Homer was the man who stood at the source of the long river of Western literature, living approximately between the 9th and 8th centuries BC. “He was a poet, philosopher, theologian, linguist, sociologist, historian, geographer, agroforestry, craftsman, war scientist, miscellaneous…an encyclopedia of antiquity”, he wrote in All aspects have laid a suitable direction for the development of Greek and even European literature (Homer’s “Iliad: Preface to Translation”, translated by Chen Zhongmei, Yilin Publishing House, 2000 edition, p. 1). Homer originally meant “hostage”, it could not be a full name, it could be an abbreviated nickname, such as Homereda. There seems to be no other person named or surnamed Homer in ancient Greece, which makes us even more suspicious of Homer’s true identity. To this day, there is still too little material about Homer, and it is not very conclusive, very clear, and unconvincing. Hence the debate on the “Homer problem”. The Homer problem is not a “singular” problem, but a “plural” problem, and the exact expression should be “Homeric problems” or “Homeric problems”. Among these “problems” there is a new claim that Homer may be a woman, or should be a woman, or that there are two Homers, or at least that the author of “The Odyssey” is a woman. Here, by the way, because there was no written writing in Homer’s time, it was impossible for Homer to “write” two epics. At most, he “composed” or “compiled” two epics.
Usually people think that the Iliad is masculine and masculine; the Odyssey is feminine and feminine. The feminine beauty of the latter is more concentrated in the epic heroine Penelope. Some scholars even pointed out that there is a kind of “Penelope poetics” in “The Odyssey”. We know that the term “poetics” can be traced back to Aristotle’s “Poetics”. The word “poetics” comes from ancient Greek, and its original meaning is “the art of making”. In the eyes of the ancient Greeks, poets compose poems, just like shoemakers make shoes, making products by their own skills. “Poetics” (poietike techne) is a simplification of “the art of poetry”. Therefore, from the original meaning of the word, it seems that it should be translated as “creation method, creation science”. Professor Liu Xiaofeng translated the word as “poetry”. Penelope has been weaving shrouds for her father-in-law. This weaving is also a kind of “poetics”, which refers to the creation of poetry in a metaphorical way. Penelope is also weaving stories and weaving the warp and weft of his own life story. It can be said that “a Penelope who is engaged in weaving is a poet in a metaphorical sense” (Chen Rongnv, “Homer’s World-Modern Times” Interpretation and Comparison”, Zhonghua Book Company, 2009 edition). In this sense, Homer is a Penelope rap poet.
Penelope is a dazzling female figure in Homer’s epic poems, and she shares many qualities and qualities with Oedithus. They both have “intelligence”, and “intelligence” is their common survival weapon. In terms of “wisdom”, the two of them are inseparable, and they did have “wisdom” confrontation in the epic. . This also seems to reveal the gender equality consciousness and female thought of the epic author. As one of the suitors, Antinous has a clear understanding of Penelope’s wisdom. In his eyes, “No man of the ancients has ever been so wise, / Not among the Achaean women with fine hair, not even Tyro, / Alcmene, and Mikne with a bun, / they No one is as scheming as Penelope.” And another suitor, Amphimedon, even after her death, the ghost went to the underworld and praised Penelope: “She finally had to weave the cloth against her will. / Until she finished the cloth After weaving, starch the cloth, / Show us that it is as bright as the sun or the moon.” Penelope’s wisdom and life seem to be perfect, and the bright and colorful fabric she finally weaves seems to be her A symbol of wisdom.
In a sense, Homer’s epics are nothing more than the battle of women. The battle of the Iliad is for Helen; in the Odyssey, the battle between Oedithus and the suitor is for Penelope. The hero in the epic uses his life to fight for the woman who belongs to him, so the woman becomes the source of the war between men. Long before the Trojan War, many heroes proposed to Helen. Helen’s father adopted Oedithus’ idea to make all suitors swear never to use force against Helen’s future spouse, and to help the Helens when their marriage was in trouble. The Agamemnon brothers later used this oath to assemble a huge army for the expedition to Troy. Helen is a complex and charismatic figure. Her alluring beauty, her seduction and insight, her contradictions and complexities make it difficult for us to analyze her qualitatively. Helen’s beauty is known all over the world. The third book of Homer’s epic “Iliad” describes Helen’s beauty in this way. During the battle between the two armies, the goddess invited Helen to the gate of Troy. Those elders of Troy
sat on the gate of Skae. They were old and unable to participate in the battle, but they were very
good orators.
Like a crawly crawling on a tree in the depths of the forest,
singing a melodious and high-pitched song like a lily,
the leaders of Troia sat on the watchtower like this. When they saw Helen on the top of the watchtower,
they whispered winged words to one another:
”The Trojans and the Achaeans with their fine greaves have suffered so long
for such a woman
without complaint; it seems She’s like the goddess of immortality.”
