"The Odyssey" also demands that guests show similar kindness in return to their hosts. While Odysseus is not blameless and morally upright in his actions towards others and he has an occasionally violent temper, he usually only strikes back at a host when he is threatened, as in the case of the Cyclops. For this demonstration of his need for kindness when he is wandering, he is rewarded, finally, with the restoration of his homeland.

Whether Odysseus will return is a question that arises over the course of Book 14. Although Eumaeus does not believe his master is returning, he makes a sacrifice to the gods in the hopes that Odysseus will return, and even though Odysseus has arrived, he has not fully 'returned' to his old position even by this part of the book, because his ability to regain his palace remains in doubt. He still needs to be...
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