Women of the Odyssey Essay -- Homer Epics Essays

The Women of the OdysseyMany people regard homing pigeons epics as war storiesstories about men those people often overlook the important divisions that women play in the Odyssey. While there are non many female characters in the Odyssey, the few that there are, play pivotal roles in the story and one can gain a lot of insight by analyzing how those women are portrayed. Homer portrays the females in contradictory ways the characters of genus Athene and Eurykleia are given strong, admirable roles while Melantho, the Sirens and Circe are depicted in a much more blackb tout ensemble way. Penelopethe central female characteris given both negative and positive attributes.Athena, the grey-eyed goddess of wisdom and battle, has a soft spot for Odysseus and Telemachos. The action begins with a meeting of the gods, where Athena makes a plea on behalf of Odysseus, asking her father, Why, Zeus, are you now so harsh with him? (I, 62). This action, paired with another intervention into a m eeting of the gods, shows Athenas initiative and nerve, two traits which would have been greatly admired by Homers sense of hearing. Athena also shows cleverness and ingenuity when she disguises herself and others on several(prenominal) occasions The goddess first appears as Mentes, and then later as Mentor, Telemachos himself, Penelopes sister, a friend of Nausikaas, and various servants. Not only is she a police captain of disguises, but Athena has an incredible sense of when it is necessary to appear as someone else in order to achieve her goals. While possibly just a product of Athenas goddess status, her ability to view the big picture is quite a highly regarded trait. Athena also has the virtue of restraint which she demonstrates when she does not take part in the final battle between Odysseus and Telemachos and the suitors.In addition to Athenas abilities and traits, the traits which she herself values give great insight into her have virtues. For example, she considers ho spitality to be of great importance. This is shown several times in the Odyssey first, when she arrives in Ithaka and is received so well by Telemachos, and a second time when she assists Odysseus by gaining the favor of Arete and Nausicaa. Athena is also very concerned with glory, which becomes clear when she sends Telemachos on his voyages with the primary purpose to grow up so that he does not go on clinging to his child... ...will greatly upset her. She is seen as indecisive in the sense that she never outright refuses to marry any of the suitors and leads them on to an extent (I, 245). Finally, while the audience is certainly sympathetic to Penelopes grief, it has been twenty years since she has seen Odysseus and ten since she expected him to return. Even Odysseus himself told her that if he did not return, she had his permission to marry again when Telemachos was grown. The item that she has not done so and has not made any progress towards that end gives her a negative imag e, consequently affecting the image of all females in the Odyssey.The contradictory views of women presented by Homer, and the complexities of all main characters in the Odyssey, prove that Homer had a very good sense about human nature. Not all women are virtuous and admirable, but not all women lack positive virtues and of course, some women cannot fit either extreme. Even the characters he sets up as role models are not perfect. Homers works have been so successful throughout history largely for that reason, I believe. Regardless, the Odyssey is a fascinating try out of human nature and an exciting story of homecoming.