Major Themes of
“The Odyssey”
THEME #1: HOME, WANDERING, FIDELITY, CHARACTER FLAWS
THEME # 2: CUNNING AND DISGUISE
THEME #3: WOMEN AS PREDATORY
THEME #4: POWER OF THE GODS
THEME #5: HOSPITALITY
Theme # 1: Home, Wandering, Fidelity, Character Flaws
• Fidelity: strict observance of promises, duties. Loyalty.
• Central emotion: LONELINESS
• Pines for home while on Calypso’s island
• Weeps constantly for his family – wife, son, parents
• Suffers from the loss of his fellow Greek soldiers and shipmates
• PENELOPE: Suffers from loneliness for her husband even with many
suitors around
• TELEMACHUS: Suffers from loneliness for a father he has never known,
and fears might be dead.
• ANTICLEIA, ODYSSEUS’S MOTHER: Admits to dying from
loneliness (when he sees her in the Underworld).
Theme # 1: Home, Wandering, Fidelity, Character Flaws
• TEMPTATIONS
• Odysseus liked the good life!
• Enjoyed all the luxuries he received from both Calypso and Circe.
• Spent years with Calypso (estimates are from 5 to 8 years); spent one year
with Circe
• Investigated Polyphemus’s cave, and got locked in.
• Once he escaped from Polyphemus, he shouted his name (which angered
Poisedon)
• Had his crew tie him to the mast so he could hear the Sirens’ song (which was
deadly to all who heard it).
• Temptations also hurt his crew, often leading to their being left behind, going
far off course, or death.
Theme# 1: Home, Wandering, Fidelity, Character Flaws
• FIDELITY
• Odysseus DOES remain true to Penelope in his heart, which is
important to Homer.
• His desire to return to home, and her, is the driving force of his
journey.
• At the end of the poem, Odysseus rewards those servants who remain
true to him, and punishes those who are unfaithful while he is gone
(generally with death).
Theme # 1: Home, Wandering, Fidelity, Character Flaws
Expressed little remorse for his unfaithfulness to his wife
during this time.
• Though – Odysseus spent a LOT of time worrying that his wife
had been unfaithful to HIM!
• Homer spent a great deal of time writing about the infidelity of
women, but was not concerned about the infidelity of men. In
fact, during this time period, it was EXPECTED that men at
war would cheat on their wives. Wives, however, were expected
to remain true to their man and were severely punished if they
were not. Like that double standard, girls? Neither did Calypso!
Theme #2: Cunning and disguise
• Odysseus’s most prominent characteristic: CUNNING. Cunning is the ability to
deceive others.
• Odysseus displays his CUNNING in his tall tales and extraordinary stories.
• EXAMPLES: Trojan horse, tricks against the Cyclops, Polphemus
• Odysseus’s (and Homer’s ability to tell stories is not equaled in Western literature!
• Homer’s Greek audiences liked characters that displayed cunning.
• They did not always like the dishonesty that cunning also exhibits.
Theme #2: Cunning and disguise
• DISGUISE: Odysseus’s disguises are not always noticeable.
• The Greek soldiers “disguised” in the Trojan horse
• The men ”disguising” themselves as rams to escape Polyphemus.
• Odysseus disguises himself as a beggar once he returns to Ithaca. He does this to
spy on the suitors and to test the loyalty of the people around him (servants,
family members, etc).
• The goddess Athena also appears many times disguised as “Mentor,” a
faithful servant and guide of Odysseus’s family.
• She appears to both Odysseus and Telemachus in this disguise.
Theme #3: Women as Predatory
• Homer depicts ALL women in the poem as sexual beings, only interested in
enslaving men for their own use. Homer does not seem to have a good
opinion of women, which was common in his era.
• CALYPSO: Keeps Odysseus on her island as her slave, until she is forced to let him
go by Hermes.
• CIRCE: Once she is done with them, turns men into pigs, because she thinks men
ARE pigs.
• THE SIRENS: Lure men (sailors) to their deaths by song. No man can resist their
music.
• PENELOPE: The suitors think she is teasing them by not choosing a husband
from among them.
• It is doubtful her actions can truly be considered “predatory,” except for in the
opinion of the suitors.
• CLYTEMNESTRA (not in the excerpt we will read): She murdered her
husband so she can be with her boyfriend. Only mentioned because she is the most
treacherous woman of the full play.
Theme #4: Power of the Gods
• The gods have absolute power over the mortals in “The Odyssey.”
• The gods are also VERY good at holding grudges against humans – sometimes
for many years.
• HELIOS: Angry with Odysseus’s men for eating his sacred cattle.
• POSEIDON: Angry with Odysseus for blinding Polyphemus, then taunting the god with
that feat. (He yelled his name at Polyphemus as he left.)
• ATHENA: Most visible god in the poem. Serves as a guide to him and shows favoritism
by trying to stop Poseidon’s actions. Also asks for Zeus’s help on behalf of Odysseus.
• ZEUS: Orders the fighting between Odysseus and the suitors to stop.
• In general, the gods were more interested in their own fights than in what
happens in the mortal world. However, they decide what happens in the
mortal world.
• This is a common thread in most Greek writings and art – the folly and unpredictability of
the gods.
Theme #5: Hospitality
The pineapple is a symbol
Of hospitality. If one is placed
Near the entrance to a home,
It means the homeowner is
Home and accepting visitors.
The pineapple is a common
Emblem in hotels/motels.
• XENIA: Means hospitality, which is a dominant concept in Greece.
• Zeus is the god of hospitality.
• Both Odysseus and Telemachus receive good hospitality throughout their journeys.
• Telemachus uses the hospitality of others to learn more about his father and to grow from
being a scared boy to the man of his household.
• The suitors, on the other hand, abuse the hospitality of Penelope when they eat all the food
and refuse to leave when she asks them to go.
• The Phaiakians, a sea-faring people who help Odysseus get home, chose not to continue
helping those in trouble because Poseidon was angry at the help provided to Odysseus.