Smart Choices in The Odyssey by Homer Essay Example

What motifs did Homer use when storytelling, “The Odyssey,” an ancient Greek epic poem that went well with the overall theme? The theme conveyed in this epic poem is that making smart choices can be rewarding to the character that acted on the decisions or it can benefit others.. Numerous different characters made different decisions, some that were good and some that were bad. Either way both decisions had some type of reward or consequence attached to it. Characters that made good decisions received good rewards and characters that did the opposite got what they deserved which only brought them down. Along with this theme, the smart choices that the characters make can be approached in different ways and have different benefits. Throughout the epic poem, motifs such as loyalty, cleverness, and hospitality appear multiple times that convey the different ways of gaining benefits.

One of the motifs that go with the theme is loyalty, both characters Eumaeus the swineherd and Eurycelia the old maid stays loyal to Odysseus while he is sailing back to Ithaca.In chapter 14, Odysseus meets Eumaeus who is a swineherd, during their meeting Odysseus says, “My host-may Zeus and the other gods give you your heart’s desire for the royal welcome you have shown me here!” (Homer 303) Eumaeus the swineherd takes care of Odysseus without knowing it is him and stays loyal which in return Odysseus wishes for him that gods give him what his heart desires. Some people would say that loyalty would be considered the most important quality in a relationship -either platonic or romantic. Loyalty shows respect towards the person they're being loyal to and can deepen any feelings or relationships between them. Staying loyal to someone who may be dead shows the amount of respect they have which makes them seem reliable to others for future reference. In this case both Eumaus and Peneople stay loyal even if mostly everyone around them are not. This loyalty they have for Odysseus helps them in the end because everyone who was not loyal was killed by Odysseus and his team. If Eurames would not be loyal all hell would break loose with him as well, he would also be brutally killed just like the suitors. Now, if Penelope was not faithful to Odysseus the reader would be able to infer that she would have a bigger consequence than the suitors because of how women were treated during the era they were in. Penlope said to Odysseus who was undercover as a beggar said. “Three whole years I deceived them blind, seduced them with this scheme” (Homer 395). Penlope was able to fake out the suitors for three years while Odysseus was traveling home. Staying loyal to someone even if they may be dead is a big deal, not everyone thinks of staying loyal if they cannot see the person they were loyal to anymore especially in a relationship. Some may move onto a new relationship like Penelope could have done because she could have married one of the suitors. No, instead Penelope still had hope and enough to have respect towards her marriage. Penelope even went as far as deceiving every male that was trying to marry her. Penelope’s choice of staying loyal impacts their marriage and brings them closer than ever to each other after they were able to be together again.  Now, if Penelope was not faithful to Odysseus the reader would be able to infer that she would have a bigger consequence than the suitors because of how women were treated during the era they were in.Both Eumaeus and Peneople stayed loyal to Odysseus while he was away and were rewarded.

Additionally, cleverness is also one motif that goes with the theme from, “The Odyssey.”

 Odysseus tricked Polyphemus telling them that,¨Nobody- that's my name. Nobody- so my mother and father call me, all my friends ¨(223). Odysseus uses a different name that tricked the Cyclops, Polyphemus and their friend.

There are numerous ways to be clever, one way could be using a lie that's made up that is believable. In this case Odysseus was being clever because he made up a lie that was believable to the Cyclops. He and his crewmates got away from the Cyclops because they were able to gain time from Odysseus' clever trick. Their cleverness save them from their doom by the hands of the Cyclops. If Odysseus never made a lie up that was believable for the Cyclops the reader would be able to infer that they are still stuck in the cave with the Cyclops or they would have been all eaten by this point. If they were eaten nobody would ever see them again and all hope would be lost.When Peneople and Odysseus they said that, “ I’d weave at my great and growing web- by night, by the light of torches set beside me, I would unravel all I’d done” (395).Penelope tricks suitors into thinking that she continuously weaves the web but instead, they unravel it each night.Another way of being clever is using manipulation, which can be used in negative or positive ways but both are rather clever. Penelope uses manipulation but for her own good as she still has hope that Odysseus would still come back alive and well. Penelope manipulated the suitors into thinking that she is actually continuously weaving a web. The suitors want her to finish because once she's done she has to marry a suitor her father chooses. The tactic of manipulation can work wonders if used correctly which Penelope uses correctly because she tricked the suitors for three years. 

This couple has done witty ideas that trick someone in only to help themselves bubt in different clever ways.

Adding onto the other motif another one is hospitality, it shows up frequently through all of the books of, “The Odyssey.” When Odysseus visited the Phaecians they gifted him, “The robes and hammered gold and a haul of other gifts you lord of our island counsel brought our guest” (Homer, 286). The Phaecians give Odysseus numerous gifts for his appearance on their island. Hospitality was an important thing in Greek history, their hospitality was known as Xenia. Xenia is the same concept as hospitality but in Greek culture. People in Greek culture are very generous to new people they come across because they may be possibly gods or important people who can seem as normal people when in a different mortal form. The Phaecians give Odysseus so many gifts without knowing if he is a god or a big leader figure so they treat him as if he was one just in case. If the appearing person was an important figure in Greek history it can be inferred that they would get some sort of title because of this gesture or receive some gift from them. If the Phaecians were not so welcoming they would pay a consequence just like the suitors did. When Odysseus visits the swineherd, Eumeasus says, “Come follow me into my place, old man, so you, at least, can eat your fill of bread and wine” (Homer 302-303). Xenia also appears when the swineherd takes care of Odysseus’s needs. The loyal swineherd also does not know if the old man that visited him is an important figure in Greek history but he still treats the old man with Xenia and respect. Xenia in Greek mythology has a rule that the host has to be friendly to the guest and not ask questions until the guest says his needs. Although Eumaeus, the swineherd, is not rich compared to other people he tries to help this old man whom he does not know is Odysseus. In return to the respect and hospitality he has shown Odysseus, he was promised to gain what his heart desires as a reward. The reader can also infer that if the swineherd did not show hospitality he may have been killed along with the suitors. Hospitality in, “The Odyssey” is the same every time since there are not multiple different ways to show hospitality.

There are different ways to make smart choices, and because of those choices rewards come towards them. Loyalty, cleverness and hospitality all reappear throughout the books that convey the theme. Does the choice that the character makes really affect what they get in the end? The reward or consequence depends on what type of choice that certain character made first. If the character made a smart choice they obviously got a good reward and vice versa;  if the character did a bad thing they received the bad end of the stick. Connecting this logic to the real world works too, as some people receive rewards after making a smart decision that does not bounce them back to what they were. In the epic poem there were both types of characters, some that made relatively smart choices like the ones previously talked about and some characters that made not so smart choices like the suitors which ended in their demise.