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