In Book 17, for example, he gives us the most critical depiction yet of Antinous, who disgusts even the other suitors with his abuse of the disguised Odysseus. Whereas other suitors at least give the beggar food, Antinous displays nothing but contempt for the man’s apparent low breeding and physically assails him; Penelope thus labels Antinous “the worst of all . . . black death itself” ( …
Book 1 Book 2 Book 3 Book 4 Book 5 Book 6 Book 7 Book 8 Book 9 Book 10 Book 11 Book 12 Book 13 Book 14 Book 15 Book 16 Book 17 Book 18 Book 19 Book 20 Book 21 Book 22 Book 23 Book 24 Themes All Themes Fate, the Gods, and Free Will Piety, Customs, and Justice Cunning, Disguise, and Self-Restraint Memory and Grief Glory and Honor
Odysseus-the-beggar left Egypt with a Phoenician con man, who convinced him to go to Libya. But Zeus struck their ship with lightning and he alone survived. He floated on the mast of the ship for nine days until he reached Thesprotia, where king Phidon treated him kindly and told him that Odysseus was sailing home with great treasure.
Book 17 - Stranger at the Gate. Odysseus walks to town the next morning, joined by Eumaeus, who still thinks he is accompanying an old beggar. Telemachus precedes them, cheering his mother with his presence and the stories of his trip. With the prince is a seer, Theoclymenus, who tells Penelope that Odysseus is on Ithaca now, gathering information. The queen wishes that …
Summary: Book 17 When he sits down to eat with Penelope, Telemachus tells her what little news he received of Odysseus in Pylos and Sparta, but he doesn't reveal that he has seen Odysseus with his own eyes in Eumaeus's hut. Theoclymenus then speaks up and swears that Odysseus is in Ithaca at this very moment.
Odysseus, disguised as a beggar, makes his way to the palace, where he is attacked by Antinous, one of the haughty suitors, who think they are better than any others, for asking for food as a beggar. Penelope hears about the assault, rebukes (or criticizes) the suitor and asks to see him.Dec 23, 2021
Him the nurse Eurycleia was far the first to see, as she was spreading fleeces on the richly-wrought chairs. With a burst of tears she came straight toward him, and round about them gathered the other maids of Odysseus of the steadfast heart, [35] and they kissed his head and shoulders in loving welcome.
Telemachus tells Eumaeus to instruct Odysseus-the-beggar to go around the table begging for scraps, and Athena seconds that advice: it's a way of separating the bad suitors from the innocent ones. Most suitors pity him and give him food, but Antinous asks Eumaeus angrily why he has brought the strange beggar to court.
Athena meets Odysseus on Ithaca and disguises him as an old beggar so that he can gain information without being recognized. He meets his loyal swineherd, Eumaeus, and is pleased with the man's hospitality as well as his devotion to his master, whom he does not recognize.
The first human to recognize the disguised Odysseus is Eurycleia, an old nurse. She recognizes him by a scar on his leg.
Meanwhile, Odysseus follows Eumaeus and Philoetius outside. He assures himself of their loyalty and then reveals his identity to them by means of the scar on his foot. He promises to treat them as Telemachus's brothers if they fight by his side against the suitors.
The very first piece of evidence Homer provides that Odysseus would be recognized by his family, is when the old dog recognizes who he was. The dog had been around since Odysseus had set sail on his epic journey. This makes the dog extremely old, and yet it still is able to recognize Odysseus' voice.
How does Odysseus test the suitors? He enters as a beggar to see how they treat him. The suitors reluctantly give him food. Who recognizes Odysseus right away?
It is Athena who commands Nausicaa to wash her clothes by the river in order to receive Odysseus and offering him hospitality. This intervention by Athena is absolutely crucial to the nostos (homecoming) of Odysseus as Odysseus then goes to the Palace of Alcinous and recites his journeys to the Phaecian nobles.May 24, 2021
He cries because he sees his dog that he raised as a puppy dying, and he wipes the tear away so that he doesn't let anyone know that he is actually Odysseus and not a beggar.
Book 17 of The OdysseyIn Book 17 of The Odyssey, Telemachus went to the palace to see his mother, Penelope. Odysseus, disguised as a beggar, also made his way to the palace, and was hit with a footstool. Penelope figured the beggar was well-traveled, and wanted to ask him about Odysseus's whereabouts.
Circe advises him to choose Scylla's violence over the whirlpool of Charybdis, but Odysseus wants the glory of repeating the Argo's amazing achievement and fight them off: a plan that risks the lives of the crewmen and shows disrespect to the gods .
The songs of the Sirens create pure, unmotivated desire, which overrides the listener's more particular desire for home, life, or anything. It is a dishonorable, selfish desire, lacking all self-restraint, that has no object but personal satisfaction.
