She will no longer be able to protect her son who would probably be killed. As it was she did not know that Odysseus had died and she did not want to forsake him. She was beautiful, and talented as well. As with the case of Penelope the law can be used to protect the vulnerable against the mighty. No outsider would be likely to know the history of the couple's wedding bed, and that final piece of evidence convinces Penelope and liberates her at last. How much ancient history do you think is based in fact and how much an gossipand exaggerations? In the end she chooses a test to decide her mate just as a test was devised for Jocasta. He then took Penelope as his wife. She is the symbol of all that is right, just, and fulfilling. They are never presented in a way that seems close to Odysseus. Homer’s Odyssey tells the story of how, during her husband’s long absence after the Trojan War, many chieftains of Ithaca and nearby islands become her Answer: Penelope forms the goal of Odysseus but you should remember that the Odyssey is not a work of fiction. Penelope is supposed to have born a son, Italus, to Telogonus. Answer: The suitors together would constitute a small army of 50 men. The suitors were looking for an easy way to advance themselves and she wanted someone who could do worthy work. Do you agree with her? Will you make peace between these two parties.” Then Zeus replies, “But I will tell you what seems like the right thing. However, Greece is known to have been no different from other societies of its time in regards to women. The war lasted ten years and Odysseus did not return for ten years after that. This allows Odysseus to kill most of the wooers before they gang up on him. If her husband died her new husband became the king of the realm. However, Odysseus does not reveal himself to his wife, Penelope. How old would she be? However, in The Odyssey, Penelope proves quite the contrary. Shouldn’t you have a picture about that event? Her ability to remain feminine and still accomplish her goals is what most people find admirable. They had one son, Telemachus. Penelope kept her feminine charms and used them against the wooers by manipulating the customs available to her. If her husband was beaten in battle she was obligated to marry the victor. Question: if you had to pick someone that Penelope would be most like these days who would it be? Why does she point this out? Question: What do you make of the numerous times that PEnelope is referred to as “Circumspect Penelope,” paying particular attention to the context in which she is referred to as such? She is a woman, not a goddess, but she is the one he loves. Answer: Penelope is a queen who possesses considerable property. hey there! Penelope was able to raise her baby to manhood, while Andromache lost hers in the sack of Troy. Answer: Penelope does an excellent job of manipulating things to go her way. What she does causes them to stay divided and unable to force their will upon her. Eurycleia was such an assistant: Click here. Question: I have commissioned four tapestries to be hand woven on the life of Penelope. Homer also uses Xenia as a literary device in the Odyssey. This name was given her because of the trick she pulled on the suitors. Homer portrays the females in contradictory ways: the characters of Athena and Eurykleia are given strong, admirable roles while, The Real Penelope Question: Thanks so much for the wealth of info ont his site. Question: the treatment of women in Ancient Literature — How is Penelope treated by society in the Odyssey? She would have woven articles of clothing and items for the household including drapes, towels, and rugs. Penelope is in a very dangerous situation when the suitors begin invading her house and asking — and then demanding — her hand in marriage. Penelope and the Odyssey: Major Themes of The Odyssey In his essay, "Homeric Epic and the Social Order", Michael Nagler lays out some of the important Helping the world grow since 2012 Call/WhatsApp/Text +1(838)201-9170 1. In fact fifty or more suitors wanted, and expected her to do this. Question: how did Penelope change from the begining of the story to the end of it. Each of these retellings differs from the others, they seem to leave things out or have their own little spin on them, but more or less they run along the same story line. Once law is applied there is no need for vengeance and peace and prosperity can return. Question: How is Penelope a hero and what are the characteristics? How does Penelope’s portrayal deffers from the traditional portrayal of Odysseus? Question: I am doing a research project and need to know a little more about Penelope and her role in the story of Odysseus. After the war was over and he still did not return and no one new what happened to him so many thought he had died. She is not a heroine in the same sense as Odysseus, but she is a heroine in her own way. Probably not. Telemachus wants to find out if Penelope married one of the suitors while he was away. As a goddess Circe is in control of magic. ‘Sweet hearts,’ said she, ‘Odysseus is indeed dead, still do not press me to marry again immediately, wait–for I would not have skill in needlework perish unrecorded–till I have completed a pall for the hero Laertes, to be in readiness against the time when death shall take him. The main elements are the situation in Ithaca, where Penelope, Odysseus’ wife, and their young son, Telemachus, are powerless before her arrogant suitors as they despair of Odysseus’ return from the siege of Troy; Telemachus’ secret journey to the Peloponnese for news of his father, and his encounters there with Nestor, Menelaus, and Helen; Odysseus’ dangerous passage, opposed by the sea-god Poseidon … D) Penelope had kept it hidden from Telemachus all these years, and now she shows it to him. Penelope’s Personality Traits By: Joseph Heuring In Homer’s Odyssey, Penelope exhibits the often-contradictory characteristics of two goddesses. Why does she call herself “a stick used to beat other women with? Answer: Here is the speech she gave to the suitors: “Listen to me you suitors, who persist in abusing the hospitality of this house because its owner has been long absent, and without other pretext than that you want to marry me; this, then, being the prize that you are contending for, I, will bring out the mighty bow of Odysseus, and whomsoever of you shall string it most easily and send his arrow through each one of twelve axes, him will I follow and quit this house of my lawful husband, so goodly, and so abounding in wealth. Her tests for them are more of the same but they finally serve to prove Odysseus worthy and he conquers them. narrative features are used in ‘The Odyssey’ to construct interesting and diverse female characters. 3. Another role Penelope had was to recognize Odysseus.