Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

Relationships in the Odyssey

Satisfactory Essays
413 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Relationships in the Odyssey
Relationships in the Odyssey Essay Throughout the Odyssey, there are many relationships that represent love between two people. These relationships show loyalty, compassion, and the wanting to be near one another. Two of these kinds of relationships are between Odysseus and Telemakhos, and Odysseus and Penelope. The relationship between Odysseus and Telemakhos is a blind love. That is because they never really got to know each other because Odysseus has been gone for most of Telemakhos’ life. One example of this blind love is when Odysseus hears about how the suitors are mistreating and stealing from Telemakhos. Odysseus gets so irate that he was then even more determined than ever, to return to his family. Telemakhos also exhibits the same kind of blind love towards his father. Even though people have told him that his father was dead, he never believed it. He felt that his father was alive and was willing to sacrifice his life to prove it. Telemakhos was inexperienced at directing a boat, but he was willing to try because he felt something inside of him that gave him the strength to go on. Thus, this relationship between Odysseus and Telemakhos gave both of them the courage to overcome the hardships ahead of them. While the relationship between Odysseus and Telemakhos is a blind love, the relationship between Odysseus and Penelope is a love between two people who just want to be together. Odysseus shows his love towards Penelope throughout the Odyssey. In spite of the fact that Odysseus has been gone for twenty years, he never forgets his wife back in Ithaca. One example of how much he wanted to go home was when he went to the island of the Lotus-Eaters. He could have stayed on the island of the Lotus-Eaters where everything he ever wanted was there, but the thing he wanted the most was to be with his wife. Penelope likewise displays this kind of love towards Odysseus. The suitors in Ithaka were always courting her while Odysseus was gone. She told them that when she finished the shroud for Odysseus’ father, she would wed one of the suitors. To avoid marriage, she unraveled the shroud every night. She always believes that Odysseus would come back. Hence, the love between Odysseus and Penelope kept each other’s hope alive. As you can see, the relationships in the Odyssey give hope to people and give them the will to endure hardships.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Odysseus’s situation was only slightly different. He, like Telemachos had his worries about family-life, and his kingdom at stake, but also had concerns about his wife, possibly triggered by the mention of Agamemnon’s by Proteus, who was killed by the hands of his own wife. These factors probably had taken their toll on Odysseus. At the same time he had the wrath of Poseidon to contend with. Another factor which could have also lead to this distress could have been his visit to the underworld, and in his entire journey, losing friends and comrades…

    • 2525 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout Odysseus’s journey, he misses both his wife and son. This, however, is one of the first instances in which he feels he can do nothing to resist Calypso and return to his faithful wife Penelope. Furthermore, even when Calypso offers Odysseus immortality he declines because his true love is Penelope and a life surrounded by beauty would not change how much he loves his wife. Odysseus finally realizes that looks can be deceiving and even though Calypso’s Island is beautiful, it has brought him misery for seven years.…

    • 217 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    to be held off. Penelope adored Odysseus, and same in return. Even though he and his son never…

    • 996 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    At last, Odysseus broke down and wept into Penelope, his faithful and loyal wife, who he had yearned for twenty years. Few men can return after twenty years to find their wives still faithful and loving the way Odysseus had. The two hugged for what seemed like forever, and rejoiced, for the battle and difficulties were now behind them. For the first time in twenty years, Odysseus and Penelope enjoyed a blissful night and exchanged an endless number of stories. It was as though twenty years had come and gone, and nothing had changed. They were still the power couple everyone dreamed to be.…

    • 1317 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The engrossing story, The Odyssey, tells the tale of the heroic Odysseus’ journey to reach home after the Trojan War. In the first four books, the reader learns about Odysseus through other characters eyes. They follow the footsteps of Telemakhos, the son of Odysseus, and his awakening to save his father. Telemakhos’s house is being overrun by his mother's’ suitors, however dear Penelope can’t help change that. Telemakhos is then visited by Athena, in which she arouses him and gives him the confidence and steady mind to search for word on his father. Telemakhos and the reader can interpret from the stories told about Odysseus that he was an important warrior and is thought to be dead. Therefore he is held to a higher respect than most Trojan…

