The main theme of Homer's epic poem, "The Odyssey", is the journey of the tragic hero to return home. The main character, Odysseus, is faced with many supernatural trials on his return from Troy. Our hero faces murderous sirens, a bloodthirsty cyclops, and even the god of the sea Posedion himsel in order to return to his kingdom. Once there he's greated by a usurper who he must also over throw. In the end, Homer weaves a tell about the resilience of the human spirit to acheive its goals no matter the odds.
One major theme of The Odyssey concerns the beauty of home. For Odysseus, there is simply no place like home. As he says early on to King Alcinous of Phaeacia, "Nothing more sweet than home and parents can there be, however rich one's dwelling in a foreign land, cut off from parents." Odysseus misses his family terribly, especially after such an incredibly long absence of around twenty years, and he relies on the undying loyalty and love of his wife, Penelope, and son, Telemachus, to be there when he returns.
Another major theme of this epic poem regards the importance of xenia, an extreme version of hospitality that Greeks were morally obligated to offer because travelers were under the especial protection of Zeus. When Polyphemus, the Cyclops, for example, fails to offer Odysseus and his men xenia, choosing instead to imprison and eat them two-by-two, Odysseus is permitted by the gods to blind the monster. Were Odysseus not offered hospitality in many locations, like Phaeacia, it is likely that he would not have made it home to Ithaca.
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