The Odyssey: The Power Of Sexuality In The Odyssey

Improved Essays
In the Odyssey women are normally seemed to be not as strong and hold significantly less power than their male counterparts. In essence it is historically proven that the males are the controllers and the females are in contrast, the controlled but one cannot simply forget that women are known to have exponential influences on the men around them. With that being said female sexuality seems to be dangerous and even fearful toward men which is why I feel like this is why Homer uses this “talent” that women have with their sexuality and multiples it within the story of the Odyssey in which he turns these influential powers and characteristics into goddesses. One can argue that men have this fear inside of them that they cannot control and this …show more content…
Calypso was an extremely sexual and very powerful person. She was so powerful that she was ultimately able to control Odysseus and make him weep. This is direct evidence that women can use sexuality as a control device. When women were allowed to express their sexuality however they felt necessary, they had the power to make men act different than they normally would and definitely act out of character. Penelope is a great example of this; she would simply flaunt her body around which created a huge disturbance for men which made them lash out and act much differently than they normally would. Throughout the entire epic it was not her fault that the suitors were acting the way they were but she was definitely indirectly responsible. One of the only reason that the men were there and acting so rowdy was because of her. This was a form of immense control in an era where men were the controllers and when women were the controllers it was definitely going against the social norm in Homeric society. One reason women are portrayed in a bad light is because of the fear men have for these powerful women. By not praising them as much there is arguably less intimidation that the men have to face. But at the same time, women in Homeric society were supposed to remain “pure” for their husbands. Women of any prestige or worth were to remain virtuous. Since men were always the takers during this time, it basically didn’t matter how many women they had been with because they were the receivers of the gift, not the woman. The main reason why Odysseus is allowed to be so sexually “free” during his long journey home is because of the thought up nature of men during this time period. Men have always been considered conquerors and due to this they are judged in terms of their wealth and power. With more money, land, war victories, and even women that a man has the more of “man” that they are, which is

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    Women of the Odyssey Throughout the Odyssey women are viewed in a myriad of ways; however, a common thread is woven into the epic. Women are seen as subordinate to men. Goddesses obey the gods, and mortal women kneel before their male counterparts. Suffering places itself upon women who disobey men.…

    • 1596 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    One of the most talked about social problems is gender inequality. This is a problem that has had a negative impact on women all around the world. Many people think this is a relatively new problem that has only been around for a few hundred years. But gender inequality has been around for thousands of years, even as far back as the ancient Greeks. In the Odyssey, gender inequality is expressed when Calypso is forced to allow Odysseus to leave her island by Zeus.…

    • 796 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Homer illustrates the importance of women in The Odyssey by describing the roles in vivid detail of these different women and how each of them is treated in relation to the men of the epic. He shows us a goddess whose only goal is to protect a mortal, even though she must do so in…

    • 1286 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    As a clever female character in the Odyssey, Penelope devises a cunning plan to trick the suitors. Antinous describes how she had proposed to marry one of the suitors after she finishes weaving the loom. He states that the suitors “were persuaded by this appeal to [their] honor” (Homer 18). Penelope’s claim that the robe would be for “the hero / Laertes” causes the men’s honor to prevail over their desire to wed Penelope and take over the great Odysseus’ house (Homer 18). Although these men are characterized as rude, obnoxious, and disrespectful, they are still honorable in the fact that they agree to this proposal since it is intended for the hero Laertes, father of the godlike Odysseus.…

    • 1395 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Despite the fact that some women in The Iliad and The Odyssey have some importance, they are always inferior to…

    • 896 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    He wants to help people and be a savior in real life, so he writes of a heroic man on a journey to save the world, basically. Inferior feelings and patronizing views to women could be traced back to an ex-lover or even “mommy issues.” Perhaps Homer’s mother was not eternally faithful to his father, so he writes about Odysseus’s wife, Penelope, staying home faithfully and raising his son, while Odysseus travels the world. His repressed negative feelings towards women surface in The Odyssey when Agamemnon tells of “that bitch, my wife, [that] turned her back on me.” It seems that in this epic, even when discussing goddesses, women are never enough and constantly are doing something wrong.…

