Iliad-Odyssey Paper

Iliad-Odyssey Paper
Hate to Love
“I lie upon my bed with my afflicted heart, besieged by tears so stubborn and so sharp that, even as I mourn, tear me
apart” (Odyssey 19.610-13).
The preceding quote made by the heartbroken and devoted Penelope in Homer’s the Odyssey shows an intensity of
feeling that is lacking within his earlier work, the Iliad. It is amid the latter epic that the female roles are able to step
into the limelight and express the befitting emotion that give the Odyssey a philanthropic feel. Therefore it is the
female characters within the Odyssey that incorporate attention to compassion because they demonstrate greater
altruistic expression than men especially here when compared with the Iliad.
In the Iliad the dominant role is played by men hence women had to wait backstage to prove their own complexity
of character. The highly regarded ancient Greek society was overseen by the males, that is, the women weren’t
involved unless they had permission by the men. Women were valued -- the Iliad opens with the Achaian army’s
capturing of two beautiful enemy maidens, Chryseis and Briseis, who are then awarded as prizes to Agamemnon --
but, in comparison to men, their concerns weren’t as proclaimed in early epic poetry. In the Iliad, for example,
Hektor orders Andromache back into the house during the ensuing Trojan War:
Go home, attend to your own handiwork at the loom and
spindle, and command the maids to busy themselves, too. As for the war, that is...

Iliad-Odyssey Paper

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