The Odyssey, an epic poem written by Homer, follows the journey of Odysseus as he faces nonstop trials that risk his life on his way home to Ithaca. Homer characterizes Odysseus’s extreme loyalty to portray the specific trait of a Greek epic hero. One day, Calypso is told by Zeus that she has to release Odysseus from her island, which she had been keeping him captive on. So, Calypso, mad at the gods' hypocrisy, tries one last attempt to get him to stay: “After all these years with me, you still desire your old home? Even so, I wish you well. If you could see it all, before you go–all the adversity you face at sea–you would stay here, and guard this house forever, that bride of whom you pine each day. Can I be less desirable than she is? Less …show more content…
When the gods force Calypso into releasing Odysseus, she tries to manipulate and scare him about the challenges he will face, into staying with her on the island, but her tactics don't work on the ever loyal Odysseus and only increase his determination to reach home. Odysseus loves his home and his family to such a great extent that he will face life-threatening trials to reach them. Despite Calypso's beauty and her attempt to manipulate him with the things she says that would make a lesser person second guess their relationship with the knowledge of the power they could gain, Calypso’s attempt to make Odysseus second guess his relationship with Penelope remained futile, and because of this he remained loyal to his wife giving up powers and a chance to live forever with a beautiful goddess who was completely in love with him. Much to Calypso's disdain, Odysseus showed a strong resistance to her advances because Odysseus and Penelope have years of loyalty to each other and created a strong healthy relationship built on love and trust which will not break. So, undeterred by Calypso's advances, he never gave his heart to …show more content…
When the three men he sent to land never return, Odysseus learns that: “those who ate this honeyed plant, the lotus, never cared to report nor to return: they longed to stay forever browsing on the native bloom, forgetful of their homeland. I drove them, all three wailing to the ships, tied them down under their rowing benches” (Homer 148). Odysseus goes to find his men when they don't report back, because of this Odysseus goes to the land not knowing how dangerous it is and finds out his men had eaten a plant that made them forget everything and had a peculiar strong desire to stay on the land of the Lotus Eaters forever. Odysseus grabs them, even with all their cries, and ties them to the boat. Odysseus's loyalty to others is to where he risks his life many times for them. Odysseus could have easily left his men there to die, keeping himself from the unknown danger, and left on the boat with the rest of his men to continue his course in