Question

Assume that Odysseus represents the ancient greeks ideal of a man and that penelope represent their ideal of a woman. In what ways are the charcters simular to and different from the ideal man and woman of today?

Answer 1

For Penelope in The Odyssey, she has been depicted as an "ideal woman". She is a wife, a mother, a heroine, and a queen and possesses willpower, resourceful, loyal and has pride for her home and family. Like any other woman today, she has been through struggles too but it never broke her down. The character of Penelope is no different from the ideal woman today. For Odysseus, he is also like Penelope. He is cunning and quick thinking. All throughout his journey, he remained faithful to his wife despite all the struggles and temptations he went through no matter how look it took. This is still the ideal man of today. 

Answer 2

Answer:

The Odyssey which gives a picture of the Greek society during Homer’s time is the representation of the ideal woman.  The Odyssey gives us two extreme versions of women in ancient Greek society.  Penelope is the version of the ideal woman.  She is the representation of chastity, generosity, cunning, and intelligence.  Throughout the years that Odysseus is gone, she stays loyal to her husband.

In the other hand we have Clytemnestra, she does not only cheats on her husband with Aegisthus, but tries to kill her husband, lacking the wit of Penelope.  She later incurs the wrath of her own son for this action.  The action that Clytemnestra undertakes when being unfaithful to Agamemnon, illustrates her status as a weak character, and furthermore the fact that she is a bad wife.

Explanation:

Nowadays we have pretty much the same scenerio in today's societies all over the world, the only difference that we may find is the centuries in which these actions take palce.

We still find the ideal Penelopes and the hated Clytemnestras anywhere we look at.