The Odyssey-Major Themes

Homecoming (Nostos)

• Return and restoration

• Reclaiming identity

• Reuniting family

•  Restoring social order

Hospitality (Xenia)

• Good hosts: Nestor, Menelaus, Eumaeus, Phaeacians

• Bad hosts: Suitors, Cyclops

• Violation of hospitality justifies punishment

Recognition

• Scar

• Argos the dog

• Bed test

• Family reunions

Cunning vs Strength

• Odysseus succeeds through intelligence more than physical power.

• Lies, disguises, testing people, strategic planning.

Justice and Revenge

• Orestes as a parallel.

• Is Odysseus' revenge justified?-Depends on whether your opinion aligns with Homer’s view or with the modern view. I would say yes because his reputation was threatened, and the suitors threatened his hospitality by feasting on his livestock, drinking his wine, and pressured Penelope to remarry. 

• Relationship between justice and violence.

Human Agency vs. Divine Intervention

• Athena guides.

• Poseidon obstructs.

• Zeus oversees.

• Humans still responsible for their choices