Women play a central role in both the Odyssey and Aeneid

Introduction
The role of women in the ancient Greek society was mostly insignificant; however, this is not the case in Greek methodology. In recorded tragedies, women often have major roles, which often reveal the societys perception of women at the time. Many Greek poems and literature contain well developed female characters
assuming major roles often throughout the plot. Female characters often assume the role of a villain, victim, or heroine. Women play a central role in both the Odyssey and Aeneid. The events throughout the two stories play out the way they do because of the contribution of women. In Aeneid, it is because women that the Trojan War occurs. It is because of the love Odysseus feels for his wife that he struggles to get back to Ithaca. Cassandra, a character in Aeneid is beautiful woman with many suitors, including the god Apollo. However, her life is one tragic event after another.
 Compare the women that Odysseus and Aeneas meet in their underworld journeys in Odyssey, Book 11 and Aeneid, Book 6, respectively.
The first women the reader encounter in Odyssey is the mother to Odysseus. He meets her mother in the votive pit where the dead reside. Odysseus is in the votive pit to speak with the shadow of Teiresias the prince of Thebes. The prince of Thebes has the ability to foretell the future. Odysseus wipes when he sees his mother because when he left Ithaka she was still alive. The only way for the dead to converse with the living is to allow the dead to sip the black blood for a ewe and a lamb. Odysseus allows her mother to sip the blood and she recognizes him and speaks to him. She speaks of how she died and how the rest of the family is fairing back in Ithaka (Hom. Od. 11. 173-9, 204-27). For the conversation between Odysseus and his mother, it is clear that his mother was a loving and caring mother when she was alive. She speaks of how Odysseus wife and son are fairing and how Odysseus father is living in poor condition with concern. She also informs Odysseus that the cause of her death was not disease or murder rather it was because of worry about the fate of her son that she died.
After Odysseus hears of how her mother died, he is filled with grieve and only wishes to hold and comfort her, however, she is a shadow and only sifts through his hands. He thinks that the encounter is a hallucination sent by Persephone the iron queen to make him suffer (Hom. Od. 11. 240-41). Odysseus is yet to encounter Persephone but seem to think she is an evil queen playing tricks on his mind. His mother explains to him that the Persephone, great Zeuss daughter, is not responsible but it is the nature of the dead because they lack bone and flesh. Soon after the conversation with his mother come to an end, more women sent by Persephone crowd around the black blood. Odysseus only allows them to sip the blood one by one so that he gets to know them (Hom. Od. 11. 256-60). Among the women was Tyro, Salmoneus daughter, Antiope, daughter of Asopos, Alkmene, Epikaste, and queen Eriphyle among others. Most of these women were virtuous and good except for a few. Epikaste, mother of Oidipous married her son. Queen Eriphyle is a tested woman who killed her lord for gold. Queen Eriphyle is a greedy woman whereas Epikaste, Oidipous mother is a deviant with no place in a normal society.
In the story Aeneid, Dido is a major character who falls in love with the main character Aeneas. Before she meets Aaneas, she is a confident and competent ruler of a city kingdom in the north of Africa. She is a widow and is resolute never to remarry again after the death of her husband in the hands of her brother Pygmalion. After the death of Didos husband Sychaeus, she fled from her native home Tyre, however, she maintains her focus in her political duty as the ruler of Carthage. Dido falls in love with Aeneas and risks everything, including her kingdom and the memory of her husband. Dido describes the love she feels for Aeneas as a flame in her heart. Aeneas loves Dido but as fate would have it, they are not meant to be together. When the love between the two fails, Dido attempts to regain her initial status as the respectable leader of her people. However, the people have lost faith in her and the neighboring kings who were courting her are treating war because she associated with a foreigner. This together with the tarnished memory of her husband led her to take her life (Virgil Aen. 6.450-74). Dido is initially a strong willed woman with the capacity to command authority and respect in Carthage. Love led her to become weak and unable to maintain her status. The story portrays women as strong; however, they are weak when it comes to love.
After losing Palinurus, Aeneas goes to Cumae where he meets Deiphobe, the sibyl of Cumae. Aeneas is visiting the temple built in honor of Apollo when he meets the sibyl. The sibyl is an Apollos priestess. She instructs Aeneas to sacrifice seven bulls and seven ewes to Apollo. Apollo is the sun god, the son of Jupiter and Latona. He is also the prophesy god and the Dianas brother. After Aeneas sacrifices to Apollo, the sibyl leads him a cavern with hundreds of entrances. Aeneas prays to Apollo for help as he tries to find a new home for his people. The hundreds of entrances in the cavern amplify the sibyls voice when she speaks. Apollo possesses Deiphobe and she delivers Apollos prophesy for Aeneas. She predicts blood wars and much hardship for Aeneas and his people. She also tells him that Juno will continue to oppose him (Virgil Aen. 6.390).
Aeneas desires to visit the land of the dead and again the most suited person to take him there is the sibyl. As Aeneas is looking for a golden bough as instructed by the sibyl, he encounters two doves sent by his mother to help him in his quest. The doves led him to the golden bough and he returns to the sibyl who leads him to the entrance of the underworld. The story portrays woman, such as Deiphobe and Aeneas mother as people with the ability to communicate and sermon supernatural powers to do their binding. In the underworld, Aeneas encounters Dido and attempts to apologize to her for what happened, however, Dido will have nothing to do with him and runs away to be in the comfort of her husband, Sychaeus. The story portrays Dido as unforgiving because she refuses to accept Aeneas apology even when she knows it was not within Aeneas ability to change fate (Virgil Aen. 6.330-90).
Aeneas constantly questions the outcome of his struggles; however, the sibyl assures him that his future is fated. Just as it was that Helen would be the cause of the Trojan War and so will be Lavinia, Aeneas future wife the cause of war between him and Turnus. In both the poems, the women in the stories are key players and help shape the fate of the hero. Aeneus mother send two doves to guide his son to the golden bough. Without the help from his mother, the Trojan leader may have failed in his quest to reach the underworld. Dido is a strong willed self-driven person; however, her love for Aeneus destroys her reputation and her life leading her to commit suicide. The poem portrays women with roles that they do not have in real life, however, the poem also potray women with weaknesses that they possible do not have in real life, such as last for wealth that lead the queen Eriphyle to kill her husband and deviant behavior of Epikaste (Virgil Aen. 6.401-50).
Conclusion
Women in the Greek society did not have significant roles, however, in the Greek mythology; the women had high-ranking roles, such as Deiphobe roles as the mediator between the people and the sun god Apollo. Women play both good and bad roles in both of the poems. In the poem Aeneus, Helen is the cause of the Trojan War and later on, as the sibyl predicts Lativia with be the cause is a conflict between Aeneas and Turnus. In the poem Odyssey, many women are ancestors to the Greek people and play significant roles in shaping the fate of the hero Odysseus. The most evil of the mentioned is possibly Queen Eriphyle who killed her husband for gold and Epikaste, Oidipous mother who married her own daughter to get back at her husband.