Female Characters In The Odyssey – Helpers and Hindrances

Women in the Odyssey are scarce. Of the 19 main characters mentioned in the play, only seven are female, and one is a sea monster. Of those, four, the goddess Athena, Eurycleia the slave, and Nausicaa and her mother Arete, princess and queen of the Phaeacians, assist Odysseus rather than hinder his journey. 

Each is cast in the role of mother or daughter. Athena is a mentor, a mother-figure to Odysseus, pleading his case to the other gods and intervening, often appearing as the “mentor” to Odysseus himself. Eurycleia, despite her status as a slave, was a nurse to Odysseus and later his son. She is also cast in a motherly role. Nausicaa and her mother are a mother-daughter team who use their virtue to support and assist their husbands and fathers, ensuring that the Phaeacians’ proud leader upholds the natural law of Xenia. The path to virtue, admiration and respect for a woman in the Odyssey was a narrow one indeed.

Wicked Witches and Other Harlots

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Of the Odyssey characters who are female, only Athena, Circe, and Calypso are independent agents. Athena seems to act of her own will when she pleads Odysseus’ case with the other gods. Even she, a powerful goddess, is bound to Zeus’ will. Circe requires no man on her isolated island, treating any who come near with the utmost disdain. She turns Odysseus’ crew into swine, a rather apt reflection of her opinion of males in general. She is portrayed as careless, thoughtless, and cruel until Odysseus, with Hermes’ help, outsmarts her. He threatens her by promising not to harm him. 

Impressed with Odysseus’ skill in dodging her ruse, Circe then turns from hating men to taking Odysseus as her lover for a year. The theme of a woman falling in love with or desiring a man who has defeated them is a common one, and Circe is an archetype character who follows her role. Her lustful and hedonistic habits contrast with Odysseus, who tries to lead his men in the right direction to get them home. His year with Circe is a sacrifice to gain her agreement to turn his men back to their human forms and escape.