It’s hard to believe a book full of farting and penis jokes could have themes that are applicable to the modern world. The Clouds by Aristophanes though, has a mix of immature comedy, and rather serious commentary on generational differences....

In The Iliad and The Odyssey, there are numerous minor and major female characters who are depicted in varying forms in terms of femininity and ideality. Most of the female characters in both epics are depicted as feeble, delicate, manipulative,...

“Athena, [in pursuit of her] adventures as a woman, [tied to an immortal and moral world that is] dominated by a male ethos”, is used to highlight the importance of gender in an unforgiving society. As a woman, Athena is enslaved to her gender, in...

Although Plato does not specifically mention the Sirens in Homer’s The Odyssey, it is clear from his writing in Republic, Book X, that his negative perception of poetry would extend to these mythical creatures. Plato states that the “whole genre...

The agency women possess in The Odyssey and The Book of Genesis is harbored in their traditional domestic skills. These domestic skills, while underestimated by men in regards to the Greeks and Israelites, often play an essential role in the...

A comparative study of Homer’s Odyssey and Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad reveals that texts are reflective of their context, whereby they reinforce the suited cultural values of its time, composer, and audience. Atwood reimagines the story of...

While Hector and Odysseus in Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey are seen as clear heroes, the Argonautica differs in its approach to Jason, as his relatively average abilities are matched by his typically anti-heroic habit of letting others do the...

Virgil’s Aeneid shares parallel with The Iliad and The Odyssey, however, while the plot shares similarities to both of these poems, Aeneas in Virgil’s epic is vastly different in character and in action to Odysseus in The Odyssey. While there are...

The Aeneid clearly reflects the influence which Homer's Odyssey had on Virgil's writing. Among the several common aspects shared by these two epic poems, each author's depiction of the Underworld provides an interesting basis for comparison....

Throughout time, men have used previously written literary texts as models for compositions of their own. This borrowing of ideas and concepts can been seen quite clearly in the works of Roman authors, who, for the most part, imitated the style of...

"Much that is terrible takes place in the Homeric poems, but it seldom takes place wordlessly... no speech is so filled with anger or scorn that the particles which express logical and grammatical connections are lacking or out of place." (from...

When contemplating the ultimate nature of the Greek gods and the ensuing roles they play in human affairs, it is helpful to view instances of divine intervention through the actions of the goddess Athena. Athena occupies a central place in The...

Story-telling and presentation are two literary techniques vital to the development of plot and theme, systematic traditions meant to illustrate the idea of the author in terms of the medium of the narrative. Epic, poetry, and drama all utilize...

The respective endings of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey prove the different world-view that each epic takes. While both concern the era of the Trojan War, the characters in each seem to value two opposing outlooks. A close reading of the concluding...

The idea of glory is an inseparable cloud surrounding every epic story. All characters and actions are geared towards achieving unending honor and glory. To Homer and his works, the one action that best captures everlasting glory is a heroic...

Homeric Epic has become a staple of the modern evaluation of the ancient Greco-Roman world. It is among the great literary works of history, having withstood the tests of time and remaining so widely popular. Whether we believe Homer was an...

Things are not always as they seem. A hero may be more than the sum of his deeds, or perhaps much less. Throughout Greek mythology, heroes wage war and titans clash, often resulting in the praise and immortalizing of the names of great men who...

Tales of women as sorceresses and magic-wielders abound in the literature and mythology of cultures that promote the gendered binary of culture over nature, activity over passivity, and reason over superstition. In these patriarchal societies,...

In Goethe's Sorrows of Young Werther, Werther compares himself with the suitors from Homer's Odyssey. At first his comparison seems only to be an ironic parallel. Like other instances where Werther is over-dramatic and silly in his grand...

'What could be finer than listening to a singer of tales?'

Book 9 opens with what might be termed an apologia on the part of the poet: 'what could be finer / Than listening to a singer of tales' (9.2-3)1. Odysseus eulogises Demodocus, the blind...

In the Odyssey, Homer uses the idea of sleep to represent the idea of death, which makes the struggle to remain conscious and the struggle to remain alive one in the same struggle. Odysseus is constantly fighting to remain alert, to avoid...

Generalizations and associations seem to permeate the culture of every human society. If this were not the case, there would be no need for the sociological study of ethnocentricity. The Odyssey of Homer strongly exhibits this quality of judging...

At its core, The Odyssey is a story that centers around the cunning of its main characters. Throughout the epic poem, both Odysseus and his wife, Penelope, are known for their mental capabilities. Odysseus is constantly referred to as "godlike,"...

The theme of recognition plays an important role in Homer's The Odyssey and Sophocles' Oedipus the King. Two key recognition scenes are that between Odysseus and Penelope and that between Oedipus and Jocasta. Many differences can be found between...