Essay On Loyalty In The Odyssey

Virtually, everything we do in our world is for the love of something or someone. In Homer’s epic, The Odyssey, Odysseus was driven by his love for Penelope and his home of Ithaca to attempt daring adventures that accredited him the title of a hero. Loyalty is one of the most vital attributes of a person’s character. It is loyalty that forms the bond and connections with the people and places around us. It is our daring thoughts and daring actions fueled by our loyalty that allow us the power to achieve goals or overcome obstacles in our lives. Whether our confidence comes from pure bravery or a desperate need for our love, it is vital in completing the tasks that we are presented with during our lifetime. Odysseus is a hero, because he is loyal, daring, and confident.

In Book V, Odysseus is offered immortality in return for a lifetime with the beautiful Calypso.

He ultimately turns down his offer because he craves a deeper connection from Penelope’s love. Odysseus expresses his sorrow by saying, “My heart aches for the day I return home...” (Homer 235). His loyalty fueled by this love pushes him to take chances against gods, goddesses, and monsters. Calypso tries to sway him from leaving by suggesting that her beauty is greater than any wife he could have. Odysseus honorably replies with, “She’s only human, and you are a goddess, Eternally young. Still, I want to go back” (Homer 235). We have all been pushed to our limits in the hopes of reconnecting with something lost, and at times, it truly feels that we are invincible. Love runs deep through our veins, which gives us an unspeakable

power.
In Book XI, Odysseus must brave the land of the dead, Hades, in order to speak with the blind prophet, Tiresias, who has directions to his home. During this time Odysseus faces his mother and old shipmate, which fills him with a deep sadness, but does not stop him from his mission to speak with Tiresias. We can tell how determined Odysseus is when Homer writes, “But even in my grief I would not allow her to come near the blood until I had questioned Tiresias.” (298). His courage and bravery in the face of pain is inspiring.
Courage sometimes must come from our confidence because we have to believe that we are powerful enough to achieve any daring act that we partake in. Odysseus was sure of who he was a warrior and during Book IX, his confidence helped him escape the imprisonment of the Cyclopes. Odysseus was intelligent enough to fool the Cyclopes into believing a false name. “Noman is my name. They call me Noman…” (Homer 279). When Odysseus escapes from his captivity and leaves the island he proudly rubbed his intelligence in the face of the Cyclopes by saying, “…Tell him that Odysseus the marauder did it…” (Homer 282). His pride, that sometimes got him in trouble, was also the reason for his return home.
Odysseus is a hero that we can learn from, and have learned from, for centuries. His bravery, loyalty, and confidence is attributes that we could all learn to strive for. There will be times in our life when we need to be brave in the worst imaginable situations, such as Odysseus’s journey to Hades, but we will need to focus on what’s most important even through our pain. It is his loyalty to his love and home that keeps him moving for years in this story. May we all be so lucky to have something worth fighting for.