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Double Standards In The Odyssey

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In Homer’s The Odyssey, particular characters have some sort of disguise that allows them to deceive others. In the epic, there is also a demonstration of inequality between men and women. The idea of guile in The Odyssey was raised multiple times throughout the epic and it was often considered to be wisdom. From the beginning of the epic, we see characters praising men for their “wisdom” and women are oppressed for the majority of their actions, including lying. This patriarchal system that oppresses women for their actions, including shunning them for being deceptive, reveals the double standard in society, but also reveals the social statuses in this time period that oppressed women and bound them from being able to change the overall epic. The approval of the gods and their succor was all the Greeks wanted at the time; …show more content…

In this type of society, men will always be superior to women. The difference in treatment of females and males shows a double standard in the society. Double standards were used for everything, not just lying, and this is what held women back from being able to grow and change the overall plot for The Odyssey. If this patriarchy did not exist, we could have seen Penelope as a strong, independent woman. She could have remarried or simply ruled Ithaca instead of waiting for the return of her husband. Additionally, if this oppression of women did not exist, we may have seen Calypso keep Odysseus with her and his journey to return home would have been over. Finally, we could have seen a battle between Athena and Poseidon for the salvation or damnation of Odysseus. The levels of status high to low would be male gods, female gods, mortal men, last and least, mortal women. Due to this patriarchal system where they can not lie or hide or make their own choices, they were oppressed and this held them back from changing the overall course of the

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