Examples Of Loyalty In 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

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.

Loyalty is heroic. Loyalty is defined as faithfulness or devotion to a person, cause, obligations, or duties. In Homer's Odyssey one can see loyalty in many forms. Odysseus is loyal to the gods whom he realized held his life in their hands. Penelope was loyal to Odysseus, while trying not to offend the rude suitors. Telemachus was loyal to a father whom he only knew from the stories he had been told. Time and time again we see loyalty in the strongest sense, complete fidelity in time of uncertainty.

Loyalty to family, community, and the gods is an important quality in the lives of ancient Greek citizens. These qualities are clear demonstrated in The Odyssey through Penelope, Telemakhos, and Odysseus.

Loyalty has always been seen as a commendable trait, not only in human beings but in any creature, all through history. Soldiers have admired their enemies for their loyalty to fallen comrades, thousands of stories have been written about the intense loyalty animals portray for their owners, and even companies in the workforce look for loyalty in potential employees. Loyalty has been seen as something that distinguishes the trustworthy from the untrustworthy, and something that sets the great apart from the good. The archetypal hero commonly has a cause, whether it be another person or personal beliefs, that they are loyal to, and this unwavering loyalty is what makes them appear so highly in the eyes of the reader. Loyalty can be found in practically any work of literature, but within The Torah, The Odyssey, and Inanna is the idea that true loyalty, although a rare attribute, is the key to a successful relationship.

In The Odyssey, the theme of loyalty relates to Odysseus’s physical journey back to Ithaca. Many characters in the epic are loyal and faithful, like Penelope, Telemachus, Eumaeus, and even Odysseus himself. Penelope remains loyal to her husband, by not choosing a suitor during the 20 years he’s gone. “And there she [Penelope] sat down with the case on her knees and burst into sobs as she drew out her husband’s bow,” (Homer 317). Just carrying out Odysseus’s bow with such sorrow shows how in love she was with Odysseus and how the thought of choosing a new husband moved her to tears. As Penelope remained loyal to Odysseus and

Penelope attempts to maintain her loyalty to Odysseus throughout the Odyssey. She would,”weave at her great and growing web” and,”would unravel all she’d done”(Homer 2.115-117) to keep the suitors busy. Penelope creates a scheme in which the suitors think they will be able to marry her, but in reality it is a way to keep them busy. Another scheme was created by Penelope in which the suitors used,”the great bow of King Odysseus”(Homer 21.85) and the man,”that shoots an arrow clean through all twelve axes”(Homer 21.87) will be her new husband. Although this challenge sounds fair to the suitors it was tilted to Penelope’s favor. She used a bow that only Odysseus could string and a challenge that only Odysseus has done. Eumaeus shows his loyalty to Odysseus by helping him. Eumaeus,”spotted him and quickly told his king”(Homer 22.170) Eumaeus shows fidelity and his loyalty to Odysseus by supporting him for all these

Loyalty in the Odyssey In a book such as The Odyssey you may cite different times in which loyalty was shown. Depending on the relationship between the characters loyalty is displayed constantly throughout the story. Both viewed as good and bad characters in the story have shown faithfulness to certain people. Loyalty is very important in a relationship as Penelope refused to marry another man never losing hope in her husband, Telemachus sets sail his own journey to find his father not believing in his father’s death and as a sea god Poseidon caused Odysseus numerous delays as retaliation for his son, Polyphemus.

Loyalty Lives in Royalty Odysseus’ beautiful wife, Penelope, explains, “Young men, my suitors, now that King Odysseus is no more, go slowly, keen as you are to marry me, until, I can finish this web” (Homer 96). Homer, the author of The Odyssey, displays Penelope’s intelligence by revealing her sagacious plan about the shroud. Secretly, she unweaves the shroud every night to prevent herself from getting married to one of the suitors, whilst waiting upon the return of Odysseus. The event proves Penelope’s loyalty to her husband, even while the protagonist remains lost at sea. In addition to Penelope’s loyalty, Telemachus fights beside his father against the suitors and Athena guides Odysseus home.

Loyalty: Loyalty is most apparent in Penelope's resisting of the suitors, but it is a trait essential to all the characters in Odysseus' family. For twenty years Odysseus never stops wanting to return home. Telemakhos will not send his mother back to her father and force her to choose another husband. Instead, he sets out to find news of his father. The servants Eurykleia and Eumaios are also important exemplars of loyalty. Athena's devotion to Odysseus is another.

Very rare are there people who are truly loyal. The definition of loyalty is to strongly support. In Homer’s epic poem, “The Odyssey,” there are two people that are consistently loyal to Odysseus through the whole story. Odysseus has been away from Ithaca for twenty years. He has been trying to get home from the Trojan War.

What does a faithful person look like to you? A kind and caring person? One who is loyal? One who would put another's needs above their own? In the book, “The Odyssey,” Penelope, (Odysseus' wife), is all of these things.

Loyalty is an essential value to Odysseus. One way Odysseus was loyal in the story was he stayed loyal to his homeland, Ithaca. Odysseus even said: “Rough years then lie between you and your homecoming, alone and old, the one survivor, all companions lost”(12.107-106). He kept trying to return home and overcame all the obstacles set forth by the Gods and Goddesses. Another example is Penelope, she is loyal to Odysseus by tricking and cunning her way out of remarrying, even after ten years. She stayed faithful, by saying she would remarry once she has finished weaving, but then would unravel her days work at night. Another example of loyalty is when Telemachus goes searching for his father, staying loyal to his family, even though he has never met his father. Telemachus doesn’t even know who Odysseus is but remains faithful to his family and father.

Loyalty is a rare trait among humans. Throughout the Odyssey, by Homer, this theme is conveyed in many ways reflecting Odysseus, to prove he is a loyal man among other virtues. Odysseus combats many trials throughout his journey to come back it his wife, and in doing so proves to the Gods Zeus and Poseidon he is worthy of returning to his home. Home expresses many themes of virtues through the literary devices characterization, loyalty, and willpower.

Athena, the little girl of Zeus has a huge part in controlling Odysseus ' destiny. The Goddess offered Odysseus some assistance, because she saw that he was a mortal impression of her .Athena went to Ithaca and admonished Odysseus ' tyke to call a get-together. The inspiration driving the party ought to be to aggregate gathering support in negating Penelope 's suitors. Athena also decided to design her own fate for Penelope. In book 18, (lines 200 – 205) , “And now heart –prompting from the grey –eyed goddess came to the quiet queen ,Penelope ;a wish to show herself before the suitors ;for thus by fanning their desire again Athena meant to set her beauty high before her husband’s