THE ODYSSEY
Book Twenty-One
Penélopê brings
forth Odysseus' bow and arrows and challenges the suitors to compete in
the aforementioned archery contest. Telémakhos prepares the
axes in a trench and he himself tries to string the bow first, but he stops
trying at a sign from Odysseus. The suitors all try unsuccessfully
to string the bow.
Eumaios and Philoítios
leave the hall dispirited, but Odysseus follows them and reveals to them
that he is their master. He praises their loyalty and promises reward
if they will stand beside him against the suitors.
Inside, Antínoös
has called for an end to the trying of the bow and a commencement of feasting.
Odysseus enters and asks for a chance at the bow. Antínoös
is insulted by the beggar's arrogance and berates him, but Penéopê
takes up the cause and exchanges harsh words with Eurymakhos. Finally,
Telémakhos takes control and offers the bow to the beggar, who,
amid derisive laughter and taunts from the suitors, slowly but effortlessly
strings the bow and shoots the arrow straight through every axe socket
ring. The suitors are silent as Odysseus reveals himself to be the
hero returned to the palace.
Book Twenty-Two
Odysseus kills Antínoös,
and the vengeance begins. Telémakhos kills Amphínomos,
and father and son proceed to rid the hall of the unwanted rogues remaining.
Melánthios retrieves the weapons Odysseus and Telémakhos
hid earlier, but he is discovered by Eumaios and Philoítios, who,
at Odysseus' command, bind him to the storeroom rafters. Athena,
in the guise of Mentor, appears to aid the warriors against the suitors,
who are quickly dispatched.
Leódês,
the suitors' priest, begs for his life but Odysseus decapitates him.
Only Phêmios and Medôn are spared. Odysseus calls for
Eurykleia to identify those among the women who dishonored him. The
twelve who "went bad" are forced to clean the death-filled hall and then
they are hung and Melánthios is dismembered.
Odysseus purifies the palace
with "fire and brimstone" and is tearfully welcomed by his faithful servants.
Book Twenty-Three
Eurykleia wakens Penélopê
and tells her that Odysseus has returned and killed the suitors, but the
queen believes the old woman is insane. The maid insists that the
old beggar was Odysseus masquerading, and Penélopê begins
to believe, or at least to hope, the story is true, but her rational mind
entertains the thought that perhaps the beggar was a god in disguise and
that Odysseus "died far from Akhaia." Finally, she descends the stairs
and sees one who certainly looks like her husband sitting in the hall.
Telémakhos bids her
sit with the hero and question him, accusing her of being cold towards
her own husband, but Penélopê says that if he is truly Odysseus,
there are secret signs only the two of them know. Odysseus commands
Phêmios to sing as if for a wedding feast, saying the deaths of the
suitors should remain secret until the royal family can retreat to the
woods.
The hero bathes and presents
himself to his wife, accusing her of being aloof and telling the maid to
prepare for him a bed. Penélopê instructs the maid to
place his bed outside her bedchamber, at which Odysseus rages, saying that
no one dared move his bed as it was carved from a living olive tree and
could not be moved. At that, Penélopê knows that the
man is truly Odysseus and runs to him. They spend the night in the
joy of reunion, and Odysseus tells her of all his wanderings.
The next day, Odysseus plans
to visit his father, Laërtês.
Book Twenty-Four
The spirits of the suitors are
being led by Hermês to the underworld, where they meet the ghosts
of Akhilleus and Agamémnon and tell how they came to be dead.
Agamémnon's shade praises Odysseus' luck in marrying "a valiant
wife."
Odysseus and his men visit
Laërtês. Odysseus approaches his father alone and is saddened
by the old man's wasted appearance. He presents himself as a visitor
to Ithaka in search of his old friend, Odysseus. Laërtês
identifies himself as the hero's father but says Odysseus has been lost
for many years. The hero says his name is Quarrelman and that he
saw Odysseus five years ago. Laërtês groans in pain, and
Odysseus can no longer sustain the lie. He embraces his father and
admits his identity, but Laërtês demands proof, so the hero
shows his scar and remembers the trees his father planted when Odysseus
was a child. Laërtês is convinced but is also fearful
that the deaths of the suitors will enrage the Ithakans. Odysseus
seems unconcerned. The men join Telémakhos, Eumaios, and Philoítios
at lunch, which is interrupted by the arrival of the servant Dólios
and his sons, who are invited to eat as well.
In town, the news of the
suitors' deaths begins to circulate and Eupeithês, father
of Antínoös, calls for revenge. Medôn declares
that Odysseus' actions were guided by the gods, and Halithersês says,
in essence, "I told you so" and that they should "let matters rest."
Eupeithês, however, manages to rally some support to seek vengeance
on Odysseus.
Athena questions Zeus as
to the outcome of the matter, and Zeus tells her to "conclude it as [she]
will," that Odysseus should "be king by a sworn pact forever." She
descends from Olympos to aid the hero.
The Ithakans go to Laërtês'
abode to fight Odysseus, but the hero finds allies in Dólios and
sons, his own father, his herdsmen, his son, and Athena in the guise of
Mentor. Laërtês, strengthened with a little help from
Athena, kills Eupeithês, and the fighting begins in earnest until
Athena calls for a cessation of the bloodshed. Frightened by the
goddess, the men drop their weapons and flee. Odysseus begins to
chase after them but is stopped by a thunderbolt from Zeus and a command
from Athena to call off the battle.
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