The Distaff Side: Representing the Female in Homer's Odyssey

Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, this study examines the different representations of women in the Odyssey and their significance within the context of the poem and Greek culture. A central theme of the book is the visualization of the Odyssey's female characters by ancient artists, and several essays discuss the visual and iconographic implications of Odysseus' female encounters in Greek, Etruscan, and Roman art. Feminine in orientation, but not narrowly feminist in approach, this first interdisciplinary work on the Odyssey's female characters will have a broad audience among scholars and students working in classical studies, iconography and art history, women's studies, mythology, and ancient history.