Response to Question 1

Here are the questions inside the question...
1) Should Homer be considered an early feminist or an old-fashioned sexist?
2) Is Odysseus a hero for modern times?
3) Is the concept of Kleos relevant for a contemporary society?

Here are my thoughts...

I think Homer is a old-fashioned sexist, but I don't think he should be thought less of because. the view of the time back then was that women were to stay at home and care for the house. I don't think anyone would've viewed homer as a sexist, because everyone thought that the woman's job was to stay at home. You can't blame Homer without blaming almost the entire population of Ancient Greek men. I also believe that the argument about Athena being powerful and all that stuff is flawed. The reason that she was depicted as powerful and respected is that she was a goddess, and has nothing to do with the fact that she was a woman.

I don't think Odysseus would be capable of filling the role of hero in modern times. He is simply not an honest man. The only reason he was depicted as a hero in Ancient Greece is because he was a good fighter, and a good strategist, and a king. Another reason he couldn't be a hero is because we really don't have heroes anymore. We have the kind in movies, but those obviously aren't real. We have politicians, who need to be honest, not liars, and they really aren't heroes either. Odysseus is just a smart guy who lies to people because he thinks its fun, not a hero.

And as for Kleos, I don't think its very relevant. There are a few examples, such as getting into a good school, or winning a sport event, that would bring someone glory, but for the most part we lead pretty glory-deprived lives. We don't go off to war to take back treasures that were stolen from us, we don't kill other families because they killed one of us. We just earn money and then spend it away for most of our lives.