In present day we often hold ancient pieces of literature such as; The Epic of Gilgamesh, Shakespearean plays, and The Iliad upon pedestals. Sadly, overtime these stories have shown their true colors, they are a reflection of the sexist views their patriarchy societies held. One such story is the Odyssey, an Epic poem composed in ancient Greece. Three specific characters do an exemplary job of exposing the ant-feminist views of the civilization. Through the representation of the main female characters; Calypso, Circe, and Penelope the biased of Greek Culture is revealed.
The first female adversary portrayed in the Odyssey was a vapid, vain goddess, known as Calypso. The deity was subjected to the woes and opinions of her home patriarchy society, …show more content…
She was an enchantress who live on an island that Odysseus and his men stumbled upon. She was portrayed as vile, wicked, and cruel. First, she was dehumanized through her descriptions and the use of words such as; “witch”-1224 and “enchantress”-1225. In the Greek civilization it would be viewed as an injustice to associate this woman with men and their mightiness. She enslaved the men, but worse she attracted them with her placid personality, then poisoned them; “adding her own vile pinch”-1224. Circe’s only means of entrapping the men is through the tricks and lies of a seductress. She then proceeds to turn the men into pigs; “bodies, voices, heads, and bristles, all swinish now”-1225. Her vicious and villainous vices were considered far from fair fighting. Although, the point can be made that Circe’s actions are amusing today (especially turning men into pigs), that was not the opinion then. The so called witch would have been viewed with disdain for she had only defeated the men through dishonorable cheating. The prejudices Circe was subjected to offer another voluminous example of how women were routinely held below men in the Greek …show more content…
She was the wife of Odysseus, who had been left home to deal with the unruly suitors that beseeched her and to grieve at her husband’s disappearance. Sadly, the potential for her character is squashed into the single role of a morning wife. First, when faced with the discourteous suitors who had “taken up residence in her home and are constantly feasting on the family’s cattle, sheep, and goats.”-1204, in her sadness she fails to show any intent to eject them from her home. In fact, she is greatly submissive to these men, a behavior unfortunately expected of women in this civilization. In addition, she is constantly grieving her long lost husband and seems to lack the intelligence to do the logical thing and progress with her life. Even as Penelope was preparing to take a suitor she still grieved him; “sobbed and bit her lip and let the salt tears flow”-1250. Perpetual tears seemed to define her life when Odysseus was away. Finally, she was held to a double standard because of her sexuality. In his many travels Odysseus was far from faithful. Yet, it was imperative the Penelope remained unchastised and pure. Although, the point can be made that she simply had overwhelming love with Odysseus, it fails to explain her other actions. In modern day she would have had courage and strength, she would have expelled the suitors, and even possibly gone after Odysseus. In contrast, the Greek
The first female adversary portrayed in the Odyssey was a vapid, vain goddess, known as Calypso. The deity was subjected to the woes and opinions of her home patriarchy society, …show more content…
She was an enchantress who live on an island that Odysseus and his men stumbled upon. She was portrayed as vile, wicked, and cruel. First, she was dehumanized through her descriptions and the use of words such as; “witch”-1224 and “enchantress”-1225. In the Greek civilization it would be viewed as an injustice to associate this woman with men and their mightiness. She enslaved the men, but worse she attracted them with her placid personality, then poisoned them; “adding her own vile pinch”-1224. Circe’s only means of entrapping the men is through the tricks and lies of a seductress. She then proceeds to turn the men into pigs; “bodies, voices, heads, and bristles, all swinish now”-1225. Her vicious and villainous vices were considered far from fair fighting. Although, the point can be made that Circe’s actions are amusing today (especially turning men into pigs), that was not the opinion then. The so called witch would have been viewed with disdain for she had only defeated the men through dishonorable cheating. The prejudices Circe was subjected to offer another voluminous example of how women were routinely held below men in the Greek …show more content…
She was the wife of Odysseus, who had been left home to deal with the unruly suitors that beseeched her and to grieve at her husband’s disappearance. Sadly, the potential for her character is squashed into the single role of a morning wife. First, when faced with the discourteous suitors who had “taken up residence in her home and are constantly feasting on the family’s cattle, sheep, and goats.”-1204, in her sadness she fails to show any intent to eject them from her home. In fact, she is greatly submissive to these men, a behavior unfortunately expected of women in this civilization. In addition, she is constantly grieving her long lost husband and seems to lack the intelligence to do the logical thing and progress with her life. Even as Penelope was preparing to take a suitor she still grieved him; “sobbed and bit her lip and let the salt tears flow”-1250. Perpetual tears seemed to define her life when Odysseus was away. Finally, she was held to a double standard because of her sexuality. In his many travels Odysseus was far from faithful. Yet, it was imperative the Penelope remained unchastised and pure. Although, the point can be made that she simply had overwhelming love with Odysseus, it fails to explain her other actions. In modern day she would have had courage and strength, she would have expelled the suitors, and even possibly gone after Odysseus. In contrast, the Greek