"As if the gods
had never given me blows and groans aplenty…
Here I sit, my heart aching, broken for him,
my master, my great king – fattening up
his own hogs for other men to eat, while he,
starving for food, I wager, wanders the earth,
a beggar adrift in strangers’ cities, foreign-speaking lands,
if he’s still alive, that is, still sees the rising sun."
– Homer
The Odyssey, Book 14, lines 42-49. When Odysseus-the-beggar seeks hospitality from Eumaeus, the swineherd speaks of his broken heart for his missing master. Less concerned for his own suffering, he is more worried about the trials of his starving master wandering the earth, if indeed he is still alive. The portrayal of the theme of loyalty through the character of Eumaeus is an important part of The Odyssey story. There is dramatic irony here, since Eumaeus doesn’t realize that he is speaking to his master, but the reader does.