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The Odessey Paper - Online Term Paper

The Odessey Paper

In the Odessey, Homer has focused on the masculine characters as the most prominent. This is to be expected when one looks at the time period in which he lived, but there are some notable exceptions of some outstanding female characters. This does not mean that women were the focus of the story, they were not. What this means is that there were some surprisingly important female characters that played essential roles within the story. It comes as a surprise that during a time when women played such secondary roles in day to day life, Homer would choose to create such powerful characters as Athena, without whom Odysseus would have perished many times.
One example of Athena helping ...

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hold against him now?
Homer, very early in the epic, defines Athena as having a strong role in the story. I believe this passage is a very powerful point in the poem because it demonstrates strength in a female character. I think her question "What do you hold against him now?" proves how she will stand up to her father and challenges his authority as lord of the gods.
During Homer's lifetime, a woman's primary role was that of a mother and housewife. Men gave orders to women and they obeyed. Right or wrong, this was the way of the world, yet Homer has defined female characters as also displaying strength and power through motherhood. It seems to me that this was not a true characteristic of life during his time. Why then would Homer pay tribute to motherhood? I believe that, to an extent, Homer had respect for women and believed that women's roles as mothers and housewives was very important. This becomes evident when Homer dedicates part of book XI to describing a parade of ...

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The Odessey Paper. (2004, December 17). Retrieved February 1, 2026, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Odessey-Paper/19146

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 12/17/2004 09:36:27 PM
Category: English
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 1223
Pages: 5

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