Odysseus Relationship Traits Revealed In Homer's Odyssey

In the epic poem, “Odyssey” by Homer various important relationship traits are revealed. They all had a great impact on Odysseus life. Some are content and others were maligned. Three relationship traits that are significant in the story are the loyalty, disloyalty and accommodating. Once Odysseus returns back home, he finds out who his loyal and disloyal people are. After he figures out who betrayed him, he takes revenge on all of them and enjoys watching them suffer. The first trait revealed, throughout the story, is that Odysseus figures out during all the miserable years there was always a goddess that would help him. For instance, “For I will wither the handsome flesh that is on your flexible limbs, and ruin the brown hair on your head, and about you put on such a clout of cloth any man will loathe when he sees you wearing it” (Homer 705).

This is significant because Athena helped Odysseus to disguise himself so nobody would notice him once he goes back to Ithaca. This also helped Odysseus to reveal all of the people who maligned him and the ones who respected him.

One example provided is, ¨you dogs, you never thought I would any more come back from the land of Troy, and because of that you despoiled my household, and forcibly took my serving women to sleep beside you, and sought to win my wife while I was still alive¨ (Homer 707). This supports that while Odysseus was gone the suitors wanted Penelope to choose a new husband. The suitors did not only want Penelope to make a decision, but they would also vandalize his home. Adding on, once Odysseus saw this he figured out who were the disloyal people trying to win his throne as king of