Similarities Between The Odyssey And Circe

In the Odyssey and Utopia, depictions of idealised and fantastical spaces function in different ways. In the Odyssey, female spaces, both Kalypso’s and Circe’s island dwellings, are presented as metaphors of female power. Both Kalypso and Circe are antagonistic to Odysseus’ progress, as each space the goddesses occupy acts as an obstacle to his homecoming. In contrast, the idealised space of the island of Utopia, functions to undermine preconceived notions of society for Thomas More.
At first, Ithaka, the home Odysseus longs to return to, appears to represent the ideal Greek society. This is demonstrated when the traditional custom of xenia is practiced by Telemachus in Book I, in the guest hospitality he shows towards Athene, disguised as

The suitors have violated the custom of xenia through their intrusion into Odysseus’ household, and in their courting of Penelope, who is considered the property of Odysseus. As the identity of Homer is a subject of much contention in academic circles, it is unlikely that the depiction of the seemingly idyllic Ithaka and the Ithaka that resembles a more disordered picture of Greek society are deliberate inventions of propaganda, unlike the later work of Virgil’s Aenied, for instance, which was commissioned by emperor Augustus, to exemplify ancient Roman societal customs. Many scholars agree that the two great epic poems credited to Homer epitomise the culture and customs of ancient Greek society, yet had no political agenda in doing this, but were instead shared and performed as cultural myths for

Furthermore, the ‘hollowed caverns’ of Kalypso’s island, invokes imagery of a womb, the critic Annette Giesecke agrees, Kalypso’s cave is ‘clearly represented as the womb of the Earth’(footnote). This supports the notion that Kalypso’s sexuality is the force that prevents Odysseus from leaving the island. It is not just the yonic image of the womb that imbues the island with Kalypso’s femininity, this is also presented through the fecundity and fertility of the island, for instance the ‘flourishing’ trees and ‘ripened grape clusters’. Moreover, through this feminine symbolism, Kalypso’s island takes on a mythical, paradisiacal quality, through the imagery of fertility. In this way, Kalypso’s latent sexual desire presents the otherworldly island as an obstacle preventing Odysseus from pursuing his homeward journey, and thus, this ‘unreal’ place functions as a barrier to male