Theme Of Loyalty In The Odyssey

Loyalty is one of the biggest themes that is mentioned throughout The Odyssey. Loyalty is so important because it reflects how characters trust in each other. In The Odyssey, the theme of loyalty can be seen in characters such as Odysseus’ family, Odysseus’ crew, and even Odysseus’ dog Argos. With the theme of loyalty, these characters are able to flesh out their true purpose in the story. Telemachus and Penelope are the first to show the theme of loyalty just in the first few books of the Odyssey. For example, Telemachus sets off to sea on a quest to find his father, Odysseus, who is presumed dead. This shows the loyalty in Telemachus since he hasn’t seen Odysseus in years yet he still believes that his father is alive and is willing to …show more content…
At first Odysseus’ crew trust in Odysseus and team up to defeat the cyclops. Earlier, Odysseus helps his men turn back into humans after they were cursed into pigs. This shows that Odysseus has trust in his crew just like they have trust in him. Unfortunately, later in the story Odysseus’ crew break open the bag of winds they received from Aeolus while Odysseus is sleeping. This causes many crew members to die as well as Odysseus’ trust in his crew members. Throughout the story Odysseus crew members disobey him due to their anger of not returning to Ithaca. For example at Thrinakia, Odysseus’ crew disobey orders not to eat the sacred cattle. “ … We could do nothing to help it now: the cattle were already dead…” ( Homer’s The Odyssey Book 12) This event is when Odysseus’ crew fully turn against him and start mutiny. This mutiny is an example of disloyalty which is completely no trust between the crew and …show more content…
Argos, Odysseus’ dog, is the first of all the characters in The Odyssey to recognize Odysseus even with his disguise on. Argos is only mentioned on one page in the book but has so much meaning in his character. “...When he knew his old master was near him, he wagged his tail and dropped both his ears…” (Homer’s The Odyssey Book 17) Argos is described to be an old, skinny, 20-year-old dog. However, most dogs live to be around 15 years old which means Argos has lived longer than most dogs. Therefore, Argos has been waiting all his life to be reunited with his owner Odysseus since the last time he saw him as a puppy before The Trojan War. This reunion between Argos and Odysseus is the greatest symbol of loyalty throughout The Odyssey. Unfortunately, Argos dies after being reunited with his master to show that this moment worth living for has been accomplished and his time has come. Argos outlived his natural dog life to stay loyal in Odysseus. There are many true stories about dogs being loyal to their masters until death. For example, Hachiko was a Japanese akita dog born in 1923. Hachiko’s owner was a Professor at the University of Tokyo. According to (“The Amazing And True Story Of Hachiko The Dog.” Nerd Nomads, 12 June 2017), Hachiko used to wait near the train station every day until his owner returned home at night. Unfortunately, Hachiko’s master died of cerebral hemorrhage