Pierre Vidal-Nagy, a famous Western expert on Homer studies, pointed out: “The kind of beauty that penetrated into the core of Greek civilization”, “In Homer’s time, it was displayed through such charming and dangerous characters as Helen.” . “Helen is a beauty, but she sees herself as a bitch . Ying translation, Renmin University of China Press) Perhaps it was because of the image of Helen that Homer had the interest and desire to sing and compile epics.
As in the “Iliad”, Homer said to Paris through the mouth of Helen: “It was Zeus who brought this unfortunate fate to both of us, and in the future we shall be the title of the song of future generations.” It has created a series of beautiful female images, these female images are perfect, such as the perfect mother, such as Thetis; the perfect wife, such as Andromache; the perfect maiden, such as Nausica. Homer’s attention is mainly on the most beautiful and charming women of these ancient legends. Although Homer criticized Helen, he still praised and loved Helen, and finally gave her a good ending. She returned to Sparta safely after the destruction of Troy, still queen, still in charge of her harem. Homer was either reluctant to mention, or passed over, about the notorious women. For example, in Homer’s epics, Agamemnon’s wife, Clytemnestra, is never brought to the fore, and stories about her are always narrated through the mouths of others. This certainly shows Homer’s attitude and stance towards women.
Comparatively speaking, there are not many women in the “Iliad”, but the cause of the war was caused by the abduction of Helen, and as long as the Trojans are willing to return Helen, the war can be stopped at any time. The epic begins again with the conflict between Achilles and Agamemnon over the two women, Cresseis and Beliseis. “Homer did not say that during the ten years of the siege, a child was born in the camp of the Achaeans.” On Troy’s side, Homer described Hecuba, Cassandra, and Andro mark. Hecuba is the old man and the queen, Cassandra is the princess and the seer, and Andromac is the only one identified by Homer as his wife and mother. In a word, although these female characters don’t appear much, they are enough to give “The Iliad” a specific female perspective, that is, from the eyes of different female characters, such as female prisoners, wives, demigods, prophetess, etc. Look at the war, and the unimaginable devastation it caused their families.
Andromache is undoubtedly one of the most important female figures in Homer’s epic poems. Andromache’s name means both “man” (Andro) and “fight (mache)”. This seems to imply that Andromack is actually a woman who longs to fight like a man. Andromack tells the story of his family during his last meeting with Hector. The story illustrates a woman’s view of war: war destroys families. Andromack doesn’t talk about the siege and fierce fighting on both sides of the war, what she highlights is the devastating and devastating consequences of the war. Her father, mother, and brothers died in the fire, and she has nothing but her husband and son. Of course, with the destruction of the city of Troia, her husband and son were ultimately not spared.
Andromache’s place in Homer’s heart is so high and so important that in The Odyssey, when the protagonist Oedithus hears Demodocus sing the story of the destruction of the city of Troy, he can’t help but feel sad in his heart. , burst into tears:
like a woman mournful and pounced on her husband,
who fell before her city and people,
defending the city and her children from cruel suffering; when the
woman saw him dying in her last struggle, she
could not help but hug He wept aloud; behind her,
The enemy slapped her back and shoulders with spears,
to bring her into slavery, to suffer toil and sorrow, and
her cheeks were suddenly emaciated by intense grief; so did Oedithus
shed tears of sorrow from his eyelashes.
Odysseus, the outstanding hero, is here compared to Andromache by Homer. And Paris, the prince of Troy in the epic, was too beautiful for a young man, and his hair and his beauty were a wonderful gift from the golden Aphrodite. This young man, who has not yet fully grown up, is actually a half-male half-female prince in the epic.
Compared to the Iliad, the world of women in The Odyssey is completely different. There are many female characters in The Odyssey. Among them are the kind and magical goddess Calypso, the magical and full of sensuality and temptation Kirk, the innocent, innocent and generous girl Nausika, the capable, wise and widely loved Queen Arita, loyal and Penelope, who is full of wisdom and courage, and Athena, the goddess who cares for Oedithus. These women always provide timely help to the protagonist Oedithus. The female characters directly or indirectly influenced Oedithus’ actions and return. Of course, some banshees are also written in the epic, but their role is more to contrast and contrast those positive female images. Therefore, the Englishman Richard Bentley said: “The Odyssey epic was written for a group of women.” The British writer Samuel Butler said that “The Odyssey” was written by a woman, and This woman can only be Nausica… This is her pseudonym, behind which may hide a Greek princess living in Sicily (Pierre Vidal-Nagy, “Homer’s World”, Wang Ying Translated by Renmin University of China Press). Of course, some people say that the author of “The Odyssey” is, if not a woman, at least a man with a feminist consciousness.
In short, the world of Homer’s epics is not a purely male-dominated world, and the world of women is also colorful and colorful. Homer’s epics express a certain feminist concept. Of course, this concept is very different from today’s feminist concept. However, today’s feminist concept is not unrelated to the ancient Greek concept of women. The origin of Homer’s epics has been inherited and further elucidated in the long historical development period, and has become a part of the history of Western women’s ideas.
