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Anne Berg

Dr. Whitworth

English 226-01

14 December 2016

Epic Women and One Not So Epic Man

Although the protagonist of The Odyssey is a male, it is really the women in the story that

accomplish everything. On the surface Homers epic poem is about the Greek warrior Odysseus

and his journey home after the Trojan War. In reality, the story is about Odysseus struggle as he

attempts to redefine himself in terms of King, father, husband, and son after being away from

home for so long. This struggle is both orchestrated and solved by the women in the story. In

normal epic poetry the hero must go out on his own in order to become who he needs to be.

Because The Odyssey makes a switch from epic to pastoral on the surface, and as a result,

masculine to feminine, Odysseus actually depends on the women throughout the poem to help

him become who he needs to be. In the epic, The Iliad, the protagonist, Achilles, must switch

from being ruled by physis, or instinct, to being ruled by nous, or reason, and he is only able to

do this by ditching his dependence on the female characters in the novel. Yet, if Odysseus were

to do this in The Odyssey, he would never be able to make it home, nor would he ever be able to

change. The women in Homers The Odyssey, in comparison to those in The Iliad, play a crucial

role in the unfolding of Odysseuss journey, as well as the solution of his conflict, because of the

emphasis on pastoral rather than epic poetry.

The switch from epic to pastoral poetry is one that is very important to track in order to

fully understand just how significant women in The Odyssey truly are. The poem starts off as an

epic poem because of Odysseus quest to return home. Books nine through twelve go into great
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detail about all of the trouble that Odysseus encounters on his journey home. He has to defeat

monsters and attempt to outsmart gods and goddesses. But, the entire time that the story is an

epic, it is slowly making its way towards a pastoral poem. Pastoral poetry is about the simple

life, farming, and the home. This means that the poem is really focused on the domestic sphere

and all the conflict that happens there. With the switch to pastoral poetry, pastoral characters

become more significant. In other epic poetry, like The Iliad, it is only kings and great warriors

that are focused on and shown as important. Women and other characters are deemed as minor

and fall to the wayside. However, in The Odyssey, it is these minor characters that actually play

the biggest role. This is extremely evident with the male pastoral character Eumaeus. He is a

swineherd in The Odyssey and Homer actually addresses him in the vocative when he says, And

you replied, Eumaeus, loyal swineherd (XIV, 63). This is rare for such a seemingly low

character and showcases just how important pastoral characters are to the poem. Even though

male pastoral characters play a large role, it is the women who outshine all other characters.

Because The Odyssey is focused on the domestic sphere, a space that is stereotypically feminine,

women are portrayed as more important characters than they are in The Iliad.

All of Odysseus biggest adventures are spent in the homes of others, but specifically

those of women. This is crucial to notice, because he is trying to return to his own home, and he

therefore needs to experience his own trials and tribulations in other peoples homes before he is

able to accomplish his goal. Odysseus stays a long seven years on the goddess Calypsos island,

in a cave. Her cave is described as a yonic symbol (V, 71-81), which basically says that

Odysseus has spent seven years of his journey in a womb. He has metaphorically gone back to

childhood and it will not be until he leaves her island that he is reborn again, and can actually

make progress in his quest to redefine himself. Calypso is also important because of the speech
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she makes when the Hermes comes to tell her that she needs to let Odysseus leave. She points

out that the double standards that the gods have is ridiculous when she states, You unrivaled

lords of jealousy / scandalized when goddesses sleep with mortals, / openly, even when one

has made the man her husband (V, 131-133). This speech is crucial as it shows just how unfair

womens lives are when it comes to patriarchal societies. Even though Calypso is still being

treated unfairly here, the fact that it is in the poem at all shows how critical women are to this

story. Their thoughts and feelings about the way they are being treated are actually being

discussed in The Odyssey and even though these problems are not solved, it is still a step in the

right direction. This scenario is solely due to the pastoral qualities of the poem. In a completely

epic poem Odysseus would not spend so much time alone in a womans home. As a result she

would not have such a big voice. Odysseus spends the most time in Calypsos home out of any

other during his journey and the end result is his first rebirth. Without Calypso he would not be

any closer to his goal of redefining himself and returning home.

Odysseus spends an entire year in the home of the nymph Circe. Circe is an interesting

female character because she represents both the power of femininity and the power of

masculinity. This is a big switch from Calypso because even though Calypso had a voice, she did

not have any power. Odysseus and his men come across the island of Circe and at first things go

very badly because his men are turned into pigs by Circes wand (X, 261-263). This is a section

worth discussing because it showcases men as pigs. Circe has the ability to change men back into

their most instinctual being and Odysseus men are pigs because of their greed. This section puts

the female into a sense of power and complete control, while putting the men completely under

her. It is due to Circes additional masculinity that she is able to get into this position of power,

however, it is still a big step up from Calypso. Although Odysseus is able to outsmart her and get
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his men returned to men, he then continues to spend an entire year there until his men are able to

finally persuade him to return to their mission. This is significant because even though he is able

to win back his men, he loses sight of the mission at hand. This episode shows the power that

women have in their homes, as well as how much Odysseus still needs to change before he is

completely redefined.

Odysseus spends the least amount of time in the home of the Phaeacians but it is the most

eye-opening experience yet. Phaeacia is a very different place as it is a matriarchy, meaning that

women are completely in charge. This becomes evident when Odysseus first meets the Princess

of the island, Nausicaa. She tells him right off the bat that he should ignore the King and instead

find her mother, Queen Arete, stating:

Go past him, grasp my mothers kneesif you want

to see the day of your return, rejoicing, soon,

even if your homes a world away.

