Values Of Women In The Odyssey

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The Values of Greek Society In the modern world, women are given countless opportunities to make a change in people’s lives. However, women were not always viewed as these influential figures in society. Homer’s Greek epic, The Odyssey, describes how women were portrayed as inferior to men, for they were unable to be trusted, and brought endless pain and suffering. Values are part of every society, but the role of women was especially significant to the Greeks.
Women in the Odyssey exemplify many actions that come across as untrustworthy and devious in society. The first example of a dishonest women in Greek society is Penelope. Penelope is Odysseus’ wife, living in a house of suitors while she awaits for the return of her husband from war. She refuses to …show more content…
One suitor explains, “So every day she wove on the great loom- but every night by torchlight she unwove it; and so for three years she deceived the Achaeans”(726). Penelope’s devious actions reveal why women in Greek society cannot be trusted. She claims she is will not marry until she finishes weaving, but every night when everyone is asleep, she unweaves her work. If her work is never completed, the suitors will never get her hand in marriage. Another deceitful women in the Odyssey is Circe. Circe is a witch that has the ability to turn men into pigs. When Odysseus and his men come to her island, she appears beautiful and offers them a nice feast. However, their peaceful meal did not last long. Homer describes, “Scare they had drunk when she flew after them with her long stick and shut them in a pigsty- bodies, voices, heads, and bristles, all swinish now, though minds unchanged”(758). Circe’s powers illustrate how she is very dishonest. After she welcomed the men onto her island and tricked them into thinking she was innocent, she turned them into wild animals. Then, she attempted to turn the great hero, Odysseus into a pig as well, but he has an antidote and is
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