Question | Answer |
What are some of the desirable Greek qualities that Odysseus displays? | Intelligence, resourcefulness, respect/honour for the gods, Leadership, revenge for the gods, showing Xenia |
Father and Son relationships in the Odyssey | The relationship between Odysseus and Telemachus is compelling, especially when the reader considers their affection and alliance in contrast to the father-son relationship of Priam and Hector. These two father-son dyads serve as distinct examples of the types of father-son relationships that were possible for the ancient Greeks to embody and express. Between Priam and Hector there was a certain degree of affection and admiration, but it was not sentimental in any way. |
Women in Greek Society | The Odyssey gives us two extreme versions of women in ancient Greek society. Penelope and Clytemnestra |
Penelope as a character | Penelope is the version of the ideal woman. She is the embodiment of chastity, generosity, cunning, and intelligence. Throughout the years that Odysseus is gone, she remains loyal to her husband, devising schemes to keep the suitors at bay. She never turns away a suppliant and she even possesses the wit to test her husband upon his return. |
Clytemnestra as a character | Clytemnestra not only cheats on her husband with Aegisthus, but plots to kill her husband, lacking the wit of Penelope. She later incurs the wrath of her own son for this action. The action that Clytemnestra undertakes when being unfaithful to Agamemnon, illustrates her status as a weak character, and furthermore the fact that she is a bad wife. She also conspires with Aegisthus to kill Agamemnon upon his return home. This is a huge statement about Clytemnestra. In ancient Greece, the simple action of a woman going against her husband was perceived as a horrible thing. |
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