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Women In The Odyssesy - Online Essays

Women In The Odyssesy

The Treatment of Women by Men in Homer’s The Odyssey
Women in Homer’s The Odyssey are judged mainly by looks. If important men and gods consider a woman beautiful, or if her son is a hero or important king the woman is successful. The way women in The Odyssey are treated is based on appearance, the things men want from them, and whether the woman has any power over men.
During Odysseus’ journey to the underworld he sees the shades of many prominent women. We hear about their beauty, their important sons, or their affairs with gods. We hear nothing about these women’s accomplishments in their lifetime. Odysseus tells how Antiope could “boast a god for a lover,”(193) as could Tyro and many ...

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pleasure. The only woman we hear of for a different reason is Klymene, and we only hear of her because she “betrayed her lord for gold.”(195) This is the only time we hear of a woman for something she did, and once we do, it is a negative remark.
Penelope, Odysseus’ queen, is paid attention to only because of her position. Because she has a kingdom, she has suitors crowding around her day and night. Being a woman, Penelope has no control over what the suitors do and cannot get rid of them. The suitors want her wealth and her kingdom. They do not respect her enough to stop feeding on Odysseus’ wealth; they feel she owes them something because she won’t marry one of them. One of the suitors, Antinoos, tells Telemakhos “...but you should know the suitors are not to blame- it is your own incomparably cunning mother.”(21)
Even Telemakhos doesn’t respect his mother as he should. When the song of a minstrel makes her sad and Penelope requests him to stop playing, Telemakhos intervenes ...

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Women In The Odyssesy. (2005, May 29). Retrieved January 16, 2026, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Women-In-The-Odyssesy/27678

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 5/29/2005 10:02:44 AM
Category: English
Type: Free Paper
Words: 823
Pages: 3

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