Homer's Treatment Of Women In The Iliad

Improved Essays
Women in ancient Greece never received any type of value other than what they could offer physically. In Homer’s Iliad the men mistreat the women while women are raised to love men and tolerate the hate towards them. The Iliad shows that Greek society holds negative views towards women such as their too emotional, they are objects. The men in ancient Greek society never let their women be in control since they are too emotional and act on emotion. Homer writes, “So he mocked/ as Athena and Queen Hera muttered between themselves, huddled together, plotting Troy’s destruction” (4. 23-25). In the beginning of this book Hera talks about wanting the war to start only because she does not like the Athenians nor does she agree with Zeus

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    The actions of the Goddesses during war illustrate the different characteristics women possess in the world of The Iliad. Each goddess embodies different stereotypes of women during the Bronze Age. These stereotypes are even seen in today’s…

    • 1006 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the “Odyssey”, Homer portrays the women as temptress of men and are below them in the presented hierarchy of this tale. This is portrayed at the very beginning when Telmachus (Odysseus son) tells him mother Penelope “You should go back upstairs and take care of your work, Spinning and weaving, and have the maids do theirs. Speaking is for men, for all men, but for me especially, since I am the master of this house” (page 340). Homer has the women use their beauty and bodies to seduce the men in this tale. One example is when Odysseus’s men come to Circe’s house and are lured by a voice, she gives them food and drinks and a ‘potion of Pramnian wine”.…

    • 339 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Imagine being the queen of a country, but not having any power. This is what life is like for the women in The Odyssey. The Odyssey, which was written by Homer, tells a story about the hero Odysseus trying to return to his family after fighting in the Trojan war. This story takes place long long ago in a society that treats women very differently than they are treated today.…

    • 1406 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    There was a lot of gender inequality in Homer’s Odyssey. Not just in ancient Greece, but everywhere for that matter. However, that has changed over time, and people are working on making women as equal as men. The Odyssey, Book twenty-one it says, “Notice that Penelope still grieves for Odysseus, even after twenty years.” This quote shows that women were not given a lot…

    • 588 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Telemachos decides that she should not be present in the bow and arrow competition, that only men should be allowed to handle those types of events. He defines the fact that he is in charge of the belongings of the house and the house is yet under his power but not his and Penelope’s unified power. As he claims to be categorized with the men he wants to certainly play the role of one which would include demands and receiving obedience from a woman. The repetition of Telemachos’ statements, sending Penelope off to her bedroom shows him holding power. Penelope’s bedroom symbolically represents her emptiness and since there is nothing for her in the bedroom it shows that Telemachos is taking away her power as he holds his steady.…

    • 919 Words
    • 4 Pages
    • 1 Works Cited
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Females who allow men to control them are regarded with higher esteem than those who transgress the beliefs of men. At a glance it may appear that women are inferior to men; however, with deeper analysis it becomes evident that the women in the Odyssey wield subtle powers that are often overlooked. Penelope, Odysseus’s wife, is overwhelmed by suitors for most of the poem, but she proves her craftiness by keeping a possible marriage at bay.…

    • 1596 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Penelope hears about the disappearance of her son for the first time and is distraught. Hence, she questions Eurycleia who dissuades Penelope from notifying Laertes about his grandson’s departure. While all the females in Homer’s epic are different, they all endure the aspects of a patriarchal society, a civilization in which males hold primary power and predominate in roles of leadership. Penelope proves to be a central character throughout the poem. Through examining her role as the wife of Odysseus and how she is represented, readers comprehend how females may have been treated in Homeric Greece.…

    • 621 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Homer portrays different women in different ways depending on who the women were during ancient Greece. Women along the lines of maids and the old, faithful, nurse of Odysseus, Eurycleia, are often talked down upon and that their opinions do not matter much. Women of higher ranking such as princesses and queens like Penelope and Arete, Queen of the Phaeacians depicts a spitting image of having respect as well as portrayed as objects to win over instead of people. Homer delineates women such as Athena, god of war and wisdom, Calypso, a nymph, and Circe, an enchantress, as having more power than mortal men due to them being immortal. Throughout the book Odysseus journeys on his way home back to Ithaca but encounters many conflicts and dangers…

    • 1901 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    We sit around all tarted up in sexy clothes and makeup, expensive negligees and fancy shoes” (Aristophanes 58). The women themselves cannot fathom how they are to bring about political change. Yet, it is through the very lenses in which the men view the women that they, the women, are able to gain power. The self-empowerment of the Greek women is done contritely to The Epic of Gilgamesh. Lysistrata withholds sex to cripple the men rather than give it.…

    • 1470 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Greek Conceptions of Gender Gender inequality has been the major topic of discussion for many cultures right the way through history. Throughout Greek mythology, women are portrayed pessimistic and troublesome symbols, while men are known for being strong and controlling. Greek mythology has always been thought of as a patriarchal society and there are many reason as to why. Talking about Greek Goddesses we always think of a typical woman who is correlated with women’s roles, for example being a loyal wife, kind and caring towards her children and husband and be the idea women.…

    • 1209 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Misogynistic views do not have one specific root and seem to have been prevalent for all traceable history. These harmful views lead to women being oppressed, which could range anywhere from sex slavery to slurs shouted in one’s face. Homer, writer of epic poem The Odyssey, is no different than many men today, when discussing oppressive views towards women. Such views range from an overall motif of misogyny, stemming from Homer’s own background views, which cause Odysseus to act hypocritically to the most important woman in his life.…

    • 892 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The women in Homer’s Odyssey, translated by Robert Fagles, deceive the men, in order to do what is right. Penelope and Athena contrast each other by displaying different portrayals of femininity. Penelope’s portrayal of femininity is old and outdated; a femininity in which a woman is loyal and submissive to a masculine figure. She is the perfect wife who is pushed to do everything her husband tells her. Penelope wants to live her life with her love and without any other purpose.…

    • 1239 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In Homer’s world, women, specifically the Greek goddesses, are as much caring and nurturing as they are battle-hardened. When necessary, the women in The Iliad are able to use their natural charm or cunning in order to further their agenda. Hera, being a prime example of this, consistently shows her ability to feign a docile nature in order to distract from her crafty plans. However, there is a drastic distinction between the mortal and immortal women of The Iliad. Although most women in The Iliad play a vital role in the plot, the immortal women play a direct role while mortal women affect the plot indirectly.…

    • 1082 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Messengers are always conveying the messages, never making the originals. It is a humbling position. We know that Hermes is the messenger of the gods and that he is a man. However, in the Iliad, all the messages are conveyed by Iris, a woman. " Away, Iris! /…

    • 546 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Women have had a long history of being inferior to men. The inequality of genders can be traced all the way back to Greek mythology. Both Hesiod’s Theogony and Homer’s Odyssey demonstrate the Greek’s early thoughts on this issue. Homer and Hesiod would agree that women are deplorable creatures and marriage usually leads to suffering.…

    • 984 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays