The Odyssey Theme of Family

The Greek concept of the family reflected in the Odyssey includes not only immediate family but ancestors as well. It is oriented toward the past, as men are introduced with their lineage and judged for their name. Still, there are less formal and more emotional aspects to family in this epic; loyalty to one’s blood is unwavering, whether it be a wife’s faithfulness to her husband, a son’s love for his father, or a man’s ceaseless determination to get home to his family.

1. How do sons view their fathers in the Odyssey? What characteristics do they wish to emulate?
2. As we all noticed, Homer sometimes gives ancestry and family background for even the most minor of characters. Sure, we might roll our eyes at the seemingly unnecessary digressions, but what might be the point of all this? Why is family history so important to understanding a character in the Odyssey?
3. How is the institution of marriage honored in the Odyssey, both by the main characters and by minor ones?
4. Are the loyal servants in Odysseus’s household considered part of the family? Or is a servant just a servant?

The father-son relationship is more important to the Odyssey that the husband-wife relationship.

The husband-wife relationship is more important to the Odyssey than the father-son relationship.