How Women Are Poortryed In Homers Odyssey Essay - 674 Words

Women Portrayed in Homer’s The Odyssey Women were very important to the Greeks, and they showed this value in many ways. In The Odyssey Homer shows us the different ways women were looked upon through female characters, such as Penelope, Naussica, and Anticlia. With Penelope, a faithful and loving wife to Odysseus, Homer reveals to us how the Greeks believed wives should act. She was loyal to Odysseus the entire time he was away on his journey, and even when it appeared as if he had passed on she still had faith that he would return. She resisted the suitors on the sole basis that she loved Odysseus and could not see herself with another man when he could still be alive. She was smart, and cunning. She shows us this in Book II when we†¦show more content†¦Her father seems to be wrapped around her finger. I got this impression because when she asked if she could use a big wagon, her father immediately replied quot;You shall have the mules, my love, and whatever else you have a mind for.quot; (p. 60) She does almost anything her parents ask of her, without question. Alcinous offered Odysseus her hand in marriage without consulting with her first and Naussica had no problem with this. It is what was expected of her. The duty of a Gree k daughter is to obey her father and mother no matter what. In The Odyssey, through Naussica, Homer illustrates this quite well. The suffering mother in The Odyssey is Anticlia, Odysseus’ mother. During his journey to Hades, he talks with his mother only after she drinks out of the pool of blood. When he left for the war she was alive, and while he visits with her she tells him she has died from the quot;longing to know what you were doing and the force of my affection for youquot; (p. 116) She dies of a broken heart, and still seems to be suffering from it while she is in Hades. She knows it is an unpleasant place for the living to visit, and Homer makes it easy to detect the sorrow she feels. Odysseus is unable to embrace her, and is distressed by this. She tells him about his wife, and his father, who quot;has no comfortable bed nor bedding, †¦and†¦grieves continuously.quot; (p. 116) She seems very sad, but she is wise and acts motherly by telling him he should go