Homer’s description of women in the Odyssey reveals the Greek’s notion of fear in women’s beauty and of the prevailing power of men over women. Throughout the plot female characters, namely Penelope, Circe, and the Sirens, are portrayed as dangers that men overcome and devices that emphasize men’s strength.
In the Odyssey, beautiful women bring danger to men with their seductive powers. The Sirens, with their alluring voices, try to lure Odysseus and his men away from their journey (190) and toward their deaths. When Odysseus lands on Circe’s island, Circe seduces him, causing him to forget about heading home, his main goal throughout the story. She calls him to “the bed of love” and Odysseus climbs onto “the surpassingly beautiful bed of Circe” (161). With the comfort Circe provides from then on, Odysseus stays with Circe for a whole year until his men urge him to start heading back home (164). Back in Ithaka, Penelope is accused of having seduced the suitors and deceiving them with empty hope for marriage. When Telemachus reveals to the Ithakan men of the wrongs that the …show more content…
Such portrayals of these women indicate
In the Odyssey, beautiful women bring danger to men with their seductive powers. The Sirens, with their alluring voices, try to lure Odysseus and his men away from their journey (190) and toward their deaths. When Odysseus lands on Circe’s island, Circe seduces him, causing him to forget about heading home, his main goal throughout the story. She calls him to “the bed of love” and Odysseus climbs onto “the surpassingly beautiful bed of Circe” (161). With the comfort Circe provides from then on, Odysseus stays with Circe for a whole year until his men urge him to start heading back home (164). Back in Ithaka, Penelope is accused of having seduced the suitors and deceiving them with empty hope for marriage. When Telemachus reveals to the Ithakan men of the wrongs that the …show more content…
Such portrayals of these women indicate