The Odyssey by Homer showcases the varying roles and treatment of women across different times and places, throughout the poem, highlighting limitations in their agency and power. Generating a comparison to modern society and Homeric worlds for women in ancient Greek communities and the 21st century. Homer’s depiction of Penelope, Athena and Calypso formulate the clear cultural dismissal of women’s voices and rights. Homer establishes the relationship between women and men to be diminishing and that of a power game, practically between powerful woman characters and the protagonist, Odysseus. The epic poem formulates ideologies in ancient culture and forces the audience to conduct thought and opinion on his insight on the role of women.
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As a woman in ancient Greece, Penelope is expected to be a dutiful wife and mother, as well as the overseer of the household. Homer describes her role, saying, "Her life is never easy, the trials never few" (II, 114). Homer used alliteration and repetition to emphasise the difficult role of a woman in ancient grief. "And as the women thronged around her weeping and wailing, she was moved to pity and wept for her own lord, who was far away." (IV, 735-737). Homer's language has irony as the audience knows Odysseus is still alive and Penelope must continue without the strength and presence of a king by her side. In Odysseus’s absence, Penelope undertakes the role of a grieving wife. In contrast, the modern-day household still contains some similarities to Penelope's lifestyle, however, the underlining cultural association with womanly house chores and family work remains. Throughout the poem, Penelope is constantly in affiliation with Odysseus. "Her mind was filled with dreams, and she said to him, 'You've come home at last, Odysseus, to your own house and your own wife.'" (XIX, 543-545) Homeric foreshadowing as Penelope dreams of her husband's return. Penelope is continually seen as in grief, heart heavy and emotional, as in the role of a