The Women of The Odyssey
The Deadly Race and Tribe
As punishment for accepting the fire stolen from the heavens, Zeus sent man a
curse in the form of woman. Her name was Pandora. Zeus sent her with a
magic jar (pithos) that he forbade her to open. But after she had been on earth
awhile, she grew curious and opened the jar – out came the earthly plagues and
misfortunes that forever after harmed humankind. Pandora hurriedly put the lid
back on, but all that remained inside was hope. In Hesoid’s Theogony, he says of
Pandora, “from her is the race of women and female kind: of her is the deadly
race and tribe of women who live amongst mortal men to their great trouble, no
helpmate in hateful poverty, but only in wealth. Zeus who thunders on high
made women to be an evil to mortal men, with a nature to do evil”.
1. Which women in The Odyssey help support Hesoid’s claim that women are a “deadly race who live
amongst mortal men to their great trouble”? Please refer to major/ minor female characters.
2. How are these women portrayed? Note physical description, personality, the setting in which the women
reside, how they are treated or viewed by men.
3. What trouble do these women cause for the men? In what way(s) are these women “an evil to mortal
men, with a nature to do evil”?
Painting Analysis: As compared to the other women, how is Eurycleia portrayed in these three paintings?
Penelope Awaked by Eurycleia by Angelica
Kaufmann (18th century)
Penelope Awaked by Eurycleia by Angelica
Kaufmann (18th century)
Odysseus recognized by Eurycleia by
Gustave Boulanger (1849)
4. How is Eurycleia portrayed in The Odyssey--- note physical description, personality, her actions, the setting
in which she resides, and how she is treated or viewed by men. What does Eurycleia’s character suggest
about the role of women?
5. Now examine the portrayal of Athena, Penelope, Helen, Arete, and Nausicaa ---- note physical
description, personality, their actions, the setting in which they reside, and how they are treated or viewed
by men.
How is Homer directly challenging Hesoid’s statement through these women?
ULTIMATELY, DOES HOMER SUPPORT OR CHALLENGE HESOID’S OPINION OF
WOMEN?
IS THE ODYSSEY A SEXIST OR FEMINIST TEXT?
Notes on Day 1: The Deadly Race and Tribe
[Note for us: Agamemnon echoes Hesoid in his condemnation of Clytemnestra, foil to Penelope]
Agamemnon in Book 11, lines 500-518:
So even your own wife – never indulge her too far. Never reveal the whole truth, whatever you may
know; just tell her a part of it, be sure to hide the rest...I tell you this – bear it in mind, you must –
when you reach your homeland steer your ship into port in secret, never out in the open…the time
for trusting women’s gone forever!
Agamemnon in Book 24, lines 210-223:
“…A far cry from the daughter of Tyndareus, Clytemnestra – what outrage she committed, killing
the man she married once! – yes, and the song men sing of her will ring with loathing. She brands
with a foul name the breed of womankind, even the honest ones to come!
[Questions]
Which women in The Odyssey help support Hesoid’s claim?
Clytemnestra
Helen (Book 4)
Sirens
Melantho
Calypso
Circe
Clytemnestra
Female ghosts in Kingdom of Dead
[Both Scylla and Charybdis were original sea nymphs who were transformed into monsters – even as
monsters they are referred to in the feminine form “she”]
Scylla
Charybdis
The “whores” in Book 20
How are the women portrayed?
physical descriptions
the setting in which they reside
What trouble do these women cause men?
How do men react to the women? How do they treat the women? What is their opinion of
the women?
“An evil to mortal men, with a nature to do evil” --- In what way are women evil? What aspect
of their nature is evil? Is there any evidence amongst these women indicating that all
women may not be purely evil, deadly, and troublesome to men [i.e. Helen, Calypso, Circe]?