Shroud

faithfulness to Odysseus and her performance of the duties of a traditional housewife over the twenty years her husband was away. The painting is a visually representation of this perseverance by showing Penelope intently concentrating on weaving the shroud while her suitors try and persuade her with music and gifts. The themes of perseverance, love, and loneliness are prevalent in many of the author and artist works. Both mediums are used to effectively to illustrate these themes but especially…

In the Odyssey, Homer discusses various topics significant for the Greeks of that era such as hospitality, devotion to gods, faithfulness to one’s spouse, or determination to return home. On the other hand, Virgil’s Aeneid is focused on war and ancient Roman values such as pietas, which stands for loyalty or devotion, or gravitas, which is one’s ability to speak with authority. Furthermore, Sophocles’s play Antigone deals with a character that has to choose between the contradicting laws of the…

The epic poem Beowulf tells a story of a hero coming from a different land to lift the shroud of evil off Herot. Hero’s in an epic poem must exemplify traits of bravery, strength, courage, and the want to achieve immortality through heroic actions and deeds. In the poem Beowulf the main character Beowulf exemplifies all of these traits. Bravery, all epic heroes possess this trait especially Beowulf. The beginning of the story, Grendel travels into Herot and kills thirty people. The stories…

that the suitors had fallen for was the funeral shroud for Laertes. "Three whole years she deceived us blind, seduced us with this scheme..." said the suitors, "Then, when the wheeling seasons brought the fourth year on, one of her women, in on the queen's secret, told the truth and we caught her in the act—unweaving her gorgeous web." (2. 117-121) Penelope had promised the suitors that she would choose a man to marry as soon as she finished her shroud for Laertes, but what the suitors had not…

The song ‘Ahead by a Century’ by the band The Tragically Hip is said to be about reflecting on the past; going over memories. On the contrary though, the meaning and the theme of a song are completely different, leaving one question; what is the theme? Firstly, I strongly believe the song is about someone unconsciously stuck on their past mistakes, leading them to regret and a deep depression. To support the theory let’s start with the beginning of the song, where the individual seems to be…

Within Homer’s Odyssey, there is a sole personality that protrudes from the rest. This personality belongs to Penelope, and it is this personality that composes her identity. Penelope is a unique female figure, who differs tremendously from other women within the epic, and ancient Greece. She possesses traits women in 13th and 12th century BC Greece did not, and could not possess. Penelope holds attributes men despised in women, and she displays them proudly. The intelligence and knowledge that…

Millions of Americans follow the trail of the American Dream, yet just as the name suggests, this singular goal merely remains within the unattainable dreams of Americans. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, particularly rings true with this sentiment. In this excerpt, Fitzgerald creates an image where Nick Carraway reflects on Jay Gatsby as a hopeful romantic, plagued by troubles from the past, a symbol to embody the American Dream. The author expresses the meaningless hope all people…

Although it was a challenge, she remains loyal to Odysseus by tricking the suitors into believing that she has been weaving a shroud for the father of her husband, Laertes, but at night secretly unweaves the shroud. This is a great reference for the loyalty she possesses because she went through great lengths, even lying to what is said to be one hundred men that could easily overpower her just to not remarry. In complete…

Can social issues that existed nearly twenty-seven hundred years ago really continue to be a problem in the world today? The answer to this question: absolutely. One instance of this is the inequality between men and women that was apparent in society in ancient Greece and is still apparent now. This can especially be seen in Homer's The Odyssey, one of the earliest pieces of literature that is still widely read today. The epic poem barely includes any women to start with, most likely because…

In ancient Greek society, the roles of women play a key role. Women were supposed to be loyal and respected, but the men were not held to the same standards. The men could have as many concubines and mistresses as they wanted, but the women had to remain loyal to their husbands. There has been a long history of women being disloyal while their husbands have been at war. The different types of women presented to the readers throughout the poem all add to the different aspects of societal women in…