Katrina Le
Ms. Noyce
English A3
11 December 2014
Loyalty in the Odyssey
Literature often provides a peek into the past and culture of that time. In other words,
from reading a piece of literature, readers can start to understand cultural values, traditions, and
expectations of that culture. A prime example of this is The Odyssey by Homer. Throughout The
Odyssey, the ancient Greek conception of loyalty between a husband and wife is demonstrated
through Penelope and Odysseus’ relationship. Through this relationship, along with Penelope’s
and Odysseus’ attitudes, Homer implies that wives had to be more faithful than their husbands.
During The Odyssey, Odysseus sleeps with other women while his wife stays loyal and does not
mind the fact that her husband has slept with other omen.
A message brought out about loyalty throughout The Odyssey is that wives were expected
to be loyal and obedient to their husbands even when it was not necessary for their husbands to
be loyal to them. An example of this is when Odysseus is about to leave Ogygia and is with
Calypso: “The two of them went inside the inner chamber of the hollow cave and lay down
beside each other to make love” (Ody.V.284-286). Here, it is directly stated that Odysseus has
sexually engaged with Calypso as they laid down “beside each other to make love.” This also
indicated that Odysseus chose to sleep with Calypso since they both laid down “beside each
other,” meaning that free will was involved. On the other hand, Penelope, after years and years
of waiting had stayed loyal, stating, “But now you’ve mentioned that clear symbol, our bed,
which no one else has ever seen, other than the two of us, you and me” (Ody.XXIII.168-170).
Here, Homer indirectly states that Penelope has not sexually engaged with anyone else.
Penelope states that “no one else has ever seen” the bed. In both ancient Greek times and today,
the bed is a symbol for sex. To state that “no one else has ever seen” the bed implies Penelope
has not slept with a single person during her time of grief, even when Odysseus slept with
Calypso.
The ancient Greek idea of loyalty between husband and wife and how wives had to be
more faithful in the terms of today’s society is shown throughout The Odyssey with Penelope and
Odysseus’ relationship and their attitudes towards each other. During the course of The Odyssey,
Penelope is shown to be loyal, faithful, and accepting to Odysseus’ story and attitudes. This is
shown when Odysseus is telling Penelope of his journey: “Penelope was happy listening, and
sleep did not come down across her eyelids until he’d told it all” (Ody.XXVI.203-205). At this
point of The Odyssey, Homer suggests that it was acceptable for men to sleep with other women,
but not acceptable for women to sleep with other men in Greek culture. Here, it can be noticed
that there are no signs of irritation with Penelope when listening to Odysseus as she “was happy
listening.” Penelope was happy listening even when it is directly stated by Homer that Odysseus
“told it all,” not leaving out a single piece of the story. The fact that Odysseus “told it all” means
that he confronted her about how he slept with Calypso as it was part of his journey. Penelope
happily listening to Odysseus’ story indicates that she did not mind that her husband slept with
other women as it was not frowned upon in Greek culture.
In ancient Greek culture, the conception of loyalty between a husband and wife was that
wives had to be more loyal to their husbands than their husbands were to them in the terms of
today’s conception of loyalty. In The Odyssey, this conception is shown with Penelope and
Odysseus’ relationship and attitudes towards each other. In the end, Penelope is shown to be
much more loyal, obedient, and faithful towards her husband than her husband was to her as he
had slept with other women.