    • 892 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the “Odyssey”, Homer portrays the women as temptress of men and are below them in the presented hierarchy of this tale. This is portrayed at the very beginning when Telmachus (Odysseus son) tells him mother Penelope “You should go back upstairs and take care of your work, Spinning and weaving, and have the maids do theirs. Speaking is for men, for all men, but for me especially, since I am the master of this house” (page 340). Homer has the women use their beauty and bodies to seduce the men in this tale. One example is when Odysseus’s men come to Circe’s house and are lured by a voice, she gives them food and drinks and a ‘potion of Pramnian wine”.…

    • 339 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus has several interactions with women on his journey back to Ithaca. No two women have the same exchange with Odysseus, but they all demonstrate different variations of the masculine-feminine relationship. Instead of the traditional masculine-feminine relationship, some women give Odysseus help instead, some don’t rely on depend on him entirely, but some however, swoon for him and give him her aid because of it. There is a strong masculine-feminine balance in the Odyssey, where the women are able to survive without depending on a man. The women all show individual versions of strength and all have contrasting relationships with Odysseus throughout his journey.…

    • 879 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    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.…

    • 1046 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The women in Homer’s Odyssey, translated by Robert Fagles, deceive the men, in order to do what is right. Penelope and Athena contrast each other by displaying different portrayals of femininity. Penelope’s portrayal of femininity is old and outdated; a femininity in which a woman is loyal and submissive to a masculine figure. She is the perfect wife who is pushed to do everything her husband tells her. Penelope wants to live her life with her love and without any other purpose.…

    • 1239 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    He also believes that women are nuisances to society and are only useful if they are in some way benefiting a man. Most of the women in the Odyssey are painted as either manipulative, untruthful, or unfaithful. By the end of his journey, Odysseus is under the impression that he should not even trust his wife Penelope even though she is the epitome of a perfect woman. The overall theme conveyed by Homer is that women are more trouble than they are worth, which is demonstrated continuously throughout the…

    • 984 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the midst of all the chaos of being away from home, Odysseus comes across many complications, some of which include life or death interactions between himself and the legendary gods and goddesses of Greek culture. However, these interactions are not included within the epic simply to entertain the audience, rather, it is thought that Homer is attempting to make a point about how the women of his time in the eighth century were unfairly treated and discriminated against. To make his point, Homer wisely portrays the female characters of his poem in an admirable fashion; he makes sure to include how women can have wisdom, elegance, authority and several other traits of which only men were acknowledged to possess. It is because of Homer’s unique recognition to the fact that women should be treated as human individuales that his poem is being read by audiences around the world up to this…

    • 1007 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    However, it often snatched the use of power for good away from them and left most females with abilities that made them monsters. It also encouraged unfair double standards and taught generations that certain male behavior was unacceptable for females. The Odyssey likes to think that its favor of Athena promotes gender equality, but in reality, the story is simply another pseudo-feminist one that will not help modern society to progress. Because of this, it is about time to change the epic that society uses as a base for books, movies, and television shows. Maybe the new epic will have male and female main characters.…

    • 1045 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The female characters in the Odyssey is very different from traditional view of women in ancient times. The works of Homer – Odyssey described the role of women in the Dark Age, it is a time where woman held an inferior position in compare to man and their role are basically limited to only childbirth and household duties. The Dark Age society portray woman as man’s servants and the idea of woman cannot accomplish anything without the help of man is common. But in the Odyssey, female character is rather distinctive. Female characters in the Odyssey are strong, influential and smart.…

    • 1097 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Women In The Odyssey

    • 1446 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The role of women in society is an issue discussed throughout The Odyssey by Homer, the Bible, and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft. These texts all illustrate different roles for women in society; however, there are some common ideas between the texts. Since these texts were written at different time periods, The Odyssey first, then the Bible, and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman last, a contributing factor to the differences in the views on the role of women in society is the societal norms held at the time. The Odyssey and the Bible agree with the norms of the time while Wollstonecraft wrote against the gender norms held by society at that time.…

    • 1446 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays

Related Topics