Savannah Carlson
Mr. Padera
Sophomore English A
01 November 2017
Women in Greek Society
The roles of women have differed in many societies and ages. In Greek society, women are portrayed negatively and inferior to men, the role they play is to emphasize aspects of men and they’re never given their own true identity, personality or opinion. The negative portrayal of woman is shown in the Iliad and the Odyssey. In both books, women are used to show their influence and effect on men, and their lives. These roles vary from monsters to godesses. Each role deepening our knowledge of men and how they deal with the different effects of women. Women were unimportant compared to men. Often times in society, women were viewed as prizes for men.
Women …show more content…
For woman to be playing this role, it seems as if the Greek felt that women are the monsters in the society. In the Odyssey the men are faced with monsters they have to overcome. Scylla was one of the monsters the men encountered. She lived on the water they needed to cross and they ultimately needed to sacrifice six men to get past her. She was described as, “Scylla's no mortal, she's an immortal devastation, terrible, savage, wild, no fighting her” (Odyssey. 12, 128-130). Scylla plays a awful monster and is spoken so negatively of and never given a true character. She is only seen by physical characteristics. Scylla role is to show the struggles faced upon the journey and the sacrifices men made to overcome those struggles. The men were faced with Scylla and they chose to confront her and do whatever it is to make it past. Her character allows the readers to see how the men dealt with different and dangerous situation. Although these women are very negatively portrayed and only used to enhance the reader’s comprehension of the men, some may argue that there are some women who play vital roles in The Iliad and The …show more content…
She is viewed as unstoppable, even by the Male Gods. Odysseus called out to Athena saying, “Rescue us, mentor, now it’s life or death” (Odyssey. 22. 217). Odysseus’ cry for help shows Athena as a great mentor and that she has a very powerful character. She is portrayed as very smart and she can take over men, especially with her trickery. However, she is introduced as, “Zeus’s daughter Athena” (Odyssey. 22. 214). People are only aware of Athena because she is related to Zeus. She does not have her own identity and is not her own individual person, she is who she is because of her father. Likewise, Penelope was described as wise and smart. However, she was introduced as, “daughter of Icarius” (Odyssey. 21. 360). When spoken of, she was always associated with a male. The only way a woman is recognized is in the presence of a male figure. Both of these women were introduced under the name of a man. This showed that even the woman’s greatest strength and power was not enough to be their own person. They will always be weaker and less influential than any male. Despite the fact that some women in The Iliad and The Odyssey have some importance, they are always inferior to
Mr. Padera
Sophomore English A
01 November 2017
Women in Greek Society
The roles of women have differed in many societies and ages. In Greek society, women are portrayed negatively and inferior to men, the role they play is to emphasize aspects of men and they’re never given their own true identity, personality or opinion. The negative portrayal of woman is shown in the Iliad and the Odyssey. In both books, women are used to show their influence and effect on men, and their lives. These roles vary from monsters to godesses. Each role deepening our knowledge of men and how they deal with the different effects of women. Women were unimportant compared to men. Often times in society, women were viewed as prizes for men.
Women …show more content…
For woman to be playing this role, it seems as if the Greek felt that women are the monsters in the society. In the Odyssey the men are faced with monsters they have to overcome. Scylla was one of the monsters the men encountered. She lived on the water they needed to cross and they ultimately needed to sacrifice six men to get past her. She was described as, “Scylla's no mortal, she's an immortal devastation, terrible, savage, wild, no fighting her” (Odyssey. 12, 128-130). Scylla plays a awful monster and is spoken so negatively of and never given a true character. She is only seen by physical characteristics. Scylla role is to show the struggles faced upon the journey and the sacrifices men made to overcome those struggles. The men were faced with Scylla and they chose to confront her and do whatever it is to make it past. Her character allows the readers to see how the men dealt with different and dangerous situation. Although these women are very negatively portrayed and only used to enhance the reader’s comprehension of the men, some may argue that there are some women who play vital roles in The Iliad and The …show more content…
She is viewed as unstoppable, even by the Male Gods. Odysseus called out to Athena saying, “Rescue us, mentor, now it’s life or death” (Odyssey. 22. 217). Odysseus’ cry for help shows Athena as a great mentor and that she has a very powerful character. She is portrayed as very smart and she can take over men, especially with her trickery. However, she is introduced as, “Zeus’s daughter Athena” (Odyssey. 22. 214). People are only aware of Athena because she is related to Zeus. She does not have her own identity and is not her own individual person, she is who she is because of her father. Likewise, Penelope was described as wise and smart. However, she was introduced as, “daughter of Icarius” (Odyssey. 21. 360). When spoken of, she was always associated with a male. The only way a woman is recognized is in the presence of a male figure. Both of these women were introduced under the name of a man. This showed that even the woman’s greatest strength and power was not enough to be their own person. They will always be weaker and less influential than any male. Despite the fact that some women in The Iliad and The Odyssey have some importance, they are always inferior to