Patterns of Femininity in the Heroic Epic. Homer: The Iliad and the Odyssey

Abstract

The aim of this study is to point out that Homer’s epics create a feminine typology that is approached in
different life situations, in times of peace or war, a typology that will begin, in pure or hybrid forms, a real
tradition in the heroic literature: the Demeter-type woman, the Aphrodite-type woman and the Amazontype
woman. If in The Odyssey women act as epic agents and are present in large numbers, in Homer’s first
epic they are backstage characters, but still relevant at the fictional level, because they play a great variety
of roles. The Odyssey reveals femininity from the point of view of man, who compares and assimilates or
differentiates various types of women. The Iliad offers a heroic perspective on femininity: a woman who
stirs the warrior attitude, a woman who accompanies the hero, a woman who engages herself in a
competition against the hero.