Loyalty In Odysseus And Argos

Loyalty is the foundation for any type of relationship-- relying on one another to have faith in the other person. When that faith dwindles is when their true devotion is tested. Both “Argus” by Alexander Pope and Argos Recognizes Odysseus by Theodoor Van Thulden use Odysseus coming home from war to a welcoming greeting from his old dog he had left behind to show that loyalty can last a lifetime if trust is put into the right person. Both of these works have been compared and used as a way to represent true love and patriotism between two beings. The poem “Argus” by Alexander Pope explains Argos’ condition when Odysseus returns from the ten year Trojan war and his ten year journey back. Argos is described to have been mistreated, neglected
Being an only child, he had much time to himself; therefore giving him an opportunity to explore his interests and develop a love for writing poetry early on. He was self taught, only attending school a few years due to his religion-- which greatly restricted him and his family from many things in London. Whatever he didn’t teach himself, he learned from a priest that tutored Alexander from time to time. His first piece of poetry ("Ode To Solitude") was composed at only age twelve, and it set the frame for all his other pieces. Throughout his lifetime, he taught himself French, Italian, Latin and Greek, which aided him in his translation process of both "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey”. Though poetry occupied most of his time, he had a love for architecture. Using money from successful works, he had built a beautiful grotto-- much of which was demolished after his death on May 30th, 1744. He was diagnosed early on in his childhood with Pott’s disease, a form of Tuberculosis that affected his spine-- stunting his growth, so he never exceeded 4'6. He was also a lifelong sufferer of headaches because of the aforementioned disease. Alexander had 16 major works all composed during 1709-1735, though after 1738 he had lost motivation and wrote very little during these times. He was never married, though he had many female friends whom he often wrote to. "The Rape of the Lock" and his
In the painting, Odysseus and two of his crew members can be seen greeting Argos-- who is staring lovingly up at Odysseus, having awaiting his arrival for 20 years. They both are filled with joy despite the fact Argos is old and close to death. Though Argos had been abandoned for 20 years, he still looks very muscular and fit from years of training. It can be concluded that Argos was once a strong and fierce dog in his younger years, however, regardless of how fit Argos looks, he is still in a dying state. He and Odysseus manage to have a moment together before Argos is taken by death. This painting alone speaks volumes of how relieved both Odysseus and Argos are to finally see each other. Odysseus was not expecting to see Argos, yet Argos had waited his entire life to meet with his master once again. It can even be said that Argos had put off death until Odyesseus’ return. Thulden uses facial expressions and the character’s body language to set the mood of this painting. The mood can be described as heavy-hearted and conflicting; Argos is happy to see Odysseus, but Odysseus knows Argos is dying and he does not have much time with