The The enslaved women in the Odyssey
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.34019/2318-3446.2021.v9.34176Keywords:
Homer, Odyssey, slavery, enslaved womenAbstract
The aim of this study is to investigate the representation of enslaved women in the narrative of the Odyssey, and its portrayal of the way in which the archaic Greek aristocracy conceived slavery. To that end, the relations between gender and social class in Antiquity are considered, as well as those between property (oîkos), community, and cosmic order. Through textual evidence, our reading tracks the general situation of enslaved women in Odysseus’ property, approaching the construction of Eurykleia as a character, including her interaction with Odysseus as she recognizes his scar. Other scenes considered in our analysis are those with Melantho and the hanging of the women who had had sexual intercourse with the suitors. The Odyssey builds interactions between characters, based on a morality model that demands not only the subordination of enslaved women’s interests and actions to that of their masters, but also their affection for their masters and their family. Nevertheless, hierarchy and authority in the oîkos are established through violence.
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