Not much has changed since the ancient times; women are still oppressed and are treated as if they are at the very bottom of the pyramid and no matter how hard we work, nothing seems to change. We are still not treated with respect and we still are not paid the same as men. In Homer’s, The Odyssey, Homer examines the roles of both men and women and the jobs they must fulfill. Many may argue that men and women in The Odyssey are treated equally and have parallel amounts of power, however, this is not conclusive. In order to gain respect or power the women often must fulfill the tasks they would not do otherwise.
The first hint of inequality is in book one. When Penelope gripes about the music being played, Telemachus demands, "So mother, go …show more content…
If important men and gods consider a woman beautiful, or if her son or husband is a hero or has an important position such as king, the woman is successful. The women are often associated with epithets such as “the white-armed princess” or “the nymph with the lovely braids” both of which associate the women with their looks. Men in The Odyssey are often confused by this because almost every time they come across a beautiful woman they are distracted and their journey is extended. In book ten, Odysseus is stranded on the island of Aeaea and his men have been turned into animals. In order to save his men, he sleeps with Circe and then his men are saved. However, after the men were freed, they “sat at ease, day in, day out, till a year had run its course, feasting on sides of meat and drafts of heady wine”. Women have served as distractions on the island of Aeaea to Odysseus and his men and in return they are set off course. Unfortunately in modern society women are still judged by their looks. According to Dr. Graham Scott, “Researchers have discovered that when people are considering candidates for jobs, they are more likely to judge women on style, while men are rated more on substance. Worryingly, this behaviour was true regardless of the gender of the person carrying out the assessment.” According to the research, we really haven’t changed that much since ancient Greece. Just like the women in The Odyssey,
The first hint of inequality is in book one. When Penelope gripes about the music being played, Telemachus demands, "So mother, go …show more content…
If important men and gods consider a woman beautiful, or if her son or husband is a hero or has an important position such as king, the woman is successful. The women are often associated with epithets such as “the white-armed princess” or “the nymph with the lovely braids” both of which associate the women with their looks. Men in The Odyssey are often confused by this because almost every time they come across a beautiful woman they are distracted and their journey is extended. In book ten, Odysseus is stranded on the island of Aeaea and his men have been turned into animals. In order to save his men, he sleeps with Circe and then his men are saved. However, after the men were freed, they “sat at ease, day in, day out, till a year had run its course, feasting on sides of meat and drafts of heady wine”. Women have served as distractions on the island of Aeaea to Odysseus and his men and in return they are set off course. Unfortunately in modern society women are still judged by their looks. According to Dr. Graham Scott, “Researchers have discovered that when people are considering candidates for jobs, they are more likely to judge women on style, while men are rated more on substance. Worryingly, this behaviour was true regardless of the gender of the person carrying out the assessment.” According to the research, we really haven’t changed that much since ancient Greece. Just like the women in The Odyssey,