Preview

An Example Of Loyalty In Homer's Odyssey

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
161 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
An Example Of Loyalty In Homer's Odyssey
There are many examples of loyalty in the epic, but not all can be said for lack of time. Two other examples of faithfulness is by the suitors and Penelope herself. The suitors remain faithful to each other and to their plan to attempt to kill Telemachus. Although their plan fails, they still were true to it. Penelope is an example of a true faithful wife. Not believing that her husband is dead, she refuses to marry another. She states on page 21, “…It breaks my sorrowful heart and reminds me of my lost husband, whom I mourn ever without ceasing…” The key word in that passage is lost; she believes that her husband is not dead but lost. Loyally she waits his return, all the while mourning the lost hero. Although marrying one of these men would

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Loyalty is extremely important within Odysseus’ world. Characters in The Odyssey will go as far as to die for their leader and or fellow men. If you are not loyal to your leader or a person of power, they could go as far as to kill you for disloyalty. For example, in all of book one of The Odyssey, Odysseus’ men die for Odysseus on countless occasions. To be more specific, when Odysseus was passing through the island with the lotus eaters, Odysseus’ men go out and explore the island for Odysseus. The men end up dying in the end. Disloyalty can get also get you into a lot of trouble. In book 2 of The Odyssey, the suitors are punished by their disloyalty toward Odysseus by immediate death. This goes to show that loyalty is obviously an enormous…

    • 329 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    ‘The Suitors and the disloyal servants get what they deserve.’ How far do you agree with this statement?…

    • 811 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In the epic, The Odyssey, by Homer, there are many themes introduced in the first several books including manhood and loyalty. The first several books show us these themes through the hero entering the journey and realizing morals and ideas throughout the introduction.By doing this,themes and main points are revealed and are easier to identify for the rest of the story, and the characters, plot, and actions introduced in the first several books further foreshadows future later in the story.In this way, Homer leads a path that the reader can predict the theme through the first several books by indentifying those aspects and elements of the epic.…

    • 969 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    A personal virtue that is a major theme in the epic, The Odyssey, is loyalty and perseverance. The best example of loyalty in of the epic, Penelope, who waited faithfully in Ithaca for 20 years for her husband, Odysseus’, to return. Odysseus’ son Telemachus, who also showed loyalty by standing by his father against the suitors who are after the throne. The two analytical lenses that I will use to interpret this epic, is the Psychological and the social class lens. The psychology lens focuses on the internal struggles of a character in a text. This could be seen by the three main characters, Odysseus, Telemachus, and Penelope. All three character, psychologically, have their mind set on their longing reunion throughout the epic which ties to…

    • 254 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Penelope shows her loyalty in several ways. She shows loyalty to Odysseus by waiting for his return for twenty long years. She did not choose a suitor until she knew for sure that Odysseus was dead. To delay the decision of choosing a suitor, Penelope said she would marry a suitor after she had finished weaving her shroud. She showed that she was weaving the shroud during the day, but at night, when it got dark she secretly unwove it. That is how Penelope shows her loyalty to her family.…

    • 480 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Loyalty In The Odyssey

    • 1961 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Dogs have been considered symbols of loyalty for generations, even earning the epithet “Man’s Best Friend.” The great amount of love and faithfulness that dogs display toward their families is so iconic that outlines of dogs have become common symbols of loyalty. In Romeo and Juliet, loyalty runs in families from the head of the household through to the lowest of servants. All Montagues, including their servants and friends, feel a unanimous hatred toward the Capulets, and vice versa. Not only do fights take place between direct members of the two families, but also between the servants and friends of the opposing sides. For example, Gregory and Sampson, both Capulet servants, fight with Abram and Balthasar, Montague servants, in Act 1 Scene 1. Later in the same fight, Lord Montague and Lord Capulet both attempt to join in the violence. In Act 3 Scene 1, Mercutio, a friend of Romeo’s, fights with Tybalt, a member of the…

    • 1961 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Heroism In The Odyssey

    • 1497 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Movies, which show more and tell less, allow potential heroes to prove their heroism with actions and not words. Each movie that we watched for class showed heroism in a different way, much like the ancient Greek and Roman poems told about heroism in a different way. Partially a product of their time, each movie approached a World War in a way that reflected the values of their time, much like how Odysseus’s cunning was praised by the Greeks and condemned by the Romans. However, I think that the sequence of movies matches up quite nicely with the sequence of poems. Comparing The Grand Illusion to the Iliad, Saving Private Ryan to the Aeneid, and Inglourious Basterds to the Odyssey brings out contrasts, like the definition of heroism, between…

