Cultural Values In Homer's The Odyssey

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Cultural values are the commonly held standards of what is acceptable or unacceptable, important or unimportant, right or wrong, workable or unworkable, etc., in a community or society. They not only dictate societal norms, but also help shape human behaviors within a given society. In Homer’s “The Odyssey” and Sir Thomas Malory’s “Le Morte D’Arthur” cultural values are manifested in the protagonists’ reverence of God or the gods and the act of perseverance. An example of Odysseus reverence of the gods is revealed when he returns from the war front and finds suitors courting his wife and ravaging his home. He had the following response to the situation “You yellow dogs, you thought I’d never make it home from the land of Troy...Contempt was all you had for the …show more content…
During a battle with Sir Mordred, King Arthur asked Sir Lucan to give him a spear to kill Sir Mordred. Sir Lucan refused by appealing to the same values to which Arthur ascribes to“.. God of his great goodness hath preserved you hitherto. Therefore, for God’s sake, my lord, leave off by this, for blessed be God ye have won the field, for here we be three on live…(Malory 386)” Perseverance is another cultural value that was shared by the two protagonists. King Arthur persevered through battle with Sir Mordred and “rode throughout the battle…... many times, and did full nobly as a noble king should, and at all times he fainted never…(Malory 386)” Even though he faced the possibility of death, he never once gave up but persevered through. This trait was also shared by Odysseus, In the the face danger while rowing on the boat, he reminded his fearful mates how they overcame danger in the past through perseverance. “Friends, have we never been in danger before this? More fearsome, is it now, than when the Kyklops penned us in his cave? What power he
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