A Good WomanWomen in the worlds of Homer and Virgil were considered inferior beings to men, as were most societies. Even though they were considered inferior, they were still considered “good” or “bad” when discussing their status as women. In their stories, The Iliad, the Odyssey, and the Aeneid, Homer and Virgil use the theme of piety to determine whether a woman should be considered "good" or "bad." In the Odyssey, women are seen as figures of lure and temptation, as Odysseus's journey back to his native Greece was constantly delayed by these temptations. One of these delaying temptations was Cassandra as she was raped by Ajax in a temple. The goddess Athena becomes angry upon hearing the news and punishes by prolonging Odysseus' nostos. Ajax could do nothing but submit to Cassandra's temptation because he had a sexual feeling taking over him. The Homeric Greeks believed that once a man felt a strong sexual feeling towards a woman, he should submit to it, so that's what Ajax did. This temptation that Homeric women cause is one of the things that deems a woman “bad,” because she delayed the return of the Homeric Greek hero, Odysseus. Although he was not directly involved in Cassandra's rape, the temptation that attracted Ajax affected him as he could not see his wife and son whom he had never met. The theme of temptation appears again when Odysseus finds himself trapped by the nymph Calypso on an island. Using her sex appeal, Calypso seduces Odysseus for years as they engage in sexual activities. These activities prevent Ulysses from leaving the island to return to his home and family. “A long time ago, the nymph had stopped pleasing./ Although he fought for her and her desire,/ he slept with her every night, because she obliged him... middle of paper ... housekeeping style. Her destiny is to fight in the war like all other men, while Andromache has a duty as a woman not to fight and to take care of her household chores. This is what makes a woman “good” when she fulfills her obligation to be a woman without interfering with the responsibilities of men. The theme of piety recurs repeatedly throughout Homer's and Virgil's stories to show whether a woman was either "good" or "bad." Almost always, women who decided to be ungodly either suffered a terrible death, or caused suffering to others, because of the actions they took to be "bad" women. Those who decided to be pious and fulfill their duties were considered "good" women and led lives where they lived happily for the most part, even though they were reminded again and again that they were inferior to men in this regard. which concerns their duty..