    • 1497 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Odyssey Loyalty

    • 388 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In Homer's epic poem, The Odyssey, friends and family of Odysseus show great loyalty to him. The loyalty can be seen through the commitment Penelope, faith of Odysseus' servants, and his dog, Argos', patience.…

    • 388 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Homer´s Odyssey tells the story of Odysseus, a war hero, and his 10-year voyage back home. After the war ended and Troy was burned down, Odysseus, having offended Poseidon and blinded his son, is set upon his way to Ithaca, his kingdom. For reasons that have not yet been explained, Odysseus ends up at Ogygia, where he is being held prisoner by Calypso, the nymph goddess. In Ithaca, his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus wait for his return.…

    • 500 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Odyssey Analytical Paper

    • 1738 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Loyalty (n.) – the act of showing faithfulness or devotion to a person, country, group or cause. Loyalty is essential for many reasons. Being loyal means you are willing to make self-sacrifice and do things for others to help them succeed. It means standing by somebody or something that you believe in, no matter what. Countless people have died showing loyalty for their country and for people they love. In Ancient Greece, loyalty to one’s family, friends, and acquaintances was viewed as essential, if not absolutely indispensable. Today still, almost all people see loyalty as an extremely substantial part of a strong relationship, and those whose lack loyalty are often shunned and ridiculed (e.g. Tiger Woods). Throughout The Odyssey, this value is reflected through the actions of Odysseus’s wife, Penelope. Although not a textbook hero by any means, Penelope’s loyalty was essential to the development of the story; otherwise, Odysseus’s twenty year journey would have been for naught. While Odysseus is away and enjoying all his different excursions, Penelope is able to resist the long line of suitors waiting to take her hand in marriage and stay loyal to him, showing her faith in Odysseus, her unmatchable patience, and her at-times overlooked intelligence.…

    • 1738 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    As the great Arthur Ashe once put it “True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.” The epic, Odyssey by Homer highlights the determination of a certain character to return to his homeland and family after many years at war. However, with determination comes important decisions to do what is right and what is best for all. In most cases, a hero must take some kind of guidance from his acquaintances. In addition, the extensive qualities of a hero can range from being loyal to others and putting their own life behind everyone else’s. By these standards, in the Odyssey, main character Odysseus can not be considered a hero because he…

    • 765 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Being faithful, or loyal, is one of the main aspects of being a hero. Book V shows us that Odysseus might not have been so faithful to Penelope:…

    • 881 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Another quality treasured by the Greeks was loyalty and fidelity. Despite enriching experiences and countless temptations along his travels, Oedipus never strays from his path and ultimate dream to return to his home and family. He loves his wife Penelope, he loves his home, and he yearns constantly for that. The beautiful nymph Calypso offers him the seemingly undeniable bribes of immortality and happiness. However, because he genuinely loves his wife and maintains fidelity towards her, he refuses Calypso’s offer. At the same time, Penelope remains utterly faithful towards Odysseus despite temptations from the…

    • 1050 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    After the war of Troy, Odysseus was lost at sea and Penelope gave up most of her hope after years of waiting for her husband to return home. Later on Suitors came to court her in the castle where Penelope and her son Telemachus lived. There are so many ways that Penelope showed her loyalty to her husband while he was away. One way Penelope shows her loyalty is no matter how the suitors courted her and wanted to marry her she never went with a suiter. Another reason is that she never completely gave up hope that her husband was alive. The final reason is that she defended Odysseus's memory. In The Odyssey, Penelope showed her loyalty to her husband multiple times throughout the epic poem.…

    • 847 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Love and Loyality

    • 1055 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The love between a husband and wife is a sacred bond and loyalty keeps that bond together. According to the definition of loyalty at that point in time Odysseus and Penelopeia were loyal to each other while Odysseus was gone on his odyssey. Odysseus was with both Circe and Calypso while gone but ultimately returned to Penelopeia. Today in age this would not be considered loyal, however, in ancient Greece it was considered typical. Penelopeia was completely faithful to Odysseus the entire time while he was away. She had many suitors but believed in being loyal to her husband until she was absolutely sure that he was dead. Love empowered her to have this kind of loyalty to him. The following quote shows Penelopeia’s love for Odysseus, "So dear is he that I long for and never forget – my husband." (p.19, Homer, The Odyssey)…

    • 1055 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays