BOOK 1 SUMMARY
The poet invokes the Muse. The gods hold a council: Athena appeals to Zeus about Odysseus, who is trapped far from home, on the island of the nymph Calypso. Zeus promises to send Hermes, the messenger god, to make Calypso help Odysseus go home. Athena goes to Ithaca in the guise of Mentor and inspires Telemachus, assuring him that his father is alive. Then she flies away, like a bird. The singer, Phemius, begins to sing about Troy; Penelope is made upset by the topic, and tries to stop him. Telemachus, to her surprise, intervenes, scolds her, and makes her go upstairs. Telemachus announces that he will be calling a meeting the next day. Antinous and Eurymachus speak to him nastily and try to find out who Athena was.
1.29–30 Aegisthus, who was killed / by Agamemnon’s famous son Orestes: Agamemnon was killed on his return home by the usurper Aegisthus, with the help of Agamemnon’s adulterous wife, Clytemnestra. Orestes, Agamemnon and Clytmenestra’s son, came back and killed his mother and Aegisthus.
1.63 why do you dismiss Odysseus?: The word in the original for Zeus’ hostile treatment of Odysseus, odussomai (“to hate” or in this version, “to dismiss”) is reminiscent of the name “Odysseus.” See also the notes to 19.274–75 and 19.408.
1.105 the Taphian leader: The Taphians were an island people from the Ionian Sea.
1.145 observing proper order: There may be an implication that the suitors seat themselves according to some kind of rank, with the more important ones in the group getting a more honorable position.
BOOK 2 SUMMARY
Telemachus calls an assembly and speaks to the elite men of Ithaca about the trouble caused him by the suitors. Antinous, a leading suitor, explains Penelope’s trick with the loom. Zeus sends two eagles that attack the faces of the men in the crowd, and an Ithacan named Halitherses explains that this is a prophecy that Odysseus is on his way home. Mentor speaks up for Telemachus; the suitors (Eurymachus and Leocritus) resist the warnings. Telemachus asks for a ship to travel in search of news about his father. He prays for Athena’s help; disguised as Mentor, she appears to him and
promises to help him and equip a ship for him. At dinner, the suitors tease Telemachus. He slips out secretly, gets provisions with the help of Eurycleia, and goes down to the shore, where Athena, disguised as Mentor, has prepared the ship, borrowed from Noëmon, and assembled a crew. They pack up and set sail.
2.53 choose who should be her husband: Here, Telemachus makes it sound as if it is Icarius who will choose a new husband for Penelope, although later, in response to Antinous, he suggests that it is up to Penelope herself (l. 131). The ambiguity is part of a larger tension in the poem about how much agency Penelope has.
2.71 Friends, leave me be: Telemachus switches from addressing the suitors to addressing the general population of Ithaca.
2.73–74 Or did Odysseus, my warlike father, / deliberately do harm to our own side?: Irony: Telemachus assumes that it is obvious that Odysseus was always a helper to the Greek side.
2.154 their talons ripped each face and neck: The original may mean “at each other’s faces and necks” or, more likely, “ripping at their own faces and necks” (as if in a gesture of mourning, perhaps for the sorrows of the house of Telemachus—although it is hard to see how a flying bird could actually do this). The interpretation given here is linguistically difficult, but was proposed in late antiquity, and makes better sense of the sign, since the birds are presumably meant to be parallel to Telemachus and Odysseus, who will attack the suitors.
2.155 to the right they flew, across the town: Signs on the right side were supposed to be lucky, so this is a good omen.
2.160 excelled at prophecy and knew the birds: Prophets observed bird flight in order to predict the future.
2.190–91 he will be hurt, and never get to act / on any of these prophecies of yours: This line about Telemachus’ being unable to act on the prophet’s words is believed to be spurious by many editors.
2.317–19 I will try to bring down doom / on your heads here at home or when I go / to Pylos: These lines were thought to be spurious by an ancient editor (Aristarchus), presumably because they suggest that Telemachus is not sure whether he will go to Pylos or not, and hence, not sure whether he will destroy the suitors directly, or from afar.
2.320–21 I do not own / a ship or have a crew—because of you!: Telemachus has seen through Antinous’ false promise that the Greeks will provide a ship, and he is suggesting that, if he had not been deprived of his inheritance by the suitors, he would already have the means for his journey without having to rely on others.
2.386–87 the son of Phronius, / Noëmon: Both names suggest wisdom or mindfulness, and the name Phronius occurs only here.
BOOK 3 SUMMARY
Telemachus reaches Pylos, home of old King Nestor, where he receives a warm welcome. Nestor tells how the Greeks destroyed Troy, and then were cursed by Athena. The brothers Agamemnon and Menelaus quarreled, the troops split up, and the fleet was scattered on their homeward journey. Nestor himself reached home safely; Agamemnon was killed by Aegisthus, who had seduced his wife; Menelaus was swept off to Egypt by a storm. Nestor warns Telemachus to remember the story of Aegisthus, and be wary. He advises him to go visit Menelaus, and then go back home. Nestor insists that Telemachus must stay the night, and sends him off in the morning with gifts, a carriage to get to Sparta, and his son Pisistratus as a companion.
-
-
Leaving the Ocean’s streams: The Ocean was imagined as a vast river running round the landmass of the world.
-
the sky of bronze: The word used in the original, polychalkos, translates literally as “of much bronze,” which could mean that the gods in heaven are well supplied with bronze implements, or that the sky is solid and firm, like bronze, or that it is bright and shiny.
-
3.68 Gerenian Nestor: Gerenia is a town where Nestor took refuge when Heracles was attacking Pylos; Nestor was the sole survivor of his generation.
3.91 Amphitrite’s waves: Amphitrite, the wife of Poseidon, is a sea goddess, used here as a metonym for the sea itself.
3.133 some of us had neither sense nor morals: Ajax raped the Trojan priestess Cassandra (daughter of Priam) in a temple to Athena; Nestor alludes to this violation but never spells it out. The pollution to her temple is what caused the unappeasable rage of Athena and Zeus.
3.137–38 they called the people / at sunset, not observing proper norms: The suggestion is that the Greeks will inevitably be tired and drunk if called to a meeting at the wrong time, after dinner.
3.170–73 Should we travel north . . . or under Chios, passing blustery Mimas?: The latter is the longer but safer route, with less open sea.
3.178 nightfall in Geraestus: Geraestus was the southernmost part of Euboea.
-
-
Achilles’ son led home the Myrmidons: The Myrmidons are a Thessalian tribe and Achilles’ men in The Iliad. Neoptolemus (also known as Pyrrhus) was Achilles’ son; he led the tribe after his father’s death.
-
Philoctetes came back home with glory: Philoctetes was a hero with a wounded foot that never healed; his bow was essential in the final destruction of Troy.
-
–92 Idomeneus led back his crew / to Crete: Idomeneus is a Cretan king; he will appear later in Odysseus’ false tales of traveling in Crete.
-
3.217–18 he will come home and take revenge, alone, / or with an army of the Greeks: “He” must be Odysseus, although it is striking that Nestor meanders away from the topic of Telemachus’ revenge, to that of Odysseus, and back again—perhaps a mark of his senility, or perhaps he is veering around the possibility that Telemachus is being too passive.
3.268 Fate forced the queen to yield: The original is ambiguous about whether Fate subdued Clytemnestra (the most likely option) or Aegisthus or the poet. The original is also vague about how exactly Clytemnestra made the switch from resistance to “mutual desire.”
3.292–95 steep rock rises sheer above the sea / near Gortyn . . . west to Phaestus: Phaestus and Gortyn were cities in Crete, a place that is prominent in the poem (and which Odysseus chooses for his fictional birthplace in Books 13–14 and 19). The apparent precision of these details may not reveal actual knowledge of the place, since archaeologists have tried in vain to fit the text to the material record.
3.326 My sons can guide you all the way to Sparta: Nestor lavishly suggests that multiple sons will accompany Telemachus; however, as it turns out, only one of Nestor’s sons, Pisistratus, goes with the Ithacan.
