Helen In The Odyssey

The Odyssey is mainly about men and their heroic triumphs and mighty deaths, which cast a shadow over the strong women. Most of the women are thought to be either motherly figures or romantic interests, but in truth, they are so much more, just like in present day society. Perhaps the most strong of all mortal characters is Penelope, the loyal wife of Odysseus. Although she is bombarded with suitors who stay at her house, she has managed to not give in. She has come up with multiple ways to stall these rambunctious young men. For example, she told the suitors that she has to finish weaving a burial shroud for Laertes, her father-in-law. While she did, in fact, weave the shroud during the day, she unwound all she wove that day under the dim
As the most beautiful girl in the world at the time, she was loved by multiple men. She was almost godly, both in her physicality and mentality, the essence of a powerful woman. Helen’s status was higher than the men, almost higher than Menelaus himself. An example of this is when she found the men all crying so she drugs them and cheers them up with a story. When her husband didn't recognize Telemachus, she noticed immediately. Clearly, Helen was highly respected, as she was both clever and
Hecuba gave birth to a cursed daughter, Cassandra, a prophetess whose predictions, although valid were not believed. Then, after Hecuba literally saw her city and home burn, her people die, and her life change. She also watched many of her sons and her husband die, and yet stayed strong. Clytemnestra’s husband, Agamemnon, needed their daughter to be a sacrifice for swift winds. Despite Clytemnestra’s refusals, he killed their daughter with no second thoughts. Although, in retaliation, Clytemnestra cheats on Agamemnon, she did not deserve her gory fate. Upon Agamemnon’s return, Clytemnestra’s new lover kills him. Orestes, Clytemnestra’s son, killed both his mother and her lover, in retaliation and sorrow. Clytemnestra did not actually participate in the slaughter of her husband, but was killed anyway. It has been said that Agamemnon is the most unfortunate character in the Odyssey, but truthfully, Clytemnestra had to witness her husband’s death, and suffer the consequences for the murder her lover