The Role of Women in the Iliad Essay - 724 Words

Thesis Statement: Women play a major role in the Iliad. Examining the impact of female characters in an epic dominated by war and the men who fought it. Major female characters include Helen, Briseis, Athena, Aphrodite, Hera , Thetis and Chrysies. The Iliad is first and foremost an epic poem about a war waged by men. Even though there are no female warriors , apart from the goddesses, women play a major role in defining the course of it. The roots of the war can be traced back to the beauty contest between Athena , Aphrodite and Hera which Paris is chosen to judge. Each Goddess offers Paris a bribe in return for favoring them, but in the end Paris chooses Aphrodite’s gift of the most beautiful woman in the world ; Helen.†¦show more content†¦. In his pain Achilles calls upon his mother Thetis , who is a goddess, to help him. He asks her to convince Zeus to help the Trojan cause so the Greeks, Agamemnon in particular, would realize the importance of Achilles. Zeus helps the Trojans and that is how , due to Briseis and Thetis , the Greeks suffer heavy casualties and pushed to the brink of defeat. Goddesses also have a p rominent part to play in the Iliad. Apart from convincing Zeus , Thetis also brings new armor for Achilles: â€Å"and down she flashed like a hawk from snowy Mount Olympus / bearing the brilliant gear, the god of fire’s gift† (XVIII:717-718).She was the one who convinces Achilles to obey Zeus’ orders and return Hectors body back to Priam. Athena and Hera rank among the most powerful forces in the book. Even the other male gods cannot stand up to them, and Ares, supposedly the god of war, must cede to Athenas superior might on two occasions. Moreover, Athena and Hera are more than just assertive and forceful. They are cunning, quick-witted, and sharp-tongued. By using her womanly assets and a little trickery, Hera incapacitates Zeus, after Achilles rejoins the battle, which allows the Greeks to gain the upper hand. Athena was the one that tricked Hector into facing Achilles man-to-man: â€Å"Athena luring him on with all her immortal cunning-† (XXII-293) even though she knew Achilles would kill him. Aphrodite onShow MoreRelatedThe Role of Women in the Iliad Essay examples1593 Words   |  7 PagesThe role of Women in the Iliad Throughout history, women have held many different roles in society. Men have traditionally been viewed as superior since the beginning of time. Homers Iliad is an excellent example of the suppressive role of women at this time. Women were treated merely as property and were used for producing material within the household. Paralyzed by their unfortunate circumstances, they were taken and given as if they were material belongings. In Homers Iliad, we conceiveRead More The Role of Women in Homer’s Iliad Essay796 Words   |  4 PagesThe Role of Women in Homer’s Iliad Homer’s Iliad is undoubtedly focused on its male characters: Achilles, primarily, but also Hector and Agamemnon. 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