Odysey

5 Pages 1353 Words

Two Heads Are Better Than One


“Nurse, bring the bed out from the master bedroom, The bedstead he made himself, and spread it for him with fleeces and blankets and silky coverlets.” She was testing her husband. Odysseus Could bear no more, and he cried out to his wife: “By God, woman, now you’ve cut deep. Who moved my bed?” (Odyssey, XXIII ,184-190)


























The meeting between Odysseus and Penelope shows the strategic and cunning match the two make. One flaw or sign of mistrust between the two could have led to devastation of the two and the kingdom. Outnumbered by suitors, Penelope could not afford to be tricked by another man with intentions to take over the kingdom. And Odysseus knowing a single flaw could mean devastation must be careful at every step to make sure fate is on his side before making any moves.

Odysseus’ most prominent characteristic is his cunning use of strategy. Homer depicts Odysseus as always one step ahead of the enemy and gives the impression that Odysseus is the ultimate mortal. Though Odysseus always comes out of every situation victorious, Homer still makes a point of recognizing the flaws which distinguishes gods from mortals. For example the, the episode in which Odysseus carelessly searches the catacombs of the Cyclops and becomes entrapped. Once Odysseus escapes the catacombs, he can not help shouting his name to Polyphemous, angering Poseidon.

On the other side Homer depicts Penelope and women a little differently. Women are depicted indirectly as sexual aggressors. For example Circe turns Odysseus’ men she seduces into pigs showing her control over men; or the murder of Agamemnon by his wife which strikes fear into Odysseus that Penelope could lapse into infidelity as well. Episodes such as these throughout The


Odyssey give the impression that women are untrustworthy. Helen and Clytemnestra are depicted as two such...