3.369–70 Give him a carriage, / drawn by your strongest and most nimble horses: The word translated here as “carriage,” diphros, is literally a “two-person carriage,” a type of vehicle on which two people could ride on a standing board drawn by two horses. There are many different words for horse-drawn carriages in Homer, and I have tried not to overuse the word “chariot,” which usually connotes a vehicle used for war or racing; the diphros was used sometimes for warfare and other times, as here, for travel.
3.371–72 Athena flew away, transformed / into an ossifrage: An ossifrage is a type of vulture, also known as a lammergeier.
3.406–7 polished stones / that stood outside his palace, bright with oil: The stones that mark Nestor’s judgment seat have been anointed, a mark of their sanctity.
3.445 sprinkle barley-groats and ritual water: Before sacrifice, one washed hands and sprinkled barley grains at the victim and the altar—to ensure that the sacrifice was legitimate. It was then traditional to cut a few hairs from the victim’s head, as Nestor does, to make the animal no longer inviolate before it dies.
3.452 began to chant: The verb for chanting, oluluzo, suggests a ritual loud cry, usually performed by women on occasions of prayer, thanksgiving, triumph, or, more rarely, lamentation.
3.452–54 The men / hoisted the body, and Pisistratus / sliced through her throat: The animal had to be held up, facing the gods, while its neck was slit; the blood would then be collected in the designated bowl.
3.456–57 covered them / with double fat and placed raw flesh upon them: The thigh-bones were presented to the god, covered with a double layer of fat, and then with little pieces of the rest of the raw carcass on top.
BOOK 4 SUMMARY
Telemachus and Pisistratus find Menelaus and Helen in their rich home at Sparta, in the midst of a lavish celebration of the marriages of Menelaus’ two children. They are welcomed warmly; Menelaus tells the story of his long journey back from Troy, expressing grief for those who died and were lost—especially, his brother Agamemnon and his dear friend Odysseus. Telemachus starts crying. Helen appears and identifies Telemachus; Pisistratus explains the reason for their visit. Everyone weeps about the absence of Odysseus, but Pisistratus intervenes and Helen pours a magical drug into the wine to remove all capacity for grief. She describes how Odysseus at Troy disguised himself and snuck through the city on a spy mission; Menelaus tells how determined he was inside the Wooden Horse. They all go to sleep. In the morning, Menelaus tells the story of how, on his way back from Troy, he stopped and accrued wealth in Egypt, and then met and temporarily captured Proteus, the old sea god, who gave him some news of his fellow warriors, such as the murdered Agamemnon. Menelaus offers Telemachus fine gifts to take home. Meanwhile, on Ithaca, the suitors discover about the boy’s trip and plot to kill Telemachus on his return journey. Penelope also finds out and is full of grief. The suitors set up the ambush. Athena sends a dream phantom to comfort Penelope.
4.187–88 irreplaceable Antilochus, / killed by the noble son of shining Dawn: Antilochus was a son of Nestor (so brother to Pisistratus), killed at Troy by Memnon, son of the Dawn Goddess.
4.232 They are the Healer’s people: The Healer, Paieon, is the doctor to the gods. He was later identified with Apollo.
4.276 Godlike Deiphobus was following you: There was a legend that Helen married Deiphobus, another son of Priam, after the death of Paris. Some scholars (now and in antiquity) believe that this line was a later interpolation, put in as a reference to this legend. But others argue that the line does not imply that Helen was married to Deiphobus; it simply explains why Helen’s behavior is dangerous: a Trojan witnesses it and therefore the whole Wooden Horse plan is threatened.
4.402–3 the daughters / of lovely Lady Brine: The obscure word halosudne, translated here as “Lady Brine,” suggests something like “daughter of the salty sea” or “female saltwater person”; it is elsewhere an epithet of Thetis, mother of Achilles, but here seems to imply a different sea goddess.
4.499 Ajax was drowned: The Ajax referred to here is Locrian Ajax, also known as Lesser Ajax—not the hero known for his shield and skill in defensive warfare. He had raped Cassandra, the prophet daughter of Priam, in the temple of Athena. Outraged, Athena asked Poseidon to take revenge.
