Examples Of Power In The Odyssey

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Catelyn Slusarz Lang and Lit Honors C Period Mr. Scott 19 May 2024 The Feminine Power of Promises and Potions in The Odyssey Power is defined as the ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events. Power can be expressed in different ways depending on the situation and the goal in mind. Homer’s Odyssey was set in Ancient Greece, where the men held the power of society. The Odyssey is a story following Odysseus’s journey home from the Trojan War. He goes through many trials and tribulations as the gods take a dislike to him, which makes his journey more difficult. Odysseus also encounters many powerful female characters that influence his journey. In The Odyssey, Homer uses cunning and deceitfulness in the female …show more content…
Telemachus rants to the town about the damage the suitors have caused to his home and the torture they put his mother through. He explains the suitors plague his mother against her will and should be sent away. One of the suitors, Antinous, tells Telemachus that “It’s your own dear mother, the matchless queen of cunning. Look at the video here. For three years now, getting on to four, she’s played it fast and loose with all our hearts, building each man’s hopes–dangling promises, dropping hints at each–but all the while with something else in mind” (Homer 96). 95-100.). Penelope keeps all the suitors hanging on by a thread of hope that she will choose them, meanwhile she is forming a plan that will benefit only herself. She has the power of choice over the suitors, causing them to behave how she wants. The cunning behavior she exhibits allows her the power over the suitors and their actions. Like Penelope, Circe displays deceptive behavior and she gains control over others. Odysseus and his crew landed on an island when Odysseus spotted smoke in the distance. He told half of the crew to scout ahead. They came upon Circe’s house and asked to come