they still remain the same. In the Odyssey one can see there are unquestionably different expectations for men versus women during this time period. To this day, there is little information on Homer himself. Even though there is not much information about the author himself, it is known that “The epic poem Odyssey focuses on the Greek character Odysseus and his ten year journey from Troy to Ithaca after the fall of Troy (Trojan war).”("Odyssey by Ancient Greek Poet Homer.") This story takes place directly after the Trojan War. The society is still recovering from the war and tragedy. Although gender expectations are true in the early years that the Odyssey...
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...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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...Kendra Perkins Matt Fox Eng 112 14 December 2011 The Odyssey: Comparison of Genders in Greek Mythology The Odyssey by Homer may be seen by many as a heroic story of a man on his journey home; however, there is an underlying story of the trials in the roles of men and women and the relationships between them. Men and women are portrayed differently in Greece, as in other societies. Men are considered to be the more powerful of the two and are responsible for the protection of their home. Women, on the other hand, are thought to care for the children and are also responsible for the supervision of both the interior and exterior of the home while the men are away. As a man, Odysseus showed great leadership in the war at Troy and was considered the hero at the Trojan War. His wife Penelope, on the other hand, exemplified the role of a woman and leadership in her daily duties of caring for the home and all of their possessions within. In her attempts to do so, she was overcome by suitors and was unable to stop them from partaking of all of their meat and drinks. This essay will explain the underlying roles of men and women in ancient Greece as well as modern day. The beginning of the novel takes place in Ithaka at the home of Odysseus. Suitors have overrun his home in the pursuit of marrying his “widow” Penelope. Telemakhos, son of Odysseus, felt it was a shame that these men would come into their home and eat and drink their house empty. Athena, daughter of Zeus, came to Telemakhos...
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...disapproval towards his own mother, which is ironic, considering the fact that Telemachus is her son. This is not just irony, but rather, a clear representation of female inferiority, since Telemachus is portrayed as the dominant figure who reprimands his own mother (the submissive). Furthermore, this reveals female inferiority through the idea that men are to give orders and criticism, and women are to receive them. This idea continues throughout this quote, especially when Telemachus says, “your heart was always harder than a rock!”. In any situation, it would be shocking to hear a son yell at his own mother. But, in a male-driven society within The Odyssey, it is not uncommon at all. Here, Telemachus openly criticizes his mother, and she is expected to accept it without challenge. This is, once again, a clear example of gender inequality, and how men can speak however they like, and women must accept that. Consequently, Penelope’s relationship with her son, Telemachus, represents how women are held to a double...
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...Looking back over the expansive history of humanity, have the roles of men and women evolved? Not really. Women still work and watch over the house and such while the men go out to be breadwinners, but there’s still the underlying sexism that women are the ones who should be doing only the real woman’s work, raising the family, maintaining the 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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...The Essential Role of Goddess in Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey Just as women were viewed as inferior to men during Homer’s era, a first glance at Homer’s epics The Iliad and The Odyssey portrays goddesses as inferiors to gods. Despite the era’s bias to men, the goddesses are of equal importance to the plot of his stories as the gods. The goddesses play vital roles as either helpers or nightmares to men by often determining the results of an action. Homer did not establish the goddesses in his epics merely as minor structures to blend in the background. Rather, he established dynamic goddesses who were both powerful and intelligent. In fact, in many ways the goddesses controlled the gods by having an influence in their decisions and actions through manipulation, persuasion and guidance. By influencing the gods, the goddesses also played a large role as shepherds for human fate. The goddess’s constant intervention in the mortals’ lives was driven by favoritism, love or sexual desires, and their pity for the weak. Although the goddesses are often restricted from doing as they wish by the gods, they have proven, in many occasions, to overpower the gods through manipulation. Goddesses were often told what to do by the gods. Tasks such as delivering messages from Zeus were often carried out by Athena. Just as Hector told his wife, “Go home, attend to your own handiwork at loom and spindle, and command the maids to busy themselves, too. As for war, that is for men, all we...
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...In the epic Odysseus, readers see that men and women play very different roles in the Greek culture. Women can have very powerful roles that range from goddesses to queens. Many times in this epic, women display that they have control over men, and they can influence a man to do anything they want. But, men have different views on different classes of women, and they value high class women more than lower women. When a man and woman marry, the woman is expected to be loyal to him when he is away. The same act is expected of the men, however, showing that both genders are important in the Greek culture. Women are shown to be either very powerful or very mistreated depending on social class, whereas men are shown to be powerful, free warriors....
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...Folktale Motifs of the Nausikaa Episode in The Odyssey In Book VI of The Odyssey, the tale of princess Nausikaa exhibits the folklore motifs of struggle, lust, persuasion, marriage, determinedness, and gender roles that are historically valued in Western culture. People perceive the episode of Nausikaa and the Phaiakians in different ways. Book VI is a wonderful representation of a "fairy-tale" encounter that simply allows those who are involved to experience hope and change. In the Nausikaa episode, innocence is almost lost, persuasion becomes a method for salvation, kindness is overabundant, and genuineness to the self is of great importance. Folktales have been used throughout history to pass along customs, beliefs, and ways of life. They have influenced society's structure and development, along with metaphorically reminding and teaching people about how things were in the past and should be in the future. In Book VI of The Odyssey, Odysseus is washed onto the shore of the island of the Phaiakians, is wakened by the princess Nausikaa and her maidens, and his encounters are filled with folktale motifs. These motifs are cliché elements that constitute the Nausikaa episode, are defined in nonfictional culture, and express the themes of persuasion, eroticism, forbidden beauty, social norms, and rebirth. John Arnott MacCulloch, a Scottish author whom wrote many works on mythology and folklore, describes folktales and relates their use in culture and The Odyssey's Book...
