"Alcinous, majesty, shining among your island people,
make your libations, launch me safely on my way –
to one and all, farewell!
All is now made good, my heart’s desire,
your convoy home, your precious, loving gifts,
and may the gods of Olympus bless them for me!
May I find an unswerving wife when I reach home,
and loved ones hale, unharmed."
– Homer
The Odyssey, Book 13, lines 42-49. Odysseus’ ally King Alcinous helps him by providing him with a ship to sail home to Ithaca. Odysseus thanks Alcinous for the passage home and his generous gifts. He looks forward to being reunited with his unswervingly loyal wife Penelope when he reaches Ithaca. Loyalty is one of the most important virtues in Homer’s epic poem.