Culture can be considered one of the most important and defining aspects of a society. A culture influences the ideals, beliefs, ethics, and practices of a society. Ultimately Culture defines the society. The epic heroes Beowulf and Odysseus display the unique impact that culture plays in a society and more importantly on the individual. In Beowulf and The Odyssey share many similarities within their own cultures like how men are more powerful than women and how important religion is in their society. Another important part of their culture is the importance of Selfishness and Selflessness and the role they play for each hero. Beowulf and Odysseus mirror the impact of their respective cultures ultimately illustrating that an individual is a
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A quote that shows the role of women and men is “Just as Phaeacian men excel the world at sailing, driving their swift ships on the open seas, so the women excel at all the arts of weaving.” (Fagles 183) This quote shows the role of men and the role of women in ancient Greek culture. If it was not for women the Trojan War never would of started. The reason the war started was because Helen was taken from her husband Menelaus. In regards to culture, women have no rights and do what the men tell them too. On another note they are also very controlling because of how they can be very seductive. Men in the story had a strong passion for Circe and a lot of them would do as she said. Her beauty was able to control them and then eventually trick them and they would turn to pigs. This is an extremely rare example on how a woman can have so much power over a man back in the Ancient Greek …show more content…
The man in this story is the hero and is commended for all of his feats. The woman is more of a secondary character in this story. The main role for women in Beowulf is to keep peace stabilized and be hospitable to men. It should be noted that most marriages at this time were arranged and the woman did not have much say over anything. This is what the roles of women in the poem of Beowulf are. Odysseus was a very selfish individual in more than one way. Instead of going home to his family he chose to live on an island with another woman for many years. He lived on an island with Calypso rather than trying to get home to his family. Also he was so stubborn and selfish when he chose to not to apologize to Poseidon for hurting his son. By him refusing to apologize he was putting many lives at risk by keeping Poseidon upset. People in ancient Greek culture were typically very selfish and stubborn so it is not surprising to see him be so proud of himself along with being
A quote that shows the role of women and men is “Just as Phaeacian men excel the world at sailing, driving their swift ships on the open seas, so the women excel at all the arts of weaving.” (Fagles 183) This quote shows the role of men and the role of women in ancient Greek culture. If it was not for women the Trojan War never would of started. The reason the war started was because Helen was taken from her husband Menelaus. In regards to culture, women have no rights and do what the men tell them too. On another note they are also very controlling because of how they can be very seductive. Men in the story had a strong passion for Circe and a lot of them would do as she said. Her beauty was able to control them and then eventually trick them and they would turn to pigs. This is an extremely rare example on how a woman can have so much power over a man back in the Ancient Greek …show more content…
The man in this story is the hero and is commended for all of his feats. The woman is more of a secondary character in this story. The main role for women in Beowulf is to keep peace stabilized and be hospitable to men. It should be noted that most marriages at this time were arranged and the woman did not have much say over anything. This is what the roles of women in the poem of Beowulf are. Odysseus was a very selfish individual in more than one way. Instead of going home to his family he chose to live on an island with another woman for many years. He lived on an island with Calypso rather than trying to get home to his family. Also he was so stubborn and selfish when he chose to not to apologize to Poseidon for hurting his son. By him refusing to apologize he was putting many lives at risk by keeping Poseidon upset. People in ancient Greek culture were typically very selfish and stubborn so it is not surprising to see him be so proud of himself along with being