4.516–17 where all farms / are finished: This suggests that there are lands beyond the limits of agriculture and, hence, beyond civilized culture.
BOOK 5 SUMMARY
Zeus and Athena again discuss the fate of Odysseus; Zeus sends Athena to protect Telemachus, and Hermes to rescue Odysseus from Calypso. Hermes tells Calypso to let Odysseus go; reluctantly, she agrees. Odysseus constructs a raft and almost reaches Phaeacia, when Poseidon spots him and sends a storm to wreck the raft. Odysseus is helped by Ino, the White Goddess. He clings to a plank from the broken raft, and then swims towards shore. With the aid of Athena, he finds a good place to rest, in a gentle river’s mouth. He crawls out of the water, hides in some bushes, and goes to sleep.
5.75 the deathless god who once killed Argos: One of the standard epithets for Hermes, argeiphontes, may suggest “killer of Argos” (a giant with a hundred eyes who was employed by Hera to guard Io, one of her husband Zeus’ girlfriends. Hermes was employed by Zeus to kill the spy). However, it has also been interpreted to mean “shining” or associated with the god’s masterly ability to appear and disappear at will.
5.108 they wronged Athena: At the time of the sack of Troy, the Lesser Ajax’s rape of Cassandra in the temple of Athena caused the goddess to be enraged against the Greeks (whom she originally favored). Athena’s anger is one of the reasons that the Greek army had such a difficult time getting home.
5.256–57 He heaped the boat with brush . . . to keep the water out: The construction of Odysseus’ boat has been much discussed by scholars. The poet seems to be limited by the fact that most epic descriptions of boatbuilding deal with the construction of large ships (like the Argo), not one-man rafts. Ancient ships were generally built starting with the innards, the keel, the stem, and the sternpost, with ribs added on after—a reverse of the modern practice. The brush is apparently heaped in the bottom of the boat to protect the cargo from the bilgewater. It is unclear how wicker could do anything to keep out leaks.
5.274 the only star that has no share of Ocean: The idea is that the Plow (the Big Dipper) is the only constellation that stays above the horizon all year round. This is not true in astronomical fact; other constellations also remain visible year round.
5.289 the rope of pain that binds him: Peirar, the word translated here as “rope,” can have literal meanings (“binding” or “rope”) and metaphorical ones (“end,” “completion,” “boundary”).
5.311 Peleus’ son: The reference is to Achilles.
5.340 create an odyssey of pain for you?: The original uses a verb that puns on our hero’s name:
odysat’, which means “he hated” or “he was angry at.”
5.422 famous Amphitrite: See the note to 3.91.
5.435 A mighty wave rolled over him again: The verb in the original—rendered here as “rolled over,” but more literally “covered”—is kalypsen, an important term in this book since it is cognate with Calypso’s name.
5.477–78 two bushes grown together, / of thorn and olive: The species of the first bush may be wild olive, fig, or evergreen thorn. The olive wood is, as ever, significant in that it is Athena’s tree: the goddess is still watching over her hero.
5.491–92 So was Odysseus concealed in leaves. / Athena poured down sleep to shut his eyes: The Greek words translated here as “covered” (kalypsato) and “shut” (amphikalypsas) are again cognate with Calypso’s name.
BOOK 6 SUMMARY
Athena appears in a dream to the Phaeacian princess Nausicaa and tells her to go to the washing pools and do laundry, in preparation for her putative future marriage. Nausicaa sets out on this trip with a packed lunch, a wagon full of dirty laundry, and some helpful slave girls. After laundry and
lunch, the girls are playing ball and start screaming when the ball is lost. Odysseus pops up from his hiding place and appeals for help to Nausicaa. She gives him a set of clothes, and provides instructions about how to get into town and to her parents’ palace, keeping behind her so as to evade the criticism or suspicion of the people. Odysseus waits in Athena’s sanctuary outside the town and prays for the help of the goddess.
6.293 his orchard and estate: The “estate,” temenos, is land set apart for a king or a temple precinct.
