Odyssey, by Homer. In this story Odysseus won Penelope’s hand in marriage in a foot race. After they had been married for a short period of time Odysseus is sent off to the Trojan War. To make a long story short Penelope waits for Odysseus for ten years, keeping away suitors by sewing a robe by day and undoing it at night (http://hsa.brown.edu/maicar/Biographies.html). First of all this myth shows that during the Greco-Roman time period women were looked upon as prizes that can be won by competitions of skill. Second, it shows how during this time period women were expected to wait for endless numbers of years for there husbands to return. This is different from women’s roles in today’s society. Women are no longer won in competitions of skill and are no longer expected to wait for an endless number of years for their husband to return. Now there are even women in the wars. The Homeric Hymn to Demeter is another myth that helps explain the role of women in the Greco-Roman time period. In this myth Zeus gives away his daughter Persephone to Hades. Because of this her mother Demeter is so upset that she does not allow the crops to go. To save the human race Zeus has Hades give Persephone back. But before she returns to earth she has a pomegranate seed, meaning she must split time between the underworld and earth. This is the cause for the changing of the seasons. This myth shows how the fathers chose whom their daughters married during the Greco-Roman time period as well as blaming a woman the seasons when crops will not grow. This is different than the role woman play in today’s society because although it is still common for a father to give away his daughter at wedding, fathers in our society rarely choose whom the daughter will marry.The Greco-Roman society was a very patriarchal society. This is reflected throughout the myths in classical mythology. By looking at the classic mythology we s...
