The society of the ancient Greeks in Homer's The Odyssey is different from the one we know today. Currency, transportation, and technology were all different. Another aspect of society that was also different was gender roles. For example, women were tied to the house and men could do pretty much whatever they wanted. Double standards emerged: a man could travel alone and be praised for discovering the world, while a woman who did the same was chastised and viewed by others as a vixen. The biggest double standard of all in The Odyssey, and perhaps the most frustrating, is that men were allowed to go on sexual journeys while women were expected to remain chaste and faithful. Examples of this double standard come from the differences between Odysseus and Penelope, the treatment of maids in Odysseus's palace, and the story of Agamemnon and Clytaimnestra. An example of this absurd point of view is the comparison of fidelity between Odysseus and Penelope. Penelope was described as “the mistress of her own heart” (The Odyssey, Book XXIV, L221-223). Even though Odysseus had been gone for twenty years, she did not engage in any intimacy, hoping that her husband was still alive. As chaste as she was, Odysseus was not. When he left Ithaca, Odysseus did not remain faithful to his wife; he was the lover of Kalypso and Kirke. Even though he had betrayed the most sacred form of loyalty expected in a marriage, Odysseus declared that “…in my heart I never gave my consent” (The Odyssey, Book IX, L37). The action of feeling such an emotion, whether in the heart or not, is controlled by the brain. If his brain had told his heart that this was wrong, couldn't he have done the same thing...... middle of paper... Aimnestra was cruelly reprimanded for her actions: “But this woman... has defiled herself and all her sex, all women to come, even the few who will be virtuous” (The Odyssey, Book XI, L501-504). , but also of the entire female gender – quite a gross exaggeration, saying that all girls are bad! It casts a negative image of those who are truly chaste The actions of a single person have further reinforced this double standard. Looking at Greek society today, it's a real relief that this view is no longer relevant. Women are not expected to be obedient, mindless little creatures. and whiny They are capable of being independent – ​​they do not have to conform to standards that men could easily betray. These women are free, they are no longer subject to the unfair prejudices that man inflicted on them during an ancient patriarchal society...