Introduction

Use this Real-Life Lens Plan to help students dive deep into Homer’s The Odyssey and examine the poem’s themes, characters, and narrative drive through the lens of women and power. How much power did women hold in Hellenic Greece, and how did they exercise this power? What limits were placed upon their power? Were women the drivers of their own destinies in the same way men were? When are women heroes? Are their actions similar to or different from those of men?

Materials

Introduce the Lens

To activate students’ thinking, choose one or two of the following resources to use in an engagement activity. Have students read or watch and discuss the content. Encourage students to jot down notes, or record class notes on the board for future reference.

Pose the following Big Idea Questions to the class:

What roles are women expected to play in societies, and how can they defy these roles?  

In what ways are women denied power by society systems? How do women gain and exert power despite these systems?

Engagement Activity

Have students write quick initial responses to the questions. Then have them discuss the questions in small groups. Prompt students to draw on their own experiences, prior knowledge, and the world around them to launch a brainstorming discussion in which they share examples of women in society who hold power and those who lack power. After groups have concluded their discussions, have them share their ideas with the class. Following discussion, give students time to revise their initial responses, and ask volunteers to share with the class what they wrote.

CCSS

Introduce the Driving Questions

Begin by having students write their own questions about the lesson topic. Encourage them to think about the power women hold in society as well as any limits to power based on gender stereotyping.

Hand out the Driving Questions Worksheet. Review the questions as a class. Students should enter initial answers to the questions as they read The Odyssey. They will revisit the questions and revise their answers following the lesson activities, classroom discussion, and the completion of the text. Remind students to support their responses with text evidence.

Integrate the Driving Questions into your classroom discussions. Use them to help guide students’ thinking about the Big Idea Questions. 

1. How do Athena and Penelope influence Telemachus and help him grow? 

2. In what ways does Penelope exert her power over her suitors? How is her power different from a man’s power? 

3. How do Calypso’s experiences epitomize the different rules in place for men and women in her society? 

4. What powers does Circe possess? Who holds the most power in her relationship with Odysseus? 

5. Why does Athena reveal herself to Odysseus upon his return to Ithaca? What does this decision express about how she views Odysseus? 

6. What pressures does Penelope face as a result of her putting off remarrying, and how does she respond to these pressures? 

7. How does Athena’s entrance change the battle in Odysseus’s palace?

CCSS

Introduce the "Through the Lens" Activity

Activity: Women in Society

In this activity, students will reflect on the different roles that women play in society, particularly around situations of power. Students will then discuss in pairs how society benefits when power is shared among genders.

Before students begin the activity, ask them to recall their previous conversations about women and power. Then ask them to name specific roles women may take on when they occupy positions of power, for example, women in government or heads of households. Record all responses on the board. Then divide students into pairs and have them select one of the examples from the board. Within their pairs, they should discuss the following: 

In your selected position, how would more women in power impact society? 

In your selected position, how would a total lack of women in power impact society? 

Ask pairs to make two lists: one envisioning a world in which more women hold this power in society and the other in which fewer or no women hold this power. Invite pairs to share their lists with the class. Prompt whole-class discussion about how the diversity of women’s voices enriches society.

CCSS

Differentiated Instruction

This activity can be modified to help all students access learning.
Decrease difficulty

Students can focus on women in government. Stimulate discussion with the following questions: 

What issues might interest a woman in a position of authority within the government? 

Imagine a society in which no women hold political power. How do you think this society would be different from our own?

Increase difficulty

Student pairs can create and perform short skits that highlight aspects of societies in which women hold power and in which women are powerless, using their lists as a springboard.

Introduce the Final Project

Before moving on, introduce the final projects to the class (see below for details). Have students choose the project they will complete and encourage them to keep their project in mind as they read the text. Facilitate the formation of project groups if necessary.

Assign the Midpoint Activities

Activity 1: Influence of Women

Students will analyze the influence of women in The Odyssey. Students will examine how female characters impact others and drive the narrative forward. These women may occupy large roles in the poem, or they may be women in smaller roles who participate in key moments. How do women’s words and actions propel the story forward? Students will:

  • Focus on one woman from the first half of The Odyssey and revisit her role in the poem. Instruct students to record their chosen character’s name in their notebooks. 

  • Develop an understanding of how the selected woman’s words and actions contribute to plot movement and character development. Have students record supporting details, text evidence, and analysis in their notebooks. 


Once students have completed their independent work, engage in a whole-class discussion about women’s roles and their exertion of power, having students refer to their notes to participate. Pose these questions to the class: 

How would the story be different if Athena did not champion Odysseus and Telemachus? 

Do you consider Penelope to be a weak or strong woman? Is she a good mother? A good wife? A good queen? Explain. 

In what ways could Calypso have influenced Odysseus’s leave-taking from Ogygia? How could she have prevented him from leaving her and returning to his wife? 

How would you describe the relationship between Circe and Odysseus? Who holds more control? Explain. 

Challenge students to use their research and the class discussion to make inferences about the reach of women’s power in both The Odyssey and in ancient Greek society.

CCSS

Differentiated Instruction

This activity can be modified to help all students access learning.
Decrease difficulty

Have students work in pairs to record information about their chosen character.