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...theme is conforming to gender roles and expectations. Written over two-thousand years ago, Antigone is ultimately based upon the struggle of an individual person...
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...Penelope, Epic Heroine During Ancient Greece, when women were seen as property, Penelope, Odysseus’ wife in The Odyssey, stands out as a woman beyond that claim. In Odysseus’ 20 year absence, she reigns over Ithaca, creatively staves off suitors, and raises a son, Telemachus, all while being faithful and devoted to him. Many of these obligations are not unlike what modern women grapple with. However, what sets Penelope apart is that she is accomplishing them at a time when women were seen as property and unable to have reigning duties. "The hero is the man or woman who has been able to battle past his personal and local historical limitations” (Campbell). Because of Penelope’s success in the face of adversity, she is a true heroine. Although inundated with suitors, she maintains her heroic loyalty to Odysseus in his absence. Contrastingly, her cousin, Clytemnestra, is unfaithful to her husband, Agamemnon, while he is fighting the Trojan War alongside Odysseus. Penelope knows that it is not conventional or acceptable to remain unmarried if one’s husband is considered dead, but her deep love and devotion to Odysseus keeps her inventing new means to avoid marrying any of the suitors. Because she is born to a prince and holds the royalty title, and anyone she marries will become King of Ithaca. For that reason, Penelope does not have to fear the same fate as Andromache, Hector’s wife in The Iliad. Hector was of royal blood, but Andromache was not; therefore, upon his...
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...EXAMINATION OF DUTY AND SELF CONTROL IN THE ODYSSEY Aashna Jamal INTRODUCTION Under the rule of Zeus, events did not occur in isolation but in interdependence causing there to be a flux in the totality of events and the whole drama being played on a cosmic plane. The central theme of Zeus’s rule is the preservation of his “ oikos” or household management where the prevalence of order over Chaos is of utmost importance. In this paper, using the Odyssey as a case study, I will examine the thematic importance of the decisions taken by a hero in accordance to or defiance of self control and pietas and the consequences they lead to. These expectations are clearly marked out for the reader who waits in anticipation to garner the fate of the hero. I will analyse the themes of self control and pietas or duty in the Odyssey and discuss their special significance in this epic. I will then briefly talk about the Hindu concept of duty or Dharma with reference to the Ramayana. I however do not intend to use the concept of monomyth coined by Joseph Campbell also referred to as the hero's journey(which is a basic pattern that its proponents argue is found in many narratives from around the world.) in comparing these epics. The example of the Ramayana will only serve my purpose of highlighting the theme of duty in mythologies across the world. Lastly, I will conclude with the importance of inspecting these themes because of their significance to the plotline. Georg Wissowa notes that pietas was...
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...A hero is defined as many things. One who is selfless, one who shows compassion, one who not only leads others into battle but fights alongside them. In the greek parables, The Odyssey, by Homer and in Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles a hero is described as someone who perseveres on even when burdened by the weight of the unknown. The hero of The Odyssey is named Odysseus, a young man who overcame many trials to get back to his home in Ithaca, and the hero of Oedipus Rex is King Oedipus, a ruler who has his people's best interest at heart. The protagonists in these tales are both reputed to have heroic qualities and yet how they dealt with being receptive to new ideas, their humility, and their relationship with a higher power was what led each to...
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...for so long, that many, including the victims, are almost oblivious of it, almost certain that it does not even exist anymore. What could possibly be this detrimental problem that society faces today? What could possibly have existed for eons yet still be seen as irreparable? And most importantly, what could possibly claim half of the world’s population as its victims? Ani DiFranco, an American singer, once said, “Patriarchy is like the elephant in the room that we don't talk about, but how could it not affect...
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...Personal Portrait There are many theories that are associated with human development. I will create a personal portrait and integrate developmental theory, moral development, and gender and cultural influences. Erikson Erikson’s developmental theory will be used to analyze my life stage by stage. I will compare Erikson’s theory of development to Lawrence Kohlberg’s model of moral development and analyze how these theories have affected my development from birth to adulthood. Last I will evaluate hoe factors can be explained within the context of gender differences and environmental, cultural, and ethnic influences. We all have different personality traits many are inborn temperament traits and others were learned based on our environment and the support we receive in growing up. Erikson became a leading figure in the psychosocial study of human growth and development, formulating nine stages, with a “conflict” or “crisis” to be resolved at each stage for healthy development to occur (Crandell, Crandell, Zanden, p. 39, 2009). Each stage builds on the preceding stages and the crisis in each stage should be resolved by the ego in that stage. As employed by Erikson (1968a, p. 286), a crisis is not “a threat of catastrophe but a turning point, a crucial period of increased vulnerability and heightened potential.” More importantly he said, “remember that conflict and tension are sources of growth, strength, and commitment” (Erikson & Erikson, 1997) (Crandell, Crandell...
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...puts forth information to be just as relevant to the argument from the University College London, “It is clear that users are not reading online in the traditional sense; indeed there are signs that new forms of “reading” are emerging as users “power browse” horizontally through titles, contents pages and abstracts going for quick wins. It almost seems that they go online to avoid reading in the traditional sense.” (p.91) Carr goes on to use expert opinion in persuading the reader to see that the mind needs deep reading to develop. In doing so, he compares and contrasts the intellectual difference between light and substantive reading. For example, he quotes Maryanne Wolf, developmental psychologist at Tufts University, “We are not only what we read, [w]e are how we read.” Furthermore, “When we read online, she says, we tend to become “mere decoders of information.” Our ability to interpret text, to make the rich mental connections that form when we read deeply and without distraction, remains largely disengaged.” (p.91) Carr uses several more experts in varying fields to emphasize his point of comparing and...
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