Women's Roles In The Odyssey Essay

448 Words2 Pages

Odyssey Essay

Women are often pictured as an object, something that can only please men and do chores. Women have no power or voice over men,which means that men could do whatever they wanted with them. They did whatever they were told to do and they did not had an option. In the Odyssey, Homer describes the role of women to be much less than men’s, as something without value and instead should be recognized by many things, goddesses then get in the picture and change this point of view, giving women a very important role, a powerful and determined one. First, women did not have power, voice or rights,so men did whatever they wanted with them. They are not allowed to speak up and if they did their opinion was not as important as men’s. Women could not do much more than raise children and be home cleaning and doing chores. They were seen like this because women were portrayed as a flower, delicate and that they were not able to hurt anything or anyone. The goddesses play an important role and affect Odysseus’ plan. Circe gave him advice.Athena helped him fight in the battle of Troy. She helped him fight the suitors and she also disguised him so he could get back into his house and nobody knew or found out who he was. Odysseus’ plan of a good reencounter with his wife, his son, and his …show more content…

How everyone wanted to marry Penelope. And she thinking that Odysseus was long gone proposed something, a contest, and the winner would be her lover. The contest had two parts, first the suitors had to bend the heavy bow and string it, which requires immense strength and skill, and then they had to shoot an arrow straight through the holes in twelve axe heads set up in a row. This was a really difficult challenge and she knew only Odysseus was going to be able to complete it, and if he did she would not marry anyone but love Odysseus for the rest of her