Odysseus: A Good Husband

Penelope was left behind when Odysseus left for the trojan war, but he didn’t come back after that. Penelope had to take care of their son, their estate, and their servants for 20 years. On top of all of that she had suitors demanding her attention. In all of this she stayed strong and independent, and despite the pressure of the suitors she stayed loyal to Odysseus, even when she didn’t even know if he was alive or not. Penelope’s character is also very clever and sly. She told the suitors that she would remarry after she finishes her weaving project, but each night she undoes everything she did that day. When the suitors find out about it they demand she choose someone to remarry. Penelope uses her intelligence and slyness again as she tells them whoever wins an archery contest using Odysseus bow, which only he could use, she would marry. Penelope is also very kind, which we see when she interacts with the servants and her son. Penelope is a very well portrayed character and she is needed in the story to be someone Odysseus could always be someone to come back

Odysseus the great leader and crew mate is not such a good person because he is constantly cheating on his wife penelope. Odysseus is not a good person because he rapes and sleeps with alot of different girls. In the book The Odyssey Odysseus was not loyal to penelopy because he cheated on penelopy with a woman from circe, and calypso.

In the Odyssey, Odysseus proves to be a very selfish person because he often leaves his loyalty towards his wife to have relations with other women and goddesses. He sleeps with other people for his own pleasure, making this a very selfish act. In book ten, he was trapped on the witch-god Kirke’s island of Aeaea for a whole year. During this three hundred sixty five year period, he does not attempt to leave. By not leaving he demonstrates how he puts his wife aside to live with other women and leaves his wife sick with worry and full of grim thoughts. While he was there, he and his men lived in luxury, but every night Odysseus would sleep with Kirke. This means that every night Odysseus broke his loyalty to Penelope and committed the selfish act of having relations with other women. By being with Kirke, Odysseus prioritizes his life in such a way that being with other women is more important than loving his wife, who during the time Odysseus has been gone did not have relations with a single man even though one hundred and eight were in line to be with her. Odysseus proves again and again that his love

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.

First, an example of his unfaithfulness to his wife is when on the island of Kirke he was told to sleep with the evil witch, and he automatically did it without even asking questions. He could have threatened to kill Kirke or reason with her, but no he took his favorite way out, sleeping with her. Another time Odysseus was unfaithful to his wife was while on the island of Kylpso he willingly slept with her countless times over his seven year captivity on the island. Penelope, Odysseus' faithful wife, never cheated on him once during his 20 year absence in Ithaka. A time he is unfaithful to the Gods is when he receives the ride home from the Phaeakians he did not pry or sacrifice anything to Poseidon before his trip if he would have done this he could have saved the lives of the Phaeakians sailors, who were killed by Poseidon. Finally, Odysseus was unfaithful to the Gods when he does not except Polyphemos sincere apology and says, “ Kyklops, if any mortal man inquire how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye: Laertes’ son whose home’s on Ithaka!” (IX 548-552). Which shows disrespect to the Gods by not

Odysseus is also disloyal to his wife who stayed faithful to him despite the circumstances. During his journey back home to Ithaca, Odysseus commited adultery twice. When he landed on the island of Aiaia, he sleeps with Kirke. He has been cheating on his wife by sleeping with another woman. Odysseus doesn’t do this only once through his journey back, he does it again with Kalypso for seven years and by will: “He lay with her each night, for she compelled him.” (V, 163). Odysseus doesn’t resist Kalypso’s charm and cheats on his wife Penelope. Despite all of the suitors, Penelope stays loyal to Odysseus. Even when Odysseus was thought to be dead, she still puts up with the suitors’ behavior and refuses to remarry. She came up with a ruse so she could stall having to remarry: Ruses served my turn…with honor. (XIX, lines 163-190) Penelope is experiencing so much pressure from the suitors and her family, but she still refuses to succumb and does not cheat on

