"Why, any tramp washed up on Ithaca’s shores
scurries right to my mistress, babbling lies,
and she ushers him in, kindly, pressing for details,
and the warm tears of grief come trickling down her cheeks,
the loyal wife’s way when her husband’s died abroad."
– Homer
The Odyssey, Book 14, lines 147-151. Despite Odysseus’ lengthy absence from home, Penelope has remained loyal to him, Eumaeus reveals. She is so desperate for her husband’s return that she asks for news of him from every vagabond who arrives in Ithaca. They deceive her with lies in the hope of getting bed and board.