Odysseus Loyalty In The Odyssey

Words: 1291
Pages: 6
Open Document
The base of a strong relationship is trust or loyalty. If there is no loyalty and trust, a relationship can not grow. In The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Robert Fagles, Odysseus has been gone due to the war in Troy for more than twenty years. Odysseus’ one desire is to make it home to his wife Penelope, and he will do whatever it takes. Odysseus’ loyalty is questionable throughout the book, because his actions are disloyal and rude to Penelope and others. Even though Odysseus’ reasoning behind his actions may indicate that he is loyal to his wife, his behaviors are inexcusable and disloyal to Penelope.
Odysseus is disloyal to Penelope when he sleeps with other women. There are a few occasions in The Odyssey when Odysseus is unloyal to Penelope. …show more content…
Sleeping with other people in a marriage is disrespectful and disloyal to the spouse. The base of a relationship is trust, so if Odysseus sleeps with other women all of the trust is lost. Another time that Odysseus sleeps with another women is when Calypso yells at Hermes about how the gods always kill or send away mortals “when goddesses sleep with [them]” (5.132) or in this case Odysseus. Odysseus just keeps sleeping with other women making it even more difficult for Penelope to forgive him if she finds out. This disloyalty is harsh and rude, and Penelope has the right to know. With that said, it is clear that--from time to time in The Odyssey--Odysseus does think fondly of Penelope. When Calypso begs Odysseus to stay with her, he says “my wise Penelope[,] she falls short of you / [. . .] [but Odysseus will] travel home” (5. 239-43). Here Odysseus is rejecting Calypso in favor of Penelope. But while he may have stood her up when he is given the option to return home, but his one kind deed does not forgive ten years of past actions. Even if he meant no harm and did these things to stay safe, but cheating on his wife is disloyal and unforgivable. Also, when Odysseus arrives at …show more content…
On Odysseus’ journey home he comes across the land of the cyclops and they make their “way to [a] cave/ [. . .] [and] explored” (9.241-44). Odysseus could have just kept going instead of stopping and searching. If he would have left right away he would have made it home a week earlier, but instead he wasted time and made his wife wait longer for his return. Odysseus wastes time many other times throughout the book like when Aeolus gave Odysseus a sack of wind Odysseus kept what was in the sack a secret making the crew curious, so “they loosed the sack and all the winds burst out” (10.52) because Odysseus did not tell them what was inside. Instead Odysseus could have been honest with his crew and instead of being blown back to sea when they could see Ithaca they could have made it home. Where Odysseus could have proceeded his life with Penelope and Telemachus. Odysseus often wastes time, but he does it to return home with wealth like in Ismarus Odysseus and his crew gains a “rich haul [that they] dragged away from the place” (9.47). Although Odysseus is already a king and is plenty wealthy from being at war and before war as well as his glory from coming up with the strategy to win. Instead of sacking cities he could have been traveling home to his wife and son. Not
Show More

Related Documents: Odysseus Loyalty In The Odyssey

Odysseus Loyalty In Homer's The Odyssey

Odyssey Essay In the literature, The Odyssey, whose written by Homer. A character named Odysseus faces many conflicts throughout his journey to return home after the Trojan War. Throughout his journey, he illustrates different characteristics that allowed his beliefs to find the way to Ithaca with the crew of men he was taking them. While he displays characteristics such as bravery & eager, but his loyalty is the most significant in The Odyssey. Odysseus loyalty shows his respect to others & sometimes…

Words 381 - Pages 2

Loyalty In Odysseus Of Homer's Odyssey

Loyalty is something that should be earned through hard work, respect, and honesty, it is something that can be expected just because of who or what you are. Odysseus, was at sea with a crew for 20 long years and didn’t show the respect and honesty which created a huge problem. Because of Odysseus’s selfish ways and not respecting the loyalty of his crew already, he made enemies, lost time, and all this aloud time for his homeland to be taken over by suitors. Many good were people died, disrespected…

