In The Odyssey, Penelope, the wife of Odysseus, plays and important part in the possibility of Odysseus's return. She decieves her suitors so as to keep herself from being forced to marry another man. This trickery helps to leave the position of king open for Odysseus once he were to return.
Book 2 of The Odyssey reveals Penelope's plan to delay the suitors. Antinous points out to Telemachus, " she set up a great loom in the royal halls and she began to weave, and the weaving finespun, the yarns endless, and she would lead us on: 'Young men, my suitors, now that King Odysseus is no more, go slowly, keen as you are to marry me, untili can finish off this web...'." (96) This plan of Penelope's really shows the role of powerful and influential women in ancient Greece. Women were not considered powerful and were not supposed to have any influence on affairs in Greece at the time. Any influencing that a woman did had to be sneaky and Penelope shows just how sneaky women can be when they really want to. Her cunningness ultimatly helped to keep the position of King open for her long-lost husband.
This can easily be compared to the Ramayana. When describing Sita and other beautiful women, they all are able to use their beauty to their advantage. It gives them power. On the contrary, Women who were ugly were also wise, but had less power than the beautiful women. In the Odyssey, Penelope is very wise, and by Ramayanan standards, she should be ugly. However, she is not. Penelope is not only wanted by the suitors for her husband's status but also for her beauty. Many times she shown to be smarter than the men vying for her affection, such as un-weaving Odysseus' burial shroud. She represents beauty and wisdom coming together in one being. She is, in a nutshell, a humanly representation of Athena, and it is no wonder that the gray-eyed goddess loves Penelope and her family so much.
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