The more she spoke, the more a deep desire for tears
welled up inside his breast – he wept as he held the wife
he loved, the soul of loyalty, in his arms at last.
Joy, warm as the joy that shipwrecked sailors feel
when they catch sight of land – Poseidon has struck
their well-rigged ship on the open sea with gale winds
and crushing walls of waves, and only a few escape, swimming,
struggling out of the frothing surf to reach the shore,
their bodies crusted with salt but buoyed up with joy
as they plant their feet on solid ground again,
spared a deadly fate. So joyous now to her
the sight of her husband, vivid in her gaze,
that her white arms, embracing his neck
would never for a moment let him go.
– Homer
The Odyssey, Book 23, lines 259-272. There are tears of happiness as Odysseus and Penelope, the very "soul of loyalty," hold each other like they will never let go. The joy of Odysseus’ homecoming and reunion with his wife is compared in a Homeric simile to that of a sailor shipwrecked by Poseidon who manages to swim safely to shore.