Eumaeus
Εὔμαιος
The servant who welcomed his beggared master without recognizing him.
Born a king's son, he was kidnapped as a child and sold into slavery, raised in the household of Laertes to become Ithaca's swineherd.
When Odysseus returned after twenty years dressed as a beggar, Eumaeus did not recognize him — yet gave him the best of everything he had and a place to sleep. It was a world where hospitality was the measure of a person.
Once he learned the truth, he stood by his master in the fight against the suitors.
Homer addresses this character, and only this one, directly — "O swineherd Eumaeus" — a rare passage where the poet's affection shows.
SourcesHomer, Odyssey