Penelope may not have as exciting of a life as some of the other characters in Homer’s The Odyssey, but she makes up for it by being very clever, which makes her a good match for her husband, Odysseus. Penelope plays a very important role in Odysseus’s journey home, in fact, she is the main reason for his return to Ithaca. When the suitors begin invading her house and asking, then demanding, her hand in marriage, Penelope knows she must handle them herself. Being a woman in ancient Greece, she does not have the ability to force the suitors to leave her house, and neither does Telemachus. This means that Penelope must continue to allow them to abuse the hospitality that was expected at that time, and all she can do is try to outsmart the suitors until her husband comes home. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Penelope is a good match for Odysseus because she is clever, and she shows that cleverness when she stalls the suitors by weaving the burial shroud, when she devises the contest with

A major part of being a hero is trying to protect the ones you love from any harm, hurt, and danger. Odysseus, however, does not protect his family from harm because he leaves Ithaca for so long. In particular, Odysseus does not protect his wife from hurt when he cheats on her. Every minute of each day that Odysseus was gone, Penelope was mourning the absence of her husband, not knowing that he was deceiving her. Odysseus not only cheats on Penelope once, but twice. First, Odysseus is held sex captive by Calypso, a nymph goddess, on her island for many years. This means that at some point Odysseus had fallen for temptation. Odysseus then cheats on his wife yet again with another goddess named Circe. Although this affair does not last as long, Odysseus still sets

Odysseus is also unheroic because he shows disloyalty during his journey home by indulging himself in treacherous acts. Odysseus commits adultery twice. When he lands on the island of Aiaia, he sleeps with Kirke. Later in the journey, Odysseus commits adultery again with Kalypso for seven years and by will: “He lay with her each night, for she compelled him.” (V, 163). Odysseus does not resist Kalypso’s charm, thus cheats on his wife Penelope. Despite the suitors, Penelope stays loyal to Odysseus. Even when Odysseus was thought to be dead, she still puts up with the suitors’ behavior and refuses to remarry. She even comes up with a ruse so she can stall having to remarry. Penelope is experiencing so much pressure from the suitors and her family, but she still refuses to succumb and does not cheat on Odysseus. Odysseus’s acts of adultery and

With Penelope, a faithful and loving wife to Odysseus, Homer reveals to us how the Greeks believed wives should act. She was loyal to Odysseus the entire time he was away on his journey, and even when it appeared as if he had passed on she still had faith that he would return. She resisted the suitors on the sole basis that she loved Odysseus and could not see herself with another man when he could still be alive. She was smart, and cunning. She shows us this in Book II when we

Penelope acts as the damsel in distress. She is unable to keep the suitors away from her house because she is a woman, and that makes her vulnerable. She also provides Odysseus with a reason to return home because she is his wife. She has no choice but to pick one of the suitors, and soon. Penelope says she is “wasted with longing for Odysseus, while here they press for marriage”(1004). She still loves her husband, which gives him hope that he will be accepted once he makes his return, and gives him a reason to continue trying. She also cannot turn the suitors away, preventing her from being able to protect herself. This once again proves that, as the damsel in distress, Penelope needs Odysseus for protection.

            Penelope did not have any idea whether her husband was alive for most of the twenty-years he was gone.  She had promised Odysseus that she would not marry until their son, Telemakos, reached the age of adulthood.  Just

Penelope, just as Odysseus, portrayed the great human trait of patience. She did what it took to fend off the suitors with hope that her husband would come back for her. Penelope didn’t give up hope because she felt in heart that Odysseus would come

Even though Odysseus is the hero in this epic, it is shown he is only human and he makes mistakes too. No matter how noble or strong we may be, it is only natural to error. When he traveled to Circe’s home, he was enchanted by her and was unfaithful to his wife, Penelope. By being around a beautiful goddess and not having seen your wife in years, Odysseus naturally had a tendency to cheat on Penelope. We see that in our culture today. When spouses are gone for too long and if you know they don’t have a chance to find out about your whereabouts, people succumb to their

While Odysseus is away from home, Penelope finds herself playing the role of dutiful wife