BOOK 7 SUMMARY
Nausicaa gets home. Odysseus walks to town; Athena hides him in magic mist, and then, as a little girl, guides him to the palace. He supplicates Arete, the queen. Alcinous, the king, welcomes him warmly and gives him food and wine. Arete notices that Odysseus is wearing clothes that she made herself. Odysseus explains that Nausicaa gave them to him. Odysseus is offered a comfortable bed out on the porch, where he goes to sleep for the night.
7.53 First greet the queen: The prominence of Queen Arete in this account is puzzling, especially since when Odysseus reaches the palace, the queen makes no response to his appeal.
7.54 Arete is her name: The name means “Virtue” or “Excellence.”
7.81 Erechtheus’ palace: Erechtheus was a legendary king of Athens.
7.108 oil was dripping from the woven fabric: The oil may be from the fabric itself if it is wool, or perhaps the women are applying olive oil to the material to make the weaving easier.
7.198 the heavy ones, the Spinners: The Spinners (Klothes) are imagined in Greek mythology as three old female figures who construct the thread of human destiny—associated here with Fate (Aisa), the “share” allotted to humans in life.
7.323–24 they carried fair-haired Rhadamanthus / to visit Tityus, the son of Gaia: Rhadamanthus is the mythical son of Zeus and Europa, closely associated with Crete; Tityus is a Titan, one of the generation before the Olympian gods; and Gaia is the original Earth Goddess. The story of Rhadamanthus’ visit to Tityus is entirely unknown beyond this passage.
BOOK 8 SUMMARY
At the Phaeacian council place, Alcinous invites the lords of Phaecia to his palace for a feast to welcome the stranger. He orders men to equip a ship, to help the visitor on his way. Everyone assembles and eats; after the meal, Demodocus the blind poet sings about a quarrel of Odysseus and Achilles. Odysseus starts crying. Alcinous, noticing, suggests that everybody go outside and play sports. There are competitions in sprinting, wrestling, discus, and boxing. Then Laodamas, Alcinous’ youngest son, invites Odysseus to participate; another son, Euryalus, taunts Odysseus that he is no athlete. Odysseus hurls a discus far beyond the others and is congratulated by Athena in disguise. Demodocus sings a second, longer song, about the adulterous affair of Aphrodite and Ares; Odysseus is pleased. The Phaeacians give Odysseus lavish gifts, bathe him, and feed him. He asks Demodocus to sing the song of the Wooden Horse; when the poet complies, Odysseus weeps desperately. Alcinous notices and asks Odysseus to explain who he is.
8.52–53 tying / each to its leather thole-strap: Tholes are pins set in the side of a boat to keep the oar in place.
8.81–83 Apollo had foretold . . . through the plans of Zeus: Apparently the Delphic oracle (Pytho) told Agamemnon that Troy would be destroyed when the “best of the Achaeans” were quarreling.
8.108–14 Many young athletes stood there . . . Naubolus’ son: These names are all invented to suggest the Phaeacians’ skill in seafaring: Acroneüs = “Topship,” Ocyalus = “Sharpsea,” Elatreus
= “Driver,” Nauteus = “Shipman,” Thoön = “Quick,” Anchialus = “Seaside,” Eretmeus = “Oarsman,” Anabesineus = “Embarker,” Ponteus = “Deep-Sea,” Prymneus = “Sternman,” Proreus
= “Prowman,” Amphialus = “Sea-Girt,” Polynaus = “Many-Shipped,” Tecton = “Shipwright,” Naubolus = “Ship-Launcher,” and Euryalus = “Wide-Sea.”
8.124–25 the length / of a field plowed by mules: The length-across area of land that could be plowed in a day was a standard unit of measurement. The distance imagined here is probably about two hundred feet (an unlikely margin for a race).
8.518 to find Deiphobus’ house: After Paris was killed, Helen was appropriated by Deiphobus, another Trojan prince; Odysseus killed him and mangled his corpse, and Menelaus reclaimed his wife.
