Many times in ancient (and even some modern) texts, women are portrayed as property. Even goddesses are sometimes portrayed as property. However within the Odyssey we find the male character portrayed as property. Calypso's captivity of Odysseus until being ordered by the gods to release him would have seemed unfathomable to the people of the day. Homer's portrayal of men went against every common belief of the day, and has even caused many critics to question the gender of Homer.