“[...]the gods brought me to the island Ogygia, where Kalypso lives, with ordered hair, a dread goddess, and she received me and loved me excessively and cared for me, and she promised to make me an immortal and all my days to be ageless, but never so could she win over the heart within me.” (p. 117-118). The theme in The Odyssey by Homer is the idea that loyalty is a good trait to have and it can benefit those involved. Loyalty is shown throughout The Odyssey towards multiple characters. Homer provides us with examples of loyalty to prove being loyal can aid most of the people involved. There are many examples of loyalty in The Odyssey. Mainly loyalty is shown when Penelope waits for Odysseus to return to Ithaca, Odysseus trying his best to return home, the gods being loyal to Odysseus throughout his journey, Telemachus helping his father with his journey, and the swineherd being loyal to Odysseus. One of the most prominent examples of loyalty in The Odyssey is shown through the character Penelope. Penelope is the wife of Odysseus. She has waited on the island Ithaca for twenty years in hope of Odysseus returning. In the beginning of the book, it is made clear that …show more content…
The first test, to prove his loyalty to Odysseus, is given to Eumaeus in his hut. Odysseus asks if he could stay one more night in the hut. He does this to test Eumaeus’s hospitality. When Eumaeus agrees to let Odysseus-who is in disguise-stay, it proves that he is loyal to others and shows hospitality. The second test is given to prove loyalty to Telemachus. The swineherd welcomes Telemachus as if he was his own son. The author writes, “Just as a loving father welcomes his dear son after a nine-year absence, returning from a foreign land, an only son, his favorite for whom he’s undergone much grief, that’s how the loyal swineherd hugged Telemachus…”(p.1) This proves the swineherds’ loyalty towards Odysseus and his
In the Odyssey, Polyphemus prays to Poseidon asking for Odysseus to never go back home or return to his family too late and with no honor. This prayer comes true and his honor is no more once he returns to Ithaca, and the biggest aspect of this is through his narcissistic behavior. Odysseus is praised as the “most devoted and most loyal man (Homer 432)” to his crew and his wife when in reality he is a truly selfish character in the Odyssey. One form of selfishness Odysseus shows is adultery. Odysseus emphasizes the significance of a man and wife keeping a ‘harmonious’ household, but he continued to be unfaithful to Penelope on his journey on several different occasions.
Without loyalty, Eumaeus would have ignored Odysseus’s commands instead. Additionally, in “Odysseus and Penelope” Penelope proves her loyalty to Odysseus by not marrying any of the suitors. She instead ‘“[arms herself] / … against the frauds of men’” due to her love
This story emphasizes not only Odysseus' physical strength, which was needed to kill the boar, but also his pain tolerance, which allowed him to persist through his pain. Furthermore, Telemachus carries on the cultural trait of teenage boys in Ancient Greece, acting as leaders by leaving the palace to find his dad. Prior to book 19, Telemachus left his residence and navigated the sea without permission from Penelope. These actions accentuate Telemachus' level of independence, while dismissing Penelope’s authority. The stereotypes supported in Book 19 of The Odyssey surrounding Greek men actively put Odysseus and his son in dangerous
As Odysseus (disguised as an old beggar) is being lead back to his house by the swineherd, Argos immediately knows this stranger to be his Odysseus, and was the first to discover his true identity. Argos had been living for Odysseus, and was so overwhelmed with joy as he laid eyes upon him. Homer describes the scene of the reunion like so, “...but death and darkness in that instant closed the eyes of Argos, who had seen his master, Odysseus after twenty years.” (Homer 17. 420-423).
In Ody’s world some people are more loyal than others such as the good maid, Eurycleia versus the bad maid who told on Penelope for unweaving the burial shroud every night. The extent people are loyal to each other is if the gods show them a sign. Such as, King Aeolus who gave Ody a bag of winds.
