Odyssey

            Homer wrote the classic epic The Odyssey more than 2,500 years ago. At that time in ancient Greek society, as well as in the whole of the ancient world, the dominant role was played by men. Society was organized, directed, and controlled by men, and it was accepted that women occupied a subservient and inferior position. Women, of course, were valued, but were expected to possess certain traits and perform certain tasks that men demanded of them. Does Homer writing in The Odyssey support or refute the common belief of his time regarding women? Homer endorsed the dominating belief of his time concerning women by treating the female characters unequally and differently compared to the male characters in The Odyssey.
             Regardless of the way an individual describes society in a given time period, women, over the course of the years, have always been an important issue to focus on. Rarely are they treated as true equals; neither in reality nor in the writing. Homer Odyssey is one such writing, which poetically describes the daily life of the Greeks in antiquity. Although in his work, women are treated differently than men, and are shown to be of lesser status, Homer does not advocate a misogynistic view. Misogyny is the hatred of women by men. The Odyssey is not misogynistic. In exploring the ways that women are in fact of lesser status in this society, one can also see that they are not at the point of being hated. .
             Women were very important to the Greeks, and they showed this value in many ways. In The Odyssey Homer shows us the different ways women were looked upon through female characters, such as Penelope, Naussica, and Anticlia.
             The Odyssey, written by Homer, was a classic epic written at a time in ancient Greek society over 2,000 years ago. In the Odyssey, dominating male roles were evident. Dominate roles was performed by men during the ancient Greek society, as well as in the rest of the ancient world.