BOOK 9 SUMMARY
Odysseus begins to tell his story. He tells how, after sacking Troy, he and his fleet were blown off course. They reached the land of the Cicones, where they sacked the city, killed the men, and enslaved the women as concubines. Odysseus’ party remained on the shore, drinking; the Cicones retaliated, and some of Odysseus’ men were killed. Another storm struck the fleet, and the ships reached the land of the Lotus-Eaters, who tempted some of the men to eat the lotus fruit and forget all thoughts of home. Odysseus ordered the whole crew back on board. They reached the island of the Cyclopes, where they found a cave inhabited by a large, solitary shepherd, named Polyphemus. Odysseus left most of his crew with the ships, taking twelve men and a sack of special wine with him to visit the native inhabitant. Finding him absent, they broke into the cave; the men tried to persuade Odysseus to steal Polyphemus’ cheese and animals and then make a quick escape. Odysseus insisted on staying. When the Cyclops came home, Odysseus demanded a gift; Polyphemus refused and ate two of the men; he then went to sleep. The door-stone of the cave was too heavy for the men to move, so they were trapped inside. Next morning, Polyphemus ate two more men, and then set out for pasture with his flock. Odysseus prepared a sharp olive wood stake to blind Polyphemus. When the Cyclops returned, he ate two more men; Odysseus then offered him some wine. He drank too much. Odysseus claimed his name is “Noman.” When the Cyclops passed out, Odysseus and his men shoved the stake into his eye. Polyphemus called for help, but no one came, because he said that “No man” has hurt him. Next morning, the blinded Cyclops opened the door-stone, counting the sheep and goats as he let them out to pasture. Odysseus and his men escaped by clinging to the animals’ bellies. As they sailed away, Odysseus shouted back to taunt Polyphemus and revealed his true name. Polyphemus hurled a huge rock that almost destroyed the ship and called on his father Poseidon to curse Odysseus.
9.27–28 my Ithaca is set apart, most distant, / facing the dark: The suggestion is that Ithaca is farthest west, facing the setting sun (“the darkness”), whereas the other islands are more east. It is impossible to reconcile this claim with actual geography.
9.41 the Cicones in Ismarus.: The Cicones, a Thracian people, were allies of Troy. But the passage does not suggest that Odysseus’ piracy is motivated by any particular military objective.
9.125 red-cheeked ships: Ships were decorated with red at the prow.
9.298 unmixed milk: The word for “unmixed” is generally used for wine undiluted with water. The text is making a sort of joke since milk is the equivalent of wine for this mostly teetotal character.
9.302 feeling for his liver: Odysseus imagines having to move by feel, since the cave is entirely dark.
9.349 a holy offering: The term used here is usually applied to drink offerings given to the gods.
9.414 the “no man” maneuver: There is a pun here in the Greek: metis means “nobody” but also “cunning.” “Maneuver” is designed to hint at the wordplay.
BOOK 10 SUMMARY
The fleet reached the floating island of Aeolus, guardian of the winds, who gave Odysseus a bag containing multiple winds as a gift to help him on his way. The fleet almost reached Ithaca, but Odysseus fell asleep at the rudder. The men, jealous that Odysseus was acquiring all the treasure on the trip and sharing none of it, opened the bag of winds, and the ship was blasted back to Aeolus’ palace, from which they are then sent harshly away. They reached the land of Laestrygonia, and all the men except Odysseus moored inside the harbor. The inhabitants turned out to be cannibal giants, who skewered all those in the harbor and ate them. The lone remaining ship sailed to the land of Circe, who turned half of Odysseus’ men into pigs. With the help of Hermes, Odysseus managed to persuade Circe to turn them back into human form. They all stayed with Circe for a year, recuperating. Then Odysseus asked Circe to help them on their way, but she told him they must first visit the house of Hades and consult the dead spirit of the prophet Tiresias, who would advise him about his journey. Before they left, the youngest crew member, Elpenor, fell from the attic in Circe’s house and died.
10.82 Lamos: Lamos is apparently the founder of this mythical place.
10.83–84 A herdsman there . . . another herdsman going out: The idea is that in this strange country, herdsmen work around the clock, a day shift and a night shift.
