The Role of Women in the Iliad

The Role of Women in the Iliad Anybody would agree that before, women had so little power that they were often used as objects. They were taken and given as if they were material belongings. In the Iliad, an epic written during the 8th century BC, women are treated as only property and producing material within the house rather than human beings. This is Homer’s way of saying that the attitude towards women in his time period is wrong and unjustified. While men worship gods and goddesses, they still treat women as lesser beings. Women were put in the story to have a meaning, whether their role is a prize of war or any other small roles. The men in the Iliad would be nothing without the women and absolutely nothing to fight over which is what the entire story is all about. Many times in the story, women are often portrayed as “war prizes”. Consider for example the event of Chryseis and Briseis. The major conflict occurred about these two women since Chryseis needs to be return by Agamemnon to her father to stop the plague sent by Apollo. Agamemnon demands in exchange Briseis, Achilles’ war prize which angered Achilles. It is amazing how two women can control the outcome of such disagreement and can cause a fight between so many people without saying a word. Chryses, her father, brought a rich treasure to get back her daughter, because he loved her more than any other thing, he didn’t see his daughter as an object that could be bought or sold. Agamemnon on the other hand was angry with Chryses because he was a big cheese at that time and who is this old man to come and easily ask him to give them his woman. He then criticized Chryses with harsh words. He said, “Don’t let me ever catch you, old man, by these ships again, skulking around now or sneaking back later. The god's staff and ribbons won't save you next time. The girl is mine, and she'll be an old woman in Argos before I let her go, working the loom in my house and coming to my bed, far from her homeland. Now clear out of her before you make me angry!” Agamemnon thought that he wanted Chryseis because he could simply take her as another toy from so many because of his power. Agamemnon doesn’t realize that to Chryses, Chryseis is more than just another toy, because he has his feelings for his daughter. For greater good, Agamemnon decided to return Chryseis but in exchange wanted Briseis only to disrespect Achilles for trying to instruct him. Agamemnon said, “But I, I will be there in person at your tents to take Briseis in all her beauty. Your own prize so you can learn just how much greater I am than you.” Achilles was so angry he refused to fight making the Achaean army even weaker. It’s interesting how these two women started a disagreement without trying and how Achilles and Agamemnon view these two women with nothing except their beauty. This shows just how strong the women’s appearance affects the men. Another woman who has an important role in the story is Andromache, Hector’s wife. She wasn’t a war prize and was not making any two men fighting to make her theirs, but Andromache represents a good housewife. Hector, unlike the other men, loved and adored his wife. Andromache meant so much to Hector because he fought in the war to keep her and the rest of his family safe. Andromache has infinite love for Hector and her child. During a time of war, Andromache asked if Hector wouldn’t go out and fight Achilles, because she knew exactly that Achilles will kill her husband. Hector refused and explained that if he was to be afraid and wouldn’t go out to fight Achilles, nobody would talk about this great warrior but instead talk about how coward he was. Before he went to fight Achilles, he said, “And some day seeing you shedding tears a man will say of you: ‘This is the wife of Hector, who was ever the bravest fighter of the Trojans, breakers of horses, in the days when they fought about Ilion.’ So will one speak of you; and for you it will be yet a fresh grief, to be widowed of such a man who could fight off the days of your slavery.” Of course Hector died a death of such sorrow that his corpse was dragged around the city by Achilles. But before he died he begged Achilles asking him to give back his body to his family in return of money and gold. Hector said, “I beg you, beg you by your life, your parents- don’t let the dogs devour me by the Argive ships! Wait, take the princely ransom of bronze and gold, the gifts my father and noble mother will give you- but give my body to friends to carry home again, so Trojan men and Trojan women can do me honor with fitting rites of fire once I am dead.” Poor Hector was denied by Achilles and was killed by a man full of vengeance. Andromache expressed lamentation for Hector’s death. She made three complaints: because Hector died, she and her child are unprotected from slavery; Hector’s violent fighting on the battlefield will be revenged by the murder of their own child; and, finally, in dying Hector spoke no final word to her to remember all the days and nights of her weeping. Andromache said, “Therefore your people are grieving for you all through their city, Hector, and you left for your parents mourning and sorrow beyond words, but for me passing all others is left the bitterness and the pain, for you did not die in bed, and stretch your arms to me, nor tell me some last intimate word that I could remember always, all the nights and days of my weeping for you.” Even though Andromache failed to convince Hector not to go fight Achilles, her character was used to illustrate a human side of the male characters, because Homer wanted readers to feel the human feeling between Andromache and Hector. Another set of women in the poem are the goddesses. These women are keen and sharp, revengeful, or women who had too much power. Athena is full of wisdom and skill, always activate the Achaean warriors to fight. For example, during the death of Hector, Athena came down to Earth simply to help Achilles fight Hector, which really isn’t a fair fight. She pretended to be Deiphobus, but actually she helped Achilles by passing him back the spear Achilles missed to kill Hector. In the book, it said, “With that, shaft poised, he hurled and his spear’s long shadow flew but seeing it coming glorious Hector ducked away, crouching down, watching the bronze tip fly past stabbed the earth- but Athena snatched it up and passed it back to Achilles and Hector the gallant captain never saw her.” These women are considered to be the strong forces of the book – their decisions and their control over the men sometimes changes a course of plot, disagreement and action. In this event, Athena’s action changes the plot, helping Achilles fight, and sums up the main factor of Hector’s death. The last and the most celebrated woman is Helen of Troy. She was the main cause of the entire war fought between the Trojans and the Greeks. She basically had two men fighting over her and that’s when everything began to go wrong. People around her see her as the cause of the war. Her lesson was that she disgusted herself for the suffering that she has caused so many Trojan and Achaean men. There are many ways women in the Iliad are a major part of the plot. Furthermore, without them, some event might not occur and many things in the story could be impossible. Whether it is a powerful or weak women, shrewd or vengeful, they have influenced the story by humanizing the male characters, make the story more advancing, and play the roles by provoking men into action without them knowing it.