Increase difficulty

Have students write down predictions about what impact Penelope and Athena will have in the second half of the book.

Activity 2: Characterization: Penelope

Students will conduct an in-depth analysis of Penelope. Students should consider the ways in which she wields her power. Students will:

  • Identify Penelope’s strengths, weaknesses, physical characteristics, and motivations. 

  • Analyze how people in the palace treat and perceive her. 

  • Assess her influence over Telemachus, Odysseus, and the suitors. 

  • Develop an oral presentation to present their analyses. 


Before students undertake their project, conduct a brief class discussion about the constraints surrounding women in ancient Greece. Ask students what the phrase “strong woman” means to them. Remind students that they should not judge Penelope’s actions only by modern standards of how they might define a strong woman. 

Draw a four-column chart on the board with the headers: Strengths, Weaknesses, Physical Characteristics, and Motivations. Have students recreate and complete the chart in their notebooks. 

Then have students write notes about how people in the palace treat Penelope, citing text references for each example.

Do the same to have students analyze Penelope’s influence over Telemachus, Odysseus, and the suitors. 

Finally, give students adequate time to prepare an oral presentation about their findings, using their charts and two sets of notes. Have students practice their presentation with a partner or small group for feedback before beginning class presentations.

CCSS

Differentiated Instruction

This activity can be modified to help all students access learning.
Decrease difficulty

Students can work in small groups to create the charts and notes.  They can then discuss the importance of these characteristics and formulate a group assessment and share their conclusions with the class.

Increase difficulty

Students can imagine they are Penelope and then write and present a monologue that supports their analyses of her character and her power.

Final Projects

Students will work on their final projects after they have finished reading the complete text of The Odyssey. The first project can be completed by students working individually, while the second project calls for small groups.

Final Project 1: The Female Eye

Students will write a new scene for The Odyssey that reworks an event of their choosing from a woman’s point of view. Students will: 

  • Choose a scene or event in The Odyssey that they would like to explore more deeply. Which scene or event might be viewed differently from Penelope’s, Calypso’s, Circe’s, or even Athena’s point of view? 

  • Study their chosen scene or event to understand what happens and how Homer presents it. They will take notes on plot events and characterization. 

  • Reimagine and rewrite this scene or event from the perspective of one of the females involved, drawing on characteristics of that particular female. 

  • Write a follow-up paragraph inferring how Homer, the poet, may have felt about the events based on the perspective from which he told the story. Pass out the Story Map Worksheet for students to complete before producing their paragraphs.

Differentiated Instruction

This activity can be modified to help all students access learning.
Decrease difficulty

Working as a group, have students choose a short, relatively self-contained scene, such as when Circe first encounters Odysseus, or assign scenes to each group. Have students work together to take notes on their scene. Students can then write their scenes individually or with a partner.

Increase difficulty

Have students write their new scenes in verse.

Final Project 2: Is Penelope a Hero?

Students will work in small groups to answer and develop arguments supporting and refuting the claim: Penelope is as much a hero in The Odyssey as Odysseus is.

To identify and collate supporting text evidence, students will:

  • Explore those characteristics that make Odysseus a hero and determine whether Penelope has analogous traits. Some of Odysseus’s traits that students should identify include: Odysseus uses cunning and influence, receives help from the gods, remains true to his family and friends, and shows great courage even when facing seemingly hopeless odds. 

  • Determine additional traits Penelope possesses that demonstrate her heroism. 

  • Understand that Penelope may exert her power in unexpected ways, given the constraints of her society. 


To further bolster their arguments, students will: 

  • Develop a counterclaim and counterargument. 

  • Write a concluding statement that sums up their arguments and evidence. 


First, have small groups brainstorm characteristics that make Odysseus a hero. Collate ideas from all groups on the board. Then do the same for the character of Penelope. Ask: Does Penelope have the same traits as Odysseus? What other traits might she have that demonstrate heroism? 

Have groups select five or six characteristics that support the heroism of each character and circle them on their lists. 

Pass out the Organizing Arguments Worksheet. Have groups work together to complete the first two rows of the worksheet, listing three strong reasons that Penelope is a hero and providing evidence in support from the text. 

Developing a claim and then researching a counterargument helps students create stronger theses and understand a text more fully. Explain that students should now try to see the other side of the argument: Penelope is not as much of a hero as Odysseus is. Have groups work together to complete the “Counterargument” section of the graphic organizer with evidence supporting the counterclaim. 

Have groups present their claims, reasons, evidence, counterclaims, and counterarguments to the rest of the class.

Differentiated Instruction

This activity can be modified to help all students access learning.
Decrease difficulty

Before completing the worksheet, review and give examples of the following: 

Claim: statement to prove (“Penelope is as much a hero in The Odyssey as Odysseus.”) 

Reasons: statements that support the claim 

Evidence: text evidence that proves the reasons are correct 

Counterclaim: statement opposing the claim 

Counterargument: statement that shows the counterclaim is incorrect

Increase difficulty

Have students hold a mock debate in which one side supports the claim that Penelope is just as much a hero as Odysseus, with the other side opposing it.

Assess the Assignments

Use the Rubric for Student Assessment to evaluate student work on the lesson assignments. 

Distribute the Student Reflection Worksheet. Guide students through the self-assessment and reflection questions.

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