The Portrayal Of Women In The Odyssey

Thomas Paine once said, “Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us.” In Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, Odysseus returns home from the Trojan War but meets many challenges. Odysseus met several women on his way home, which is why his journey took ten years. In the epic poem, Odysseus encounters many women and is influenced by them, ultimately illustrating the portrayal of women as misleading and seductive. Circe, the first woman Odyssey encounters on his journey, is portrayed as a young, attractive woman who seduces the soldiers. While on Circe’s island, Polites, Odysseus’ most faithful and likable officer, says, “Dear friends, no need for stealth: here’s a young weaver singing a pretty song to set the air atingle on these lawns and paven courts. Goddess she is, or lady. Shall we greet her?” (Homer 557-560). Circe’s singing puts the men into a false sense of

The reader knows this because “for seven of the ten years Odysseus has spent wandering the Mediterranean Sea, he has been held captive by the goddess Calypso on her island” (Homer). It seems like Calypso had such a spell on Odysseus that he was content with staying with her, even though he longed for home. At the same time, however, Odysseus showed his longing for home. Because of this, Hermes, the messenger god, came to release him. When Hermes reached Calypso’s island, he could not find Odysseus, for he “sat apart, as a thousand times before, and racked his own heart groaning, with eyes wet scanning a bare horizon of the sea” (Homer 40-43). Odysseus is set free from Calypso’s island due to his popularity with the gods; however, he was there for seven years. This just shows how much power, seductiveness, and beauty Calypso had over him. In conclusion, the portrayal of women as misleading and seductive is shown through Calypso trapping Odysseus for seven