Misogyny In The Odyssey

The Odyssey, by Homer, is the second-oldest extant work of Western literature. It focuses on Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, and his journey home from the Trojan War. Through this story, Homer illuminates aspects of Ancient Greek culture, one major aspect being misogyny. Today, in 21st Century America, the misogyny is especially evident in The Odyssey due to the awareness that has been brought to women's rights over the past 200 years. Misogyny is exposed through the way men discuss the intelligence of women. Today, even though misogyny isn't as prominent in western culture, these ideas about the worth of women in society are still present.
Throughout The Odyssey women are discussed in a variety of ways. Often times, they are criticized, …show more content…
However, statistics shows that pieces of Ancient Greek ideologies still remain. According to The National Girls Collaborative Project, women make up half the total U.S. college-educated workforce, but only 29% of the science and engineering workforce. The numbers show that men and women are equally intelligent, and capable of going to college and educating themselves, but only fourth of people working in science-oriented jobs are women. In modern day society, science and math are often seen as a jobs for men, and not women. Even though it is not talked about very much, the norm for women is stay home and raise the family, and if women have jobs, stereo-typically, they have jobs that don't involve science and math. Due to social stigmas, whether they are old or new, women are much less inclined to go into the science and engineering field than men. Similarly, Ancient Greek culture divided the priorities of men and women. Men fought in wars, were civil leader, and bards, but women were framed as mothers, daughters, or even seductress. Women, like Clytemnestra, were not expected to be educated or be leader, much like the idea that women do not belong in the science and engineering fields. Rather, women in Ancient Greek culture were expected to be perfect, faithful wives, serving their husbands, which is relieved in the way Agamemnon regards Clytemnestra. Similar to this belief, women in 20th Century were expect to stay home and raise the family. Despite the progress women have made throughout the years, the misogyny Ancient Greek culture fostered, found in The Odyssey, can still be found in the disproportionate numbers of men and women in the science and engineering