Telemachus is loyal to his father even though Telemachus does not know Odysseus at all, he still gives loyalty to Odysseus. Odysseus’ servants also show loyalty, mostly Eumaeus the swineherd, who is loyal to Odysseus after 20 years and helped him fight the suitors. Eumaeus goes as far as to build a wall to defend Odysseus’ pigs and sleeps outside to guard his swine. Philoetius the cowherd, is also another servant who is loyal to Odysseus and helped him fight the suitors. The relationship between Odysseus and Argos the dog is also a bond of loyalty because Argos waited for Odysseus to return.
Loyalty: Something everyone desires Ancient Greeks were a wise lot who valued qualities and traits in humans quite a bit. The Odyssey, an epic written by Homer, is a text that exemplifies traits that the ancient Greeks value through various instances. Written during the ancient Greek time period, the story follows the protagonist, Odysseus, on his journey home, to his kingdom Ithaca, after the Trojan War has ended. He encounters many obstacles, monsters, and temptations on the voyage home but faces them with his head held high. He finally returns back to Ithaca after a long 20 years and reunites with his wife.
This key detail in the story sets up the rest of Odysseus' epic story and shows who Odysseus is and the customs of Greek culture and how it was considered honorable to be prideful and
He had hope that he would come back even after twenty years. Penelope stays loyal to Odysseus by not marrying another man or losing hope. Another epic theme in The Odyssey is homecoming. The whole story is about Odysseus’ homecoming and all the struggles he faces trying to get home. Loyalty and homecoming are the main two themes throughout The Odyssey and they are shown a
loy·al·ty ˈloiəltē/ noun the quality of being loyal to someone or something. a strong feeling of support or allegiance. Loyalty is very strong and very meaningful, like true love or brotherhood. Loyalty has to be earned, not just given away. In The Odyssey, the epic poem by Homer, Odysseus’ crew is steadfastly loyal to him and follow nearly his every direction, even though they are given many reasons not to be.
This moment shows that they are both overjoyed to be reunited but are also grieving for the time that they didn't have together. Telemachus was lost without Odysseus while Odysseus felt the responsibility that he was not fulfilling as a father. This is also the first real opportunity that Odysseus was able to claim his son, which usually happens at the start of the child’s life. Telemachus questioned at the beginning if Odysseus was his father, but now there is no doubt and they both felt a sacred bond. After the reconnection, they start to form a plan to kill the suitors.
Without a doubt in both The Odyssey and The Outsiders, loyalty, and impulsivity are both key characteristics in the novels. Penelope, Odysseus’ compassionate wife, and Dally, The Outsiders' tough bad boy share more characteristics than you may think of, but yet they are very different. Both characters are incredibly loyal to their friends and family, but Dally's sense of impulse is off the charts whereas Penelope carefully can think things through. For instance, we can perceive that during the time Penelope was waiting for Odysseus to come home... She was starting to create a tapestry and told the suitors that once she was finished weaving that she would find a new hand in marriage and remarry, which would also keep her loyal to Odysseus’
In Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, some might argue that Odysseus’s dishonesty and deceit cause loss of trust and negative consequences. However, Odysseus’s dishonesty and deceit do not always have bad intentions, it can be seen when Odysseus and his men escaped out of Polyphemus’s cave to get out of trouble and when Odysseus received help from his men to get closer to their objective. While lying is looked down upon, people
He has been dropped off back on Ithaca by the Phaeacians. On his journey back to Ithaca Odysseus has changed greatly. As the prophecy has said he has returned home on a strangers ship, without his crew, and as a broken man. Odysseus has gone to his loyal swine herder, Eumaeus. This passage that is spoken by Eumaeus represents two themes.
After Telemachus and his father share a reunion, he leads his father to his house. Upon arrival, Odysseus disguises himself as a beggar and finds that the house has been taken over by sires trying to court his wife as a result of his actions. After completing Athena’s task, Odysseus reveals himself to his wife. However, Odysseus finds it very difficult to convince his wife that he has truly come back. When Odysseus reveals something no one else knows, Penelope runs to him and throws her arms around him.