What do the lotus eaters represent in 'The Odyssey'?

They are a people the Greeks meet in northern Africa on their return from Troy. They are unfocused and seem to reside in a different world by the consumption of the lotus (>Greek) 'lotos', a word the Greeks used for several kinds of flowers and plants. read more

The lotus eaters represent one of the several temptations and/or threats that could lead Odysseus to fail in or abandon his quest to return home. read more

of them who ate the honey-sweet fruit of lotus was unwilling to take any message back, or to go away, but they wanted to stay there with the lotus-eating people, feeding on lotus, and forget the way home. read more

The easy thing to do would be to stay with the Lotus eaters and live happily, without ever reaching home, seeing his son, or his wife, Penelope. read more