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Role Of Loyalty In The Odyssey

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Role Of Loyalty In The Odyssey
Loyalty through royalty
Loyalty plays a key role in The Iliad and The Odyssey. Through direct and indirect characterization Homer makes it clear for the readers to see the golden value of loyalty between the men and women in these epic poems.
A commonly known quote is, “ Respect is gained, and loyalty is returned.” In this direct message you can see similarities to The Iliad and The Odyssey. In the hardship of Odysseus’ journey back to Ithaca, Odysseus pulls many strings to keep his crew safe.Homer states in book 9 , “ How could I find escape from death for my crew, myself as well?”(Odyssey 9:470-471) This quote shows that odysseus has gained love, showed respect, and loyalty to his men . You can specifically see that Homer put “My crew” …show more content…
Through all of these relationships Homer continues to show loyalty. Readers are able to visualize a tortuous murder of Hector by Achilles. In this battle of cat and mouse, Homer continuously expresses Achilles hate towards Hector because Hector, son of Priam and prince of Troy, killed Achilles best friend Patroclus. In loyalty and revenge of his friends death Achilles finds it necessary to kill Hector In the most painful way possible. “ Achilles now exulted: “ Hector, had you thought that you could kill Patroclus and be safe?...The dogs and kites will rip your body. His (Patroclus) will lie in honor.”(Iliad 22:390-399) Although this might not be the best way to show loyalty and more like revenge, in Achilles mind set he is doing this to stay true to his friend. Priam, a father of 12 sons, tried to stay in respect of his son Hector.He wanted to him to have a proper burial , but Achilles seizes the body to feed to the wild dogs. Hector promises lord Achilles anything he wanted for the body, however Achilles stayed ruthless. Hector Furiously states, ‘Peace be with you even in the dark where death commands, Patroklos. Everything has been finished as I promised…Hector should not be eaten by wild dogs. (Iliad 206-210) This shows the high morals and loyalty Praim had towards his son. he is showing that he would do anything in return for his
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