Women in the Odyssey and King James

Women in the Odyssey and King James Bible

The nature and role of women in Homer's "The Odyssey" and throughout the "King James Bible" are much the same. While some are pure of heart, others are deceitful.

In "The Odyssey," Penelope waits patiently for her husband and never really loses faith that he will return home to her. Although she has many suitors during Odysseus' absence, she never succumbs and cleverly delays any commitment to any of them by claiming she must complete her husband's burial shroud. Even the archery contest is a delay tactic she uses to buy more time for Odysseus to return. She is described as "tall in her beauty," a loving mother and faithful wife (Homer 432). In fact most all of the women in Homer's epic are described as beautiful. Circe is so beautiful and charming that Odysseus can barely tear himself from her, even though he wants to return to Penelope. Even the dead women who bore children to the gods are described as beautiful.

Although, the women appear to be worshipped and adored, they are however, dependent on the males for their status and position. Menelaos chooses whom his daughter will marry, and even Penelope could be turned from her home by her son. Therefore many of the women must use their feminine wiles to achieve what they want. Although the women in Homer's "The Odyssey" do not have equal status, they are favored and adored.

A woman's status in biblical times was confined to serving the male. Women basically had no authority and either lived in their father's home or their husband's. Perhaps more importantly they were considered inferior, for she is after all "taken out of Man" (Genesis 2:23). And of course Eve is responsible for man's downfall in the Garden of Eden, to which God said "in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee" (Genesis 3:16). Women were so subservient to men that when Rachel could not bear children, she gave Jacob "Bil-hah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her and Bil-hah conceived, and bare Jacob a son" (Genesis 30: 4-5). Moreover, polygamy was common throughout the Bible, such as, "And La-mech took unto him two wives" (Genesis 4:19). When the two angels came to Lot's house and the men of the city gathered outside demanding that the men come out, Lot turned over his virgin daughters instead, saying "Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eye" (Genesis 19: 8). And when Ruth's husband died, she stayed with her widowed mother-in-law, saying "where thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people...and where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried" (Ruth 1:16-17).