Women in Homer’s The Odyssey, Euripides’ Hippolytus, Virgil’s The Aeneid, and Ovid’s Venus and Adonis (And Atalanta) often held positions of power, whether it be a dutiful wife and loving mother, a widowed queen, or a goddess. In these Greco-Roman texts, women hold power by embracing their feminine roles, where a man may “name her as [his] own, that she may spend all of her years with [him], to make [him] father of fair sons” (Virgil: 4). She is expected to be as loyal and motherly as Penelope, who spent years “wasting away [her] life, [her] heart broken longing for [her] husband” (Homer 2006: 382) and endured a similar “cloud of heartbreak” (Homer 2006: 147) when her son departed on his quest. Atalanta, Penelope, and Phaedra take advantage of their otherwise powerless roles, and glean some control over their lives, thus empowering themselves. This is not solely a mortal’s plight;
…show more content…
Atalanta, a beautiful woman who “outran every man” (Ovid: 122) was “fated to marry” (Ovid: 122). Despite her physical prowess over men, she could not escape the expectation of marriage. Instead of picking the first willing suitor, she claims, “you can win me…only if you can outrun me” (Ovid: 122). In a similar predicament, Penelope says that if a man can string Odysseus’ bow and shoot it through twelve axes, “he is the man [she] follow[s]” (Homer 2006: 426). Both of these women were willing to offer themselves as a “trophy” (Ovid: 123), but they both knew that they were offering a reward that cannot be won. By providing nearly impossible challenges, these women have gained autonomy over their own betrothals. Failing the challenge was the only way Atalanta and Penelope could deny a marriage proposal without the authority of a man. Because of this stipulation, they could prolong the time before an unwanted marriage while retaining their honor as
Atalanta, a beautiful woman who “outran every man” (Ovid: 122) was “fated to marry” (Ovid: 122). Despite her physical prowess over men, she could not escape the expectation of marriage. Instead of picking the first willing suitor, she claims, “you can win me…only if you can outrun me” (Ovid: 122). In a similar predicament, Penelope says that if a man can string Odysseus’ bow and shoot it through twelve axes, “he is the man [she] follow[s]” (Homer 2006: 426). Both of these women were willing to offer themselves as a “trophy” (Ovid: 123), but they both knew that they were offering a reward that cannot be won. By providing nearly impossible challenges, these women have gained autonomy over their own betrothals. Failing the challenge was the only way Atalanta and Penelope could deny a marriage proposal without the authority of a man. Because of this stipulation, they could prolong the time before an unwanted marriage while retaining their honor as