The Epic Women of Homer

Exploring Women's Roles in the Iliad and Odyssey
Our earliest written sources for Greek mythology, Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, feature women prominently as drivers of the narratives. Though they occupy a variety of roles and speak eloquently for themselves in every role, these women have been obscured by the assumption that each epic’s central hero, Achilles and Odysseus, respectively, is also its singular hero. And yet, the story of the Iliad is not the story of Achilles, just as the story of the Odyssey is not the story of Odysseus alone. Contrary to centuries of reception, the epics are not only about fearless yet flawed men but rather explore and develop the contours of belonging and community in times of war and peace.The Epic Women of Homer untangles the women of the Iliad and the Odyssey from centuries of narrative constraints to recover their essential meaning and importance. In the process, The Epic Women of Homer challenges the commonplace assumption that the Homeric hero is ‘an individual’ who fights for ‘personal glory’, a misconception further fuelled by a lack of understanding of the oral tradition out of which Homer’s epics emerged in which linguistic and thematic patterning exists at every level. Analysing Homer’s goddesses and heroes through the lens of these patterns, their recurrence and variation reveal them to be preeminent in a wide range of skills, all of which are necessary, and yet the essence of each is in their relationships with others.The Epic Women of Homer re-establishes these goddesses and heroines to their esteemed positions in ancient Greece and reintroduces them to the modern world.

UK Delivery:

• Free delivery on all orders of £10 or more.
• £1.49 delivery fee on orders below £10.
• UK orders are shipped via Royal Mail 2nd Class.

International Delivery:

• Flat rate delivery charges vary by country.

Dispatch and Delivery Times:

• All orders are shipped from our warehouse in Northampton, UK within 48 hours of receipt during working hours.
• UK mainland orders typically arrive within 3-5 working days via Royal Mail 2nd Class.
• International estimated delivery times:
• Europe & Channel Islands: 7 to 10 working days
• USA: 7 to 15 working days
• Rest of the World: 9 to 21 working days

View our full delivery infomation here.