The literature composed during the era when the Odyssey was written was directed by men. Woman characters were valued but the only participated in affairs when they had the permission of men. The men, for the most part, directed the women's lives. The themes used in literature were on the subjects that men would be interested in; combat; warriors, and rulers. Domestic affairs, for the most part, were not noted. There is a immense contrast between the Odyssey and other epic poetry of the period. There are several women characters in the Odyssey. All of them add to plot in significant ways and they are also treate