5 Who is the hero?
You have now spent some time with both Odysseus and Penelope, and you have thought about how their characters are represented in the Odyssey the first time they are introduced as well as at the point where they finally reunite after twenty years apart.
Now you’ll think about how these two characters compare.
Activity 9
Based on what you now know about their stories in the Odyssey, use the grid below to jot down a short list of similarities and differences between Penelope and Odysseus. You might think about their characters, their experiences, or the way in which Homer tells their stories. Aim to come up with at least two similarities and at least two differences.
| Similarities | Differences |
Comment
Here is an example list:
| Similarities | Differences |
| Both are resourceful and cunning – Odysseus in the way he finds his way home after the Trojan War and Penelope in the ways she deals with challenges at home (e.g. the shroud trick and the bed trick). | Odysseus is the main focus of the story e.g. he is mentioned in the first line, and lots of space is given to his adventures; Penelope gets much less attention and fewer opportunities to tell her story. |
| Both endure suffering – Penelope as she waits for Odysseus’ return while she tries to keep the suitors at bay, not knowing if he is still alive, and Odysseus in the challenges he encounters on his travels. | Penelope is confined to the palace on Ithaca but Odysseus travels far and wide. |
| Both are relieved when Odysseus returns home. | Odysseus is unfaithful to his wife (e.g. with the nympho Calypso), but Penelope goes to great lengths to avoid infidelity. |
| Odysseus is in disguise, and unrecognisable to Penelope when he returns home; Penelope does not conceal her identity from him. |
Your list in the previous activity may have looked different from the example, but perhaps when you were writing it you thought about how, even though their experiences were quite different, Penelope and Odysseus actually have quite a lot in common. In particular, they both have to deal with extraordinary challenges and both endure grief and suffering. They share some characteristics too: Penelope’s cunning certainly seems to be a match for Odysseus’. In this respect the poet seems to suggest that they are well-matched, even if he spends less time focusing on Penelope’s story than on that of Odysseus. All of this leads us to think that even if Odysseus is set up as the hero right from the start, we might think of Penelope as a hero of a different kind – she may not go out to fight a war and have adventures like Odysseus does, but she displays her own brand of courage in keeping things together at home in his absence.