"The Odyssey,' written by Homer in the Bronze Age, sometime around the twelfth century B.C., begins where the "Iliad," ends and covers the ten years after the fall of Troy. In the story itself, Odysseus travels around the Aegean and surrounding seas and for the climax of the story, he returns home to Ithaca. Every great story, always has popular and important themes that may or may not have hidden morals and beliefs. Popular themes in "The Odyssey," are the "power of cunning over strength, the pitfalls of temptation, the tension between goals and obstacles, and the misery of separation."
             "The misery of separation" is shown clearly in book XXIII. In this book Homer describes Odysseus' long awaited twenty-year reunion with Penelope, the hero's wife. Odysseus has returned to Ithaca and the nurse believes it at first and goes to tell Penelope. A brief excerpt from the book will show. "Wake, wake up dear child! Penelope, come down, see with your own eyes what all these years you longed for! Odysseus is here! Oh, in the end he came! And he has killed your suitors, killed them all who made his house a bordel and ate his cattle and raised against his son!" says Eurykleia. Penelope enters the room. "Dear nurse...the gods have touched you. They can put chaos into the clearest head or bring a lunatic down to earth. Good sense you always had. They've touched you. What is this mockery you wake me to tell me, breaking in on my sweet spell of sleep? I had not dozed away to tranquilly since my lord went to war, on that ill wind to Ilion. Oh, leave me! Back down stairs! If any other of my women came in babbling things like these to startle me, I'd see her flogged out of the house! Your old age spares you that." Odysseus' wife, Penelope was in such disbelief of her husband's promised return that threatened her own caretaker to be...