    • 264 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In the epic poem the Odyssey, Homer's main character Odysseus portrays three different roles. Unfortunately, not all of Odysseus’s characteristics are outstanding for a biblical worldview. The reason for this is because the manner in which he handles himself as a military leader, a husband and occasionally a father, is not the manner in which a Christian should handle himself. On the other hand, Odysseus’s relationships that he has with his army, wife and family are one that are mostly carried out in the manner of a Christian. It is strange that Odysseus cares deeply for his men and as well as his son, but does not seem to be as deeply connected to his wife…

    • 1011 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better 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

    As Odysseus’ friend Agamemnon told him, that Penelope is “’much too steady, her feelings run too deep...that wise woman”’(263 - 64). Penelope contains the qualities of a trustworthy and cunning wife, a perfect match for Odysseus, however the suitors continue to woo her into marriage. Every night with the suitors ends as Penelope “fell to weeping for Odysseus...till watchful Athena sealed her eyes with welcome sleep”(435). Penelope also represents support for Odysseus; a crutch for him to lean on, a reminder of home. Ithaca is truly where the heart…

    • 1537 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the vast tellings of Homer’s The Odyssey, many character comparisons can be made. Few are more pressing however, than the heroism of Odysseus and his wife, Penelope. Although both Penelope and Odysseus displayed heroic characteristics in The Odyssey, Odysseus was more of a hero than his wife was in the epic. Penelope, while somewhat of a heroine, simply was not depicted by Homer to be the hero that her husband was.…

    • 684 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Penelope is completely heart broken when Odysseus leaves and even after twenty years can not get over him. Penelope says to a singer, “...but leave off singing this sad song, which afflicts the dear heart deep inside me, since the unforgettable sorrow comes to me, beyond others, so dear a head do I long for whenever I am reminded of my husband”(36.340-344). Penelope even says that she feels a sorrow beyond any she has felt when she hears the sad songs of her dear husband. Even though she does not know whether he is dead or alive, she still grieves for him and will not move on. Antikleia explains to Odysseus, “All too much with enduring heart she does wait for you there in your own palace, and always with her the wretched nights and the days also waste her away with weeping”(173.181-183). Penelope shows her heartfelt love through her constant grief over Odysseus’s absence. Unlike the other two women, Penelope weeps and laments for Odysseus because her love is so passionate. This is why Penelope’s love is the strongest of the love felt for…

    • 622 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good 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
  • Good Essays

    Ancient Greeks had a poor and dark view on what happened to them once they died. They did not have a place where they their souls went to rest in peace. Instead, they went to where they were tortured for the rest of their immortal lives. This is shown in both epics, The Odyssey by Homer and The Aeneid by Virgil. In the Odyssey Odysseus into the underworld and you get his count on the awfulness of Hades, and too Aeneas goes to the underworld and you see the different parts and find out the meaning of each section. Both texts have similarities and differences on the interpretations of the after lives of greeks. Throughout time Greeks have changed their understandings of…

    • 1327 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Odysseus Movie Analysis

    • 300 Words
    • 2 Pages

    This movie shows a great struggle done by the Odysseus in order to return home after the Trojan War. In the beginning of the movie, his wife, Penelope gives birth to a child, Telemachus. After sometime, the kings, Agamemnon and Menalayer forced him to join the war. This moment was very sentimental and tragic. He thought that he might be killed in the war and therefore Odysseus convinced his wife to marry with another guy if he didn’t come back from the war. It would be very difficult for a single mother to raise her child and to avoid such situation, Odysseus made her wife to take promise that she would marry with someone for the betterment for the child. This part of the movie depicts that there was a strong and deep love between the couples…

    • 300 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Characters In The Odyssey

    • 534 Words
    • 3 Pages

    “Love, Loyalty/honesty, Trust, perseverance, cleverness, and braveness” these are some characteristics of the characters in the movie “the odyssey”.…

    • 534 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Homer had an opportunity to change his relationship with Sandra, but choose not to do anything about it. The moment that he has been waiting for, “the conjunction of circumstances that, through the steady exertion of will, minor adjustments of time and place, he had often tried to induce, never happened” (167). Homer had been waiting for a moment alone with her that he could show his feeling for her to come but it had not. He wanted to just tell her and just hope that she may feel the same way for him. The moment of being together side by side, or even in each other arms would confirm what he felt. When the moment finally happened, “there was a fleeting, shuddering moment before he stepped through the woods to his cabin and she went to her…

    • 261 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics