Character Relationships In Homer's The Odyssey

Intro: There are a wide variety of themes present throughout the Odyssey, written by Homer. Be it hospitality, perseverance, vengeance or power of the Gods, loyalty is truly the theme that brings the whole book together. Being 10 years after the Trojan War, many have forgotten about Odysseus and his men as they constantly brave what the gods throw their way. This essay will be talking about Odysseus and Penelope’s mutual loyalty to one another, the loyal relationships between Gods and men and finally, the loyalty Odysseus’ men show for him until death. This essay with prove to us that without loyalty, Odysseus’ legendary journey would have been put to an end near where they started. The general theme of loyalty is what kept Odysseus

Odysseus's wife, Penelope plays a crucial role in Homer's ‘The Odyssey’, with not only providing the motivation for Odysseus's return to Ithaca, but she is also the center of the plot involving the suitors and the fate of Telemakos and Ithaca itself.  Therefore the objective of this essay is to analyze the importance of Penelope’s role in ‘The Odyssey’.

Homer 's epic, 'The Odyssey ', is a lengthy poem that recounts the Trojan war hero, Odysseus ' arduous and protracted journey home to Ithaca. In it, Homer accentuates the somewhat feudal nature of his world, a societal structure that far more resembles his own than that which actually existed in Mycenaean Greece, less to supplement the story, but rather to serve as the primary focus. Despite the feudal qualities of the world that Homer relates, the poem is almost entirely devoid of class conscious thinking. Instead, the primary source of structure comes from the household. The 'Odyssey ' serves as something of a champion for the oixos (Ancient Greek for the household

While traditional readers of Homer’s, The Odyssey, view Odysseus as a hero, they often reduce Penelope to Odysseus’s helpless wife, but Penelope is more than just a damsel-in-distress. Penelope proves to be Odysseus’s heroic equal, as through her resilient, witty and strategic actions she ensures Odysseus fighting advantages over the suitors.

Still he searches out for clues and any information of the possible demise of his father. He is willing to go far and wide just for the knowledge of his father's whereabouts. He is a faithful son and aids his father in all possible ways as Odysseus returns and reclaims what is legitimately his. Telemachus is there to fight side by side with his father whom he has only loved in his heart and mind. Some would call that blind faith. Just as the God whom we serve today calls us to love and serve him without seeing him with our eyes, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20:29). Although Odysseus is Telemachus' earthly father, one can see the parallels. He is as devoted to Odysseus as Penelope is; yet he has no actual memory of his father what so ever.

Back in Ithaka, Odysseus 's wife Penelope is getting swarmed by a horde of unwanted suitors. Odysseus and Penelope 's son, Telemachos, now a typically moody teenager, gets a visit from the goddess Athene (who was always chummy with Odysseus). She tells him to go looking for news of his missing father, so he heads to Pylos to visit King Nestor. Nestor takes him in, gives him a dinner—and then tells him to go see King Menelaos in Sparta. Once again, he does as he 's told.

Focus on the descriptions of the palaces of Nestor and Menelaus. Find quotations that describe their virtues:

Telemachus becomes a better man and warrior when his father came back. He helped kill the suitors, and he kept the secret of Odysseus being at his house in disguise. A quote that shows he helped Odysseus and that it made his confidence grow is: " You'll soon see what I'm made of, Father, And I don't think you'll find me lacking."

Telemakhos is showing his strength by not letting them get to him and showing determination, that he will protect what is his. He is protecting his family and tells the suitors that they need to leave or there will be consequences. Instead of sitting back and waiting on Odysseus to return, Telemakhos plans to sail to find word about him and to deal with the problem at hand which is his safety and Penelope’s future. By protecting his family this is also loyalty to his family. Telemakhos does not kick out his mother and make her marry one of the suitors. Instead, he is showing his loyalty to Odysseus by protecting his mother. Telemakhos also cries and becomes emotional while speaking to the assembly. During the time, this was not seen as a sign of weakness but a sign of strength and people at the assembly show sympathy to

Character archetypes play a part in the epic by moving the story along. They all help to assist Odysseus by giving him guidance, never leaving him, and by providing a reason to come home.

This statement is very telling as it defines not only the appearance of the great Odysseus, but also the son he left behind. Furthermore, it begins to develop a timeline of actions by announcing that Odysseus left home when Telemachus was only a baby. Nestor recognizes that Odysseus ' appearance, vivacity, and personality are apparent in his progeny, Telemachus. This is encouraging to Telemachus as he hears that he resembles the great king Odysseus. As Telemachus presses for news of what has become of his father, Telemachus learns that his father may yet be alive and held captive by a goddess-nymph named Calypso. He then glorifies the strong will of Orestes and encourages Telemachus to do the same: "And you, my friend - / how tall and handsome I see you now - be brave, you too, / so men to come will sing your praises down the years." (3, 226 - 227).

To begin, Penelope thinks of Odysseus and immediately lets her emotions out: “Odysseus—if he could return to tend my life / the renown I had would only grow in glory. / Now my life is torment … / look at the griefs some god has loosed against me!” (The Odyssey, 18.285-288). Furthermore, Homer expresses Penelope’s sadness by making her sink “on her well-built chamber’s floor” and through her “sobbing uncontrollably” (The Odyssey, 4.810-813). Clearly in Penelope’s mind, Odysseus’ absence is not something she can easily forget. Homer introduces Penelope as a very caring and devoted wife.

Even though Telemachus certainly never fairly had a match with his father Odysseus in matters of humor, strength, swiftness, and other abilities right for a hero, he experiences a significant growth all through the text. However, The Odyssey is fundamentally a work regarding Odysseus; it is not possible to disregard the assistances Telemachus offers, most importantly in the winding up of The Odyssey. The person who reads is given an unusual intuition into the growth and development of Odysseus’ son by bestowing him as weary and powerless in the start, only to have him kill one of his oppressors in the conclusion and see his mother together with his father happily reunified (Lombardo 120).

If I were to describe Telemachos to a friend, I would have plenty to say about him. In the novel, The Odyssey, Telemachos is the son of Odysseus. He is a young adult, and curious of the whereabouts of his father. Telemachos also has a large amount of courage in the book. Before the help of Athena, he was not much of a man and had little confidence. When it was needed, Athena gave him the gift of courage. A few situations where he showed his courage were in chapter two. The first was when the council met in the Market- Place. This was the first meeting without his father, and this is when Telemachos tells the men of Ithica that he “is going to Sparta and sandy Pylos, to find out about [his] father and why he is so long away” (27). He decided to leave Ithica by ship, without informing his mother, to find information about Odysseus. Also at the meeting he announces his feelings of his father’s return. Telemachos believes, “he is already near, planting the seed of death and destruction for all of these men” (26). Ironically, this is exactly what Odysseus was doing. He may not have been getting to Ithica soon, but he definitely was planning the death of the men in his home. This was also courageous as Telemachos did not know how the men would react upon his opinion. Additionally, through the chapters of three and four, he shows his courage by asking kings about where his father might possibly be. In conclusion, if I were

Odysseus and Jessica are very ambitious to achieve their goals. Odysseus is gone for 20 years and is now returning to his son, and wife back in Ithaca. At first Telemachus does not believe that Odysseus is his father. Telemachus' reaction is revealed in the quotation, “Then throwing his arms around his marvel of a father, Telemachus began to weep” (Homer 693). Odysseus stays ambitious to get back to Ithaca to see Telemachus and Penelope. Telemachus is thrilled to see his father. He hasn’t seen his father since he was a baby. When Telemachus enthusiastically embraces his father, it demonstrates how happy he is to see his father. Odysseus struggles through The Sirens and The Lotus Eaters to make it home to Penelope and Telemachus. Odysseus is very ambitious to