Words 565 - Pages 3

Odysseus Loyalty In Homer's Odyssey

When Odysseus returns from his journey, he finds out that his servants were not loyal, so he decides to hang them in the courtyard of his home. This the importance of trust for Odysseus. The protagonist expects trust, especially because he respects and trust others. During the story, Odysseus proves his loyalty again and again. When people don’t show respect or loyalty, that person receives the serious punishment of death. In the ancient greek culture, respect and loyalty are two of the most…

Words 203 - Pages 1

Archetypes In Homer's The Odyssey

literary devices The Odyssey is an ancient Greek epic poem, sequel to the Iliad, written in the 8th century BCE by Homer. The Odyssey is based on the epic hero ‘Odysseus’, who has a ten-year journey to Ithaca as he struggles to return home following the Trojan War. Throughout Odysseus’ journey, we are shown various archetypes. Archetypes focus on recurring myths and beliefs that are portrayed in a text. The Odyssey contains various types of archetypal characters, Odysseus as the epic hero who fights…

Words 1418 - Pages 6

Loyalty In Odyssey

The Importance of Loyalty and the Consequences of Disloyalty Throughout the epic “The Odyssey” Odysseus, the ruler of Ithaca, experiences true disloyalty and loyalty throughout his twenty year journey and even returning home. His one desire was to get home as soon as possible, no matter what it took. He had setbacks throughout his miserable journey, and those setbacks were because of the difference between loyalty and disloyalty. Even in the years of 750-700 BC, people throughout the universe…

Words 800 - Pages 4

Hospitality In The Odyssey

One of the themes that is being showed in the Odyssey is hospitality, hospitality tends to bond personal relationship, friendships and also shows loyalty. For an example a new neighbor moved across the street from you, a good way to show hospitality is to invite your new neighbor into your and get to know them and establish a friendship so they can feel safe in the new neighborhood. In the Odyssey Telemachus and Odysseus receives warm hospitality throughout their journeys from others, without even…

Words 210 - Pages 1

Comparing Odyssey And O Brother Where Art Thou In The Odyssey

classic book the Odyssey. For this reason many of the scenes in both the Odyssey and O Brother, Where Art Thou share common themes. In the Odyssey, Odysseus portrays the theme, pride. In O Brother, Where Art Thou pride also plays an important part in Evert’s personality. In the Odyssey, Penelope shows her loyalty to her husband while in the movie Penney does not. The movie and epic poem share the main antagonists’ tales and trials of a journey towards their former life. The Odyssey and O Brother…

Words 857 - Pages 4

Importance Of Loyalty In The Odyssey

The value that is most vital to a relationship is loyalty. With loyalty comes reward and with disloyalty comes consequences, for loyalty builds trust while disloyalty destroys relationships. Throughout the Iliad and the Odyssey, Homer expresses the significance of these values. The characters’ acts of loyalty and disloyalty have dramatically different results. In a relationship, loyalty strengthens the bonds between two parties. In the Iliad, Hector knows that Helen adores him, but he only loves…

Words 428 - Pages 2

Argumentative Essay: The Odyssey

The Odyssey Argumentative Essay The Odyssey is a novel by Homer. It is about a Greek king’s journey on his way home from a long war. His son, Telemakhos, is born right as the war starts so he has to leave him and his wife Penelope, until he can return to Ithaka, his home and kingdom. The war lasts 10 long years, but on his way home he finds some very hard obstacles that make it 20 years until he can finally return home to his wife and child. The theme of the Odyssey is that loyalty is important…

Words 573 - Pages 3

Who Is Sacrifice The Most In The Odyssey

Who has sacrificed the most in The Odyssey? It seems like the obvious answer would be Odysseus. He spent twenty years at sea. That could be true, but who truly gave up the most throughout the epic was not Odysseus but Penelope. Penelope was left alone for 20 years, unsure of when her husband would come home. During these 20 years, she had to make many sacrifices, and those sacrifices show what she values. By the time Odysseus was gone, Penelope was left alone; she had to rule over Ithaca and raise…

Words 447 - Pages 2