Eumaeus, a swineherd, servant, and loyal friend of Odysseus, provides insight into the Greek view of fate and one's station in life. Even though Odysseus and Telemachus treat Eumaeus with kindness and respect, Eumaeus is clearly below their station in life--in his eyes and theirs. As it turns out, however, Eumaeus originally belonged in the upper classes: he was kidnapped--pirated away--from his upper class family when a child and bought from his captors by Laertes, Odysseus' father, and he then became part of the servant class. When Odysseus hears Eumaeus tell the story of how he arrived in Ithaca, Odysseus' reaction is not to express horror that Eumaeus has been placed in the "wrong" social station but that Eumaeus should be happy because he has always been treated well as a servant. This seems at first to be an incongruous reaction, but it is in keeping with the Greek belief system: Eumaeus is where he is because the Gods and Fates placed him there, and it is not mankind's right to alter his fate in any material way.
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