Piety In The Odyssey

Though different works, both the Iliad and the Odyssey of Homer each contain one outstanding character that excels in virtue. Even when forced to live with a dilemma that he or she did not cause, both Hektor, in the Iliad, and Penelope, in the Odyssey, remain virtuous. This becomes clear through their rigid fidelity to their spouses, their piety to the gods, and their resolute natures in the situations presented to them.
The unfortunate circumstances in which both Hektor and Penelope find themselves not been caused by either of them by any means. Their problems are a result of the adulterous relationship of Paris and Helen, which has caused the Trojan War. Hektor is required to fight a war that he does not support, which he realizes and
Helen attempts to seduce Hektor in order to keep him out of battle, however he unwaveringly turns her down: “Do not, Helen,/ make me sit with you, though you love me. You will not persuade me./…I am going first to my own house, so I can visit/…my own people, my beloved wife”. (Iliad Book Six lines 359-366) Hektor, rather than even considering adultery, leaves quickly in order to speak with his own wife before he leaves again for battle. The charm that Helen has over Menelaos and Paris holds no sway over Hektor, who is faithful to Adromanche and his own people. The attempts to seduce Penelope are far more persistent and by many men. As Odysseus is held up on his voyage home, he is presumed dead and therefore Penelope a widow. As a widow she is expected to remarry. Yet in spite of the social pressure to remarry, she keeps hope that Odysseus is still alive and remains faithful to him by any means possible. For instance, in order to stall the marriage, Penelope tells the suitors that she will marry after completing a burial shroud for Laertes, Odysseus’ father, but every night unravels the work that she had done that day. This shows her hope that Odysseus is still alive, as Laertes is a metaphor for Odysseus and her refusal to believe him dead. Penelope is also always modest when dealing with the suitors, as a married woman
Instead of scorning the gods when things start to go wrong, Hektor makes sacrifices to them in order to appease them. Even as the Achaians, supported by Athene, are destroying the Trojans, Hektor, by Helenos suggestion, rallies the elder men and women to make sacrifices to Athene so that she will spare their city: “tell/the elder men who sit as counselors, and our own wives,/to make their prayer to the immortals and promise them hecatombs.” (Iliad Book Six lines 113-115) Hektor also shows his humble piety when he says “with hands unwashed I would take shame to pour the glittering/wine to Zeus” (Iliad Book Six lines 266-267), showing that he feels unworthy to make sacrifice to Zeus in his unclean state. Unfortunately for Hektor, his prayers are unanswered and his people are ultimately destroyed. Penelope is also a picture of piety in her continuous prayers to the gods, despite her terrible circumstances. When discovering that her son, Telemachus, has left on a voyage and that the suitors plan on killing him on his return, Penelope acknowledges that “The Olympian has given me [her] sorrows” (Odyssey Book IV line 722). However, instead of being angry with the gods, Penelope is pious in her suffering and prays for her son’s survival to Athene: “Hear me, Atrytone, child of Zeus of the aegis/….save for me my beloved/ son”. (Odyssey Book IV lines 762-766) Penelope’s prayers, unlike Hektor’s, are answered