Penelope's Loyalty In The Odyssey

Like a symbiotic relationship, loyalty benefits both parties when it is mutual. It doesn’t function when only one side of the bond is helping the other, only if both sides work together in harmony to produce a sturdy relationship. For example, in Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, Odysseus and his wife are loyal to one another throughout their 20 years apart due to the war he fought in. Yet, in another situation, Odysseus’ crew is not loyal to him, despite his loyalty to them, and they do not form a strong bond because of it. In Greek culture, these bonds created by loyalty are extremely important and are said to bring honor but without these bonds it is supposed to bring penalties to the individual.

Odysseus and his wife, Penelope, are rewarded

Penelope remains loyal to Odysseus during his 20 year journey by avoiding remarrying to any of the suitors in hope that Odysseus will return and that they can continue to live their lives as things were. In order to do this she must avoid provoking punishment from the gods and eternal shame for not being loyal to her husband which is what is expected in the Greek culture. She makes an elaborate plot to trick the suitors into not rushing her into marriage by telling them that “‘til to great Laertes I bequeath A task of grief, his ornaments of death’...The work she plied; but studious of delay, By night reversed the labours of the day” (XIX,158-159). Penelope attempts to hold the suitors off until Odysseus can return which is used to teach the reader that those who are loyal will be rewarded, because after doing so she is rewarded by the return of her true love, Odysseus. Penelope is being loyal to Odysseus and finds

Due to their jealousy and greed, Odysseus’ crew is drawn to open the gift given to Odysseus by one of his hosts. The gift presented to Odysseus by Aeolus, unbeknownst to the crew, is a bag of winds. The crew assumed it was filled with riches and opens the bag once in sight of Ithaca and releases “all the winds rushed out… a tempest seized [them], and carried [them] out to sea away from [their] land” (X, 52-53). The winds bring the ship all the way back to Aeolus, which majorly prolongs their journey. They are disciplined for their disloyal behavior towards Odysseus because the Greek culture said the gods would punish those who are not faithful. Another time that the crew was disloyal to Odysseus is when they disobey his explicit instructions to not eat the cattle of Helios. As the crew starve they decide to eat the cows proving that they are unwilling to listen to their leader. They break Odysseus’ trust and are not loyal to him or his commands and are punished for it by “zeus [who] let fly a bolt against the ship...all the men were flung into the sea” (948-951). Not only do they doom themselves, but they also force Odysseus to travel home to Ithaca without his crew and to live his life after seeing his friends die. These types of punishments are given to those who are disloyal according to Greek culture. That is why it is important to show that