The appearance of risk versus reward in The Odyssey gives the poem a great sense of adventure. As a reader, you know that either something very good or something very bad is going to happen based on even the smallest of choices made throughout the poem. Being that The Odyssey is an epic narrative of a Greek "hero," the reader is definitely privy to suspense. While Odysseus and his men are on their journey home they're constantly faced with never-ending decisions. Each decision that's made is followed by some sort of risk; the differentiating factor is the "reward" of these drastic decisions that are made. Throughout the poem there are several examples of the wide variety of risks and rewards correlating with Odysseus and his men. .
We see that Odysseus is extremely prideful and seems to care for the morale of his fellow men. He rewards them with women and the treasures of the Cicones on their long journey home, "The wind drove me out of Ilium on to Ismarus, the Cicones' stronghold. There I sacked the city, killed the men, but as for the wives and plunder, that rich haul we dragged away from the place- we shared it round so no one, not on my account, would go deprived of his fair share of spoils" (bk 9, lns 44-49.) His men, believing as though they deserved a much bigger reward took a risk and acted very foolishly. The crew could not be satisfied with the reward Odysseus gave them and for this they were punished, losing several of their own men. The crew was solely focused with the rewards of travels and had no outlook of the risks they're taking at this point on their journey. Yet again another similar situation, the land of the Lotus-Eaters, Odysseus' men are given a small task and asked to provide surveillance but are forcibly drug back to their ship because they are became addicted to the Lotus. Fearing that his men will all surely capitulate to this plant, Odysseus pushes ahead, clearly acknowledging the risk and forgoing the reward.