If only the queen will take you to her heart,

then theres hope that you will see your loved ones,

reach your own grand house, your native land at last. (VI, 340-354)

This is a place where the King does not matter; it is solely the Queen who can help Odysseus

with his return home. Queen Arete is a character unlike any that was ever introduced in The

Iliad. In her home she is completely in charge and it is only because of the poems switch to

pastoral that Queen Arete is showcased as such a crucial character. If the poem were completely

an epic, like The Iliad, then Queen Arete would not be relevant because she would not be away

from home, fighting a war. The poems switch from epic to pastoral is what makes Queen Arete

a key character, as well as what helps Odysseus finally return home.

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After meeting Queen Arete and receiving her help, Odysseus is finally able to return

home to Ithaca. Waiting for him at home is his wife, Penelope, and the most significant woman

in The Odyssey. Penelope is an extremely clever woman and is described in ways that are

normally reserved for men during this time. This is evident right from the beginning of the poem

when she is introduced as wary and reserved (I, 379). This description alone tells the reader

that she thinks before she acts, which means that she normally makes informed decisions. It is

solely thanks to her that the suitors plaguing Odysseus home have not yet taken over. She comes

up with several plans to stop them, and to keep them at bay, so that Odysseus has more time to

get home. This is explicitly stated when one of the suitors, Antinous, says, So by day shed

weave at her great and growing web / by night, by the light of torches set beside her, / she

would unravel all shed done. Three whole years / she deceived us blind, seduced us with this

scheme (II, 116-119). This quote alone shows how crafty Penelope is, as she is able to distract

the suitors for three whole years without them even realizing that something is going on. Not

only does Penelope keep the suitors at bay, but she is also responsible for helping Odysseus beat

them when he finally returns home. Penelope is the one that comes up with a plan to kill them

all. She decides to have a contest in which all the suitors will try to shoot Odysseus bow,

eventually leaving only Odysseus armed (XIX, 642-655). It is this plan and this plan alone that

helps Odysseus defeat the suitors, and Penelope is the mastermind. Because the poem is so

focused on home the reader is able to see how influential a woman can actually be when she puts

her mind to it.

Just by taking notice of all the female characters in The Odyssey, it becomes clear how

much of a bigger part they all have to play than those in The Iliad. This is due solely to the fact

that The Odyssey is a mixed genre poem that is both epic and pastoral. There is only one female
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character that is treated the same in both The Iliad and The Odyssey, and that is the goddess

Athena. Athena is an extremely helpful character throughout The Odyssey. She helps Odysseus

son, Telemachus, begin his journey to find his father as well as persuades him to get rid of the

suitors (I, 312-323). She also helps Odysseus at the end of the poem when he needs to kill all of

the suitors. She does this by not only joining him in the fight, but by also getting his fighting

spirit back (XXI, 234-246). In fact, Athena not only helps Telemachus grow up, but she also

helps Odysseus completely redefine himself. Athena is not only significant in The Odyssey, she

is also extremely important to Achilles quest in The Iliad. This is most evident when at the end

of the poem she helps him kill Hector in return for the murder of Patroclus (XXII, 293-295). It is

only after Achilles kills Hector that he is able to feel empathy for Priam, and therefore finish his

reversal. As a result, it is due to Athena that he is able to make this switch. Athena is a very

important character in both The Iliad and The Odyssey, and this is explained by the nature of her

birth. She was born from Zeuss head and therefore she is seen as smarter and more reliable. It is

because of this that she is an important female character in not only pastoral, but also epic

poetry.

Athena is quite honestly the only female character in The Iliad that is placed in a positive

light. Helen is the most discussed woman in The Iliad, and she is blamed for the entire Trojan

War. This is depicted when Helen is first introduced as, weaving a growing web, dark red

folding robe, / working into the weft the endless bloody struggles / stallion-breaking Trojans and

Argives armed in bronze / had suffered all for her at the god of battles hands (III, 151-154).

She is quite literally shown weaving the entire Trojan War, and even though this does give her

more power than other women in The Iliad, it also puts her in a negative light because she is the

cause of all the death and destruction that is happening. All the other women in this poem are
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also showcased in a negative light as they usually keep the hero from doing what he is meant to

accomplish. Aphrodite keeps Paris from fighting his own fight (III, 439-441), Hecuba tries to

persuade Hector to leave the fighting (VI, 302-311), and Thetis allows Achilles to act like a baby

(I, 500-505). All of these female characters are minor at best, and yet, each one seems to be

blamed for the immense trouble that the male characters have gotten themselves into. In the end,

this poems focus on war, and its lack of focus on the home, is what allows it to place the

majority of its female characters in such a harsh light.

Homers poem, The Odyssey, makes a noticeable switch from epic to pastoral poetry, and

it is because of this switch that the women in the story play such an important role in Odysseus

journey to redefine himself, as well the actual completion of this journey, in a way that the

women in The Iliad could not help Achilles because of the poems constant stay in epic poetry.

Pastoral poetry has a large focus on the home, and in Ancient Greece the home was the womens

domain. It is because of this constant focus on the domestic sphere that women have such a big

part to play. If the poem was completely an epic, like The Iliad, this would not be the case, and

instead it would focus on the men of the story completely, and the women would not help to

solve any problems. If this were the case, Odysseus would not have been able to complete his

journey home, nor would he have been able to redefine himself in terms of King, father,

husband, and son. Even though the majority of The Odyssey was focused on adventure and

fighting, Odysseus himself was focused on getting home, and it is because of this that women

were so important throughout the entire story. Therefore, it is the women in The Odyssey that are

the truly epic characters; because of the help they lend Odysseus throughout the entire poem.