The Odyssey by Homer - Essay Example

Fagles translated it in a manner that makes it appealing, and he captured the author’s words; thus narrating them in lyrics. The storyline does not appear vibrant; though, the actions are plausible. It is an incredible, prominent manuscript for both the early Greeks and the western civilization. It is among the popular classic books because of its diverse genres and all types of lyric poems. The book has several chapters starting from the journey of the Odyssey up to the end when he returns home. It reveals the life story of the Odyssey and the way he disappears for about 20 years from home. After Odysseus's disappearance which makes people think that he was killed, many suitors came to marry Penelope, but the story ends when Odysseus returns home and kills the suitors.

Many scholars have argued about Homer as being a woman. Homer is a tribal given name or identity of an individual who is praised with authorship of vibrant epic stories including the Iliad or Odyssey. These books contain twenty-four sections of hexameter poetry in the Greek language. The initial section of Odysseus' description tackles the famous events of the Trojan warfare and it bears utmost awareness of the Greek force worriers. Another section deals with the return from the war after 20 years. Homer has written a short poem addressing to gods. However, there is a long debate about the identity of Homer. From the poem of Homer, one can guess that his name can be linked to the middle age during the ancient times of Greek. The narrative that the author presents dates back to the earlier period of 1100 BC, the time when historical events in the Exodus stories were common. The life of Homer and his identity have been critical questions because they are obscured. There are no other reliable data that can provide trustworthy information about whether Homer is a he or she. This is unless one should glean her or his poems from archaeological clues.

There are strong beliefs that women could have written the book of Odyssey. Even various scholars argue that the book was written by a female or many women in a group may perhaps have written it. This is because of the way many things in the book are worded in femininity way. In ancient Greek, women were viewed as being inferior to men; thus they could not sit together with men and be part of them in the decision-making process. It was only a few females played considerable roles in society, but men profoundly dominated in the early Greek world. In the book of Homer, women played significant roles, and they could not humble themselves, but rather offer advice and wisdom. They even took care of themselves as seen in the example of the Odyssey’s wife when her husband left for 20 years. Therefore, the roles of women as revealed in the book of Homer contribute to the notion that the book could have been written by a woman or a group of women because of the way it emphasizes feminine roles.
The book has strong female writing features in it; thus contributing to the notion that Odyssey was written by a woman. For instance, the goddesses play significant, controlling roles and the most powerful “goddess is Athena” (Homer, Fagles, and Knox 24). Athena makes many things take place throughout the narrative. Another leading female is known as Calypso, and she holds Odysseus in exile for several years. Among these fatal women, there are many intelligent females with supremacy including Helen, Nausicaa, and others. Penelope, Odysseus’ wife is one of the exceptional characters in the storyline. She waited for countless years for her spouse to return home even though many suitors wanted to wed her. She seems to be humble but extremely wise. This is because she does not send off suitors, but “deludes the wits of a whole nation” (Homer, Fagles, and Knox 24). She fooled the suitors and made promises to every suitor by sending special messages to them, which were quite different. Penelopia fooled them many times by making false excuses that she had knit a burial blanket. She kept pretending to do so and during the night, she could tear the knit and starts afresh in the morning. Though, many men discovered the plan and felt angry because of cheating them; thus making the suitors wait for a long time. The knowledge and intelligence of Penelopia are revealed throughout the whole narrative. The book of Odysseus reveals the way many women were wise; thus an indication that it was written by a woman.

Amongst the seductress females in the book are Circle and Calypso. The love or seduction of Odysseus makes the situation difficult for him to go back home to Penelope. The author reveals many females whose enticing behaviors and attraction to men threaten me; thus putting them astray. For instance, the fooling behaviors of suitors by Penelope appear to lead men to her home, and this is one way of seduction. The idea of weaving the “burial shroud” makes many suitors offer her many gifts (Homer, Fagles, and Knox 29). She cheats men to wait until she finishes weaving the thread and seduces them; thus an indication that the Odyssey was written by a woman.

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