Gender Equality In The Iliad

“…I know we have still not shattered that highest and hardest glass ceiling, but some day someone will…and to all the little girls..you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world…” This powerful statement from Hillary Clinton’s concession speech on November 8, 2016 depicts the need that our culture still has for gender equality. Throughout history there has been a battle between the sexes, mainly men attempting to take power away from women. Stories or myths that have been collected and translated allow one to learn about different cultures, specifically the standards of that time. In modern times, there are films and comic books which reflect our ideals. Comparing the ancient to the modern myth provides …show more content…
In The Iliad, Homer provides female characters which depict the mindset of the culture. Women in this society were viewed as mere objects, such was the case with the characters Chryseis and Bryseis. Being reduced to mere spoils of war, the pair were taken by King Agamemnon and Achilles as prizes. Not being afforded any type of voice or opinion in the matter, these women were held as trophies, traded as though they were merchandise, and claimed as property (Homer 81). These two women serve as an illustration of how grossly dehumanized women were in this society. In fact the only women who were yielded power in this story were goddesses, making the idea of a powerful woman even more unrealistic and unattainable. However, even the goddess were made to bend to the will of their male counterparts. For example, when Hera confronts Zeus about creating plans without her involvement, Zeus threatens that she can do nothing to stop his will and must obey him. He then delivers a tremendous blow at her inability to impede his will as “…the gods…are powerless to protect you when I come to throttle you with my irresistible hands” (Homer 97). His words throttle Hera and Homer writes that “She wrenched her will to his” (97). Here, it is illustrated that women were controlled by maintaining a certain level of fear so that they had no choice but to conform. Much like the message in The Tain, this culture also utilized fear as a means of controlling the behavior and actions of women. However, the fear in The Iliad is much more direct than that of the Irish myth. In this culture the consequences of straying outside of the cultural norms where much more physical whereas the outcome in The Tain related more to one’s