Homer uses the epic's opening to introduce the plot, the theme, and the characters of the work. Almost immediately, he delineates two plots that eventually will merge. One is the story of Odysseus who is held captive on Ogygia by Calypso. The other is centered in Ithaca where Odysseus' wife, Penelope, struggles to ward off a number of suitors and hopes for reliable word from or about her husband.
Homer also introduces several themes that will recur throughout the epic. These include hospitality, reputation, revenge, and power. Throughout, people are responsible for their choices but always susceptible to intervention by the gods.
In the world of Odysseus, one's most treasured possession is his good reputation. One's reputation is determined by how others view him, assessing his character, values, and behavior according to the prevailing social standards and mores. Zeus himself affirms Odysseus' character (1.78–80). Apparently all the gods, except for vengeful Poseidon, hold Odysseus in high regard. Athena, whose curse initially caused Odysseus' wanderings, now wants to forgive and bring him home. When Athena (in disguise) visits Ithaca, she first receives a hospitable welcome from Telemachus (1.144–46) and then gets the usual barrage of questions that strangers face throughout the epic (1.197–204), which are designed to elicit indications of reputation.
The social concept of hospitality is essential to both major plots in The Odyssey. (In fact, this concept was also the reason for the Trojan War in The Iliad. Paris breaches the hospitality of King Menalaus when he runs off with — or steals — Menelaus' wife, Helen, and takes her back to Troy with him.) In The Odyssey, the reader first sees hospitality exploited by Penelope's suitors. They have turned Odysseus' home into their own private party hall and spend most of their time feasting and drinking at the host's expense.
