The Odyssey elevates loyalty as one of the noblest virtues. Eumaeus, one of the most loyal characters in the poem, is the only character Homer addresses directly and, indeed, lovingly. In contrast, Odysseus’s servants who have betrayed him in his absence are met with swift retribution. This includes the goatherd Melanthius, who has befriended the wicked suitors, and the maidservant Melantho, who regularly sleeps with the suitor Eurymachus. Some of Odysseus’s maidservants also betrayed Penelope in Odysseus’s absence, as they revealed to the suitors Penelope’s disingenuous plot to keep them at bay with her weaving of Laertes’s shroud. After Odysseus slaughters the suitors, he orders the execution of all of these servants.

Odysseus’s shipmates are also punished in all the instances in which they exhibit disloyalty to their master, Odysseus. One of these instances is when they raid Ismarus against Odysseus’s wishes and so are massacred by the Ciconian forces. Another is when they open Aeolus’s ox-skin pouch of winds when Odysseus is asleep, thwarting their journey homeward. Their gravest disobedience, however, is slaughtering one of Helios’s cattle, which Odysseus had made them swear not to do. This invokes the gods’ wrath, and all of Odysseus’s men subsequently perish in a great storm sent by Zeus.

The theme of loyalty, however, is most prominently seen in the character of Odysseus’s wife, Penelope. Throughout the poem, Penelope emphasizes her longing for her husband’s return and the fact that she has no desire to remarry. Even when Eurycleia joyfully informs her that Odysseus has returned and slaughtered all the suitors, Penelope remains cautious. This is because she knows that the gods might be testing her loyalty as a wife. In the Homeric universe, wives are judged more harshly than their husbands, as seen in the case of Clytemnestra, who is repeatedly condemned by different characters for her infidelity. Unlike Clytemnestra, Penelope remains faithful and loyal to Odysseus for almost two decades. In contrast, Odysseus has affairs with Circe and Calypso and yet is not condemned or judged harshly for it. It is fitting, therefore, that Penelope sees fit to test Odysseus before embracing him. Even with the suitors dead and Odysseus standing before her, she still refuses to believe he has returned. When she hints that their marriage bed has been moved, Odysseus loses his composure, one of the only times he does so in the poem. In the end, therefore, Penelope proves to be Odysseus’s equal in wit. It is only after Odysseus reveals his knowledge of their marriage bed that Penelope tearfully reunites with her husband.