He shared his experiences with the Cicones, the Lotus Eaters, and the cyclops Polyphemus. Now, in Book 10 of Homer's The Odyssey, he continues to tell about his hardships with the wind king, the Laestrygonians, and Circe.
He begins with this stay with Aeolus, the ''wind king dear to the gods.''. Odysseus and his crew stayed with him for an entire month. When preparing to leave, Aeolus gave Odysseus supplies, including ''a mighty bag, bottling storm winds.''.
Odysseus and his remaining crew next landed on Aeaea, the island where the beautiful goddess Circe lived. After resting two days, Odysseus went out hunting and saw ''a smoke wisp from the woodland hall of Circe.''. He decided to bring the crew breakfast before sending some of them to investigate.
Fleeing the Laestrygonians. With no winds to help them, Odysseus and his men had to row for ''six indistinguishable nights and days'' before they reached the shores of the Laestrygonians. They saw no cultivated land, but they did see smoke in the distance. Odysseus chose a few men to investigate.
Odysseus has finally reached his homeland of Ithaka, but his journey is not yet over. Athena has warned him that men are living in his house, eating his food, and trying to court his wife. He will have to face them eventually.
The swineherd Eumaios lives with the ''four lads the swineherd reared and kept as under-herdsman,'' his dogs, and the swine he keeps for Odysseus's household.
Odysseus asks who the master of the house is, saying maybe he came across the man in his wanderings and could provide some news. Eumaios is hesitant. After all, they have witnessed many ''men tell lies for a night's lodging.'' Sadly, he is convinced his master is long dead.
Instead of telling Eumaios the truth, the disguised Odysseus tells him he grew up in Krete. Though his mother was a concubine, his father treated him like a ''true born son.'' His brothers ''gave me a wretched portion'' of his father's wealth after his death, but his skill won him a rich wife. As it happens with everyone, time takes its toll.
With the help of Athena and a sea nymph named Leucothea, Odysseus makes it ashore on the island of Scheria, home of the Phaeacians. Analysis. Throughout the epic, Homer casually reveals upcoming events in a way that confirms the theory that the audience is already familiar with the plot.
Poseidon, returning from a visit to Ethiopia, spots Odysseus on the open sea, raises his trident, and sends a swamping storm that nearly drowns him.
The gods have gathered again on Olympus. Poseidon is notably absent, and Athena once more advocates Odysseus' case. Zeus agrees to send his son Hermes immediately to Ogygia in order to liberate the king of Ithaca from Calypso. Zeus advises Athena to help Telemachus return home unharmed, escaping the suitors' ambush.
As Odysseus lies awake on the ground, he restrains himself from killing the suitors, who cavort with women in their own beds. He asks Athena, who appears near him, how he alone can defeat them; she assures him that he will be fine with her protection, and sends him to sleep. Upstairs, Penelope is also sleepless and prays to Artemis to make her die. Her cries wake Odysseus, who prays to Zeus to give him a sign that he helped bring him home. Zeus sends down a peal of thunder, and one of Odysseus' maids takes it as a sign from Zeus and asks that this be the suitors' last day. Odysseus is encouraged.
She vows loyalty and silence. Penelope asks Odysseus to interpret a dream she has had about an eagle who preys on geese near her house, then talks to her and says the geese were the suitors and he is Odysseus. Odysseus tells her he believes the dream is accurate, but Penelope is skeptical.
Telemachus instead tells her to make a sacrifice to the gods to help them with their revenge. He meets up with the fugitive Theoklymenos in town and brings him home, where they receive baths. After, Telemachus tells his mother what he learned about Odysseus on his journey, although he lies and says Odysseus is still captive on Calypso's island. Theoklymenos, however, divines that Odysseus is now on the island somewhere, but Penelope is not ready to believe him. The suitors soon come in for dinner.
An actual beggar, Iros, enters the palace and violently orders Odysseus to leave. Odysseus tries to calm him down, but Iros challenges him to a fight. Antinous overhears the squabble and gathers the suitors to watch, promising a goat stomach and unlimited access to meals at the palace from now on to the victor.
Telemachus' resolve strengthens considerably in this scene. After he first reprimands them the suitors, they bite "their lips / at the ring in the young man's voice" (293-4). Interestingly, in the Robert Fitzgerald translation, Antinous calls this Telemachus' "hectoring" (297). The verb "hector" derives from the Greek hero Hector, who is slain by Achilles in The Iliad. Although the boastful Hector meets an untimely end, Fitzgerald's choice of words highlights Telemachus' approach to heroism.
Odysseus and Telemachus stow away the weapons as planned. Telemachus goes to bed while Odysseus meets Penelope and her maids. Melantho again disparages his beggarly appearance, and Odysseus again reminds her he was once powerful, and warns her of Odysseus' return. Penelope also reprimands Melantho.