Odyssey, Part II Notes

Odysseus returns

• Returns on King Alcinous’s ship
• Must dress as beggar
• Athena is helper/guardian

Eumaeus

• Faithful servant
• Swineherd (pig keeper)
• Doesn’t know O b/c of disguise
• Welcomes/nice to O

Telemachus

• O’s son
• Traveled to Pylos and Sparta to find dad
• Athena said “go home”
• O’s house is over-run with suitors
• T’s mom must choose new husband
• Athena warns: suitors plan ambush
• T gets home secretly
• T has been away 1 year

Father and son meet

• Dogs play with T
• O doesn’t recognize T
• E is very happy to see T – acts like dad
• T says to E: I want to see you first
• First thing: T, E, and O share a meal
• T and O don’t know each other b/c O wears disguise
• Athena changes O to young and new
• T thinks O is a god
• T denies O is father
• T finally accepts O as father
• They both cry

Beggar and his faithful dog

• Argos = O’s dog
• Trained by O
• Hunter dog
• Sleeps on dung, abandoned
• Wags tail when he hears O
• Very good hunting dog
• No one takes care of him now
• Argos dies

Penelope

• P delayed the suitors by telling them she must weave a rug for lost husband
• Each night, she undid the work from that day
• One of the maids tattled on her

• P supports O (as beggar)
• P wants to talk to O about O
• P gets mad at T for letting O be abused by suitors
• P sings praises of O
• O and T later discuss plan
• O will test P and maids
• Some maids not faithful
• O tells P three things: (1) “Beggar” makes up origin when he talks to P; (2) O praises himself to P; (3) O tells P that he is on his way

Eurycleia and Odysseus

• P = happy at O’s news
• P tells Eury to wash O’s feet (sign of respect)
• Eury = O’s nurse / nanny
• Eury recognizes O by scar on leg
• O makes Eury promise NOT to tell

Penelope

• P decides to test suitors
• O is very mad at suitors and maids
• Athena says: don’t fear – suitors will die

The Test of the Great Bow

• P proposes “impossible” task for suitors
• String bow = impossible for all except O
• O left his bow in Ithaca
• Test is twofold: string bow and shoot arrow clean through 12 axhead sockets
• Many suitors try; all fail

Faithful servants

• Swineherd and cowherd leave; they are sad
• O asks them if they’d be faithful to O if he returns
• Both say they’d be faithful
• O reveals himself to them
• If they help O defeat suitors, he promises wives, cattle, and houses to both
• O shows them his scar
• Tells them to return to room
• When he asks for the bow, suitors will laugh
• Give him the bow anyway
• Tell women to bar the doors and lock them tight
• If they hear screams / fighting – don’t open the door

Odysseus revealed

• O asks for bow – suitors don’t like the idea
• P says O must have a chance – accepts him as suitor
• E removes P and all maids from room
• T had removed all suitors weapons from room before
• O tests the bow for weaknesses – suitors jest
• O easily strings the bow
• Zeus thundered
• O easily shoots arrow through axes
• T stands by his father with weapons, ready to defend

Death at the Palace

• O must deal with more than 100 suitors
• O confronts Antinous, meanest of suitors
• Antinous broke a stool on O; teased and ridiculed him
• O loses his rags and aims for Antinous
• O shoots Antinous through the throat
• Suitors are angry, but find no weapons or shields
• O reveals himself: “Your last hour has come. You die in blood.”
• Eurymachus tries to bargin with reason and bribery:
• Reason: why kill more? You already killed Antinous, the cause of all troubles
• Bribery: we’ll replenish what we’ve used
• O says: you all will die for what you’ve done
• T helps his father kill all suitors
• Suitors can’t leave because doors are locked

Odysseus and the maids

• O makes maids clean up dead suitors
• T “pays” maids by hanging them in courtyard
• They were loyal to suitors and had to be punished

Odysseus and Penelope

• Eury tells P of O’s return and defeat of suitors
• P still doesn’t believe – wants to test O
• T is angry at P for not welcoming O
• P says: she is shocked and confused
• Later, P says to move bed into hall
• O says: bed can’t be moved
• O says: he built bed around an olive tree
• P very happy that O is her husband