Euryclea

Euryclea is the aged, devoted nurse of Odysseus (Ulysses)' household, a figure of unshakeable loyalty spanning more than two decades of separation. Having nursed Odysseus (Ulysses) from birth, she maintains an intimate knowledge of his person and history—including the telltale scar above his knee acquired during a boar hunt on Mount Parnassus. When Odysseus (Ulysses) returns to Ithaca in disguise, it is Euryclea who performs the ritual of washing the stranger's feet and, through touch, recognizes the scar that proves his identity. Her moment of joyful recognition—eyes streaming with tears of both grief and joy—nearly betrays him to Penelope, prompting Odysseus (Ulysses) to seize her by the throat and demand her silence on pain of death. Yet Euryclea's allegiance remains unshaken; she swears herself to secrecy "like a stone or a piece of iron" and later offers crucial intelligence about which servants have betrayed the household during the suitors' occupation. Her role embodies the deep bonds of household loyalty in the ancient world, where a nurse's love for her charge transcends the formal hierarchy of servant and master.