"Behind every strong man is a strong woman." Does this ring a bell? This common phrase has been around for years, and for years it has held it's truth, or so it seems. Just about every successful man (no matter what his success is) has had the influence of a strong woman in his life, whether it is a spouse or even a motherly figure. An example of this would be the wife of the famous artist Salvador Dali. When Dali first began his surrealist paintings in the 1920's it was not widely accepted, but with the understanding and supportive drive of his wife, Gala, he made it happen, and now he very well could be considered as one of the greatest oil painters in the 20th century. Tupac Shakur, who was a great musician in the mid 1990's, brought hip-hop to a stand still, and after his death he is remembered as a legend of his time, (sort of the Elvis of the 50's). Behind him was his mother Afenie Shakur, had it not been for her influence and the knowledge she implanted in him, he very well could have been another nobody slinging crack in the streets. These are only recent examples of a woman influencing a man, and in both of those cases the influence of women resulted in a positive-neutral outcome. There are however cases where the result could be negative, (the story of John Bobbit and his wife quickly come to mind!) for one reason or another. One thing that is for certain is that this type of influence was not just created overnight, but has been occurring for centuries upon centuries, and culture after culture.
             The ancient Greek poet Homer shows elements of this influence in his/her epic The Odyssey. The Odyssey, in short, is about a Greek warrior named Odysseus; he is trying to find his way home, but is greatly sidetracked and ends up wandering around the world for ten years before finally making it home. Along this "odyssey", there are several women that he encounters. Calypso, Cir...