10.87 the paths of day and night are close together: This odd phrase presumably means that the nights are almost nonexistent here, as in areas near the Arctic Circle during the summer. Attempts to plot Laestrygonia on a real map have not been convincing; this is a fictional place, melding several elements of actual geography.
10.178–79 and took / their cloaks down from their faces: People in Homer cover their faces in grief; the men in this small band of survivors have been grieving at the loss of the other eleven ships and their crew members.
10.236 Pramnian wine: Apparently, a particular type of wine rather than from a particular location; it is described as black and harsh by the medical writer Galen. The same wine is used for the potion made in Nestor’s cup in Iliad Book 11.
10.304 this plant Moly: Moly is probably an imaginary plant, although the legend may be connected to the ancient idea that garlic (which also has a white flower and dark root) can be used against bad spirits and vampires.
10.518 a cubit wide and long: A cubit is a unit of measure roughly equivalent to a human forearm.
10.520 honey-mix: A mixture of honey with some other substance, perhaps milk.
BOOK 11 SUMMARY
They reached the dark land of the Cimmerians, and Odysseus performed a sacrifice, praying to reach his homeland. He dug a ditch and filled it with blood; the spirits of the dead appeared. First was Elpenor, who asked for proper burial. Next came the spirit of Anticleia, Odysseus’ mother; but Odysseus spoke first to the prophet Tiresias, who foretold many dangers ahead. Odysseus spoke to his mother, wept for her death, and tried to embrace her, but she slipped away. Then came a parade of famous mythical women, all associated with even more famous male heroes and gods. Odysseus pauses his story, but Alcinous begs him to continue. He tells of meeting the ghost of Agamemnon, who told him how he was murdered, and the ghost of Achilles, who regretted trading his life for
honor. The ghost of Ajax refused to speak to Odysseus. After glimpsing other male heroes, seeing the torments of the dead, and speaking to Heracles, Odysseus returned to his ship.
11.85 Autolycus’ daughter Anticleia: The name of Odysseus’ maternal grandfather, Autolycus, suggests “Wolf Man.”
11.172–73 Or did the archer Artemis destroy you / with gentle arrows?: Artemis, goddess of hunting and childbirth, was particularly associated with the deaths of women.
11.297–98 Iphicles set him free as his reward / for prophecy: The story goes that the prophet Melampus, after an unsuccessful attempt to drive off Iphicles’ cattle and win his daughter’s hand, prophesied that Iphicles, who had been impotent, would be able to have more children. In reward for the good prophecy, Iphicles set Melampus free. For a different version of the story, see the note to 15.227–28.
11.304–5 They live and die alternately, and they / are honored like the gods: Castor and Polydeuces (also known as Pollux), the twins associated with the constellation Gemini, were given by Zeus the privilege of being alive on every other day, taking turns. According to many versions of the myth, Zeus was actually their father, having seduced Leda in the guise of a swan (so that the twins are brothers of Helen and Clytemnestra).
11.322–23 Then I saw Phaedra, Procris . . . dangerous Minos: Phaedra was the elder daughter of Minos, the legendary king of Crete; she married Theseus of Athens and fell in love with his son, her stepson, with disastrous results. Procris was the daughter of Erechtheus, another king of Athens; she was killed unintentionally by her husband, Cephalus.
11.326–27 Artemis killed her on the isle of Día, / when Dionysus spoke against her: Ariadne, another daughter of King Minos of Crete, helped Theseus through the Cretan labyrinth to kill her half brother, the Minotaur, and was taken off with Theseus on his ship. In later versions of the legend, Theseus abandoned her, and she was then whisked away by Dionysus. This Homeric version implies that she somehow offended Dionysus—it is unclear how, and this story is otherwise unknown.
11.329 accepting golden bribes, she killed her husband: Eriphyle accepted the bribe of a gold necklace to persuade her husband, Amphiaraus, king of Argos, to go on a doomed raid against Thebes.
11.522 since Priam bribed his mother: After the death of Achilles, Priam bribed Eurypylus’ mother to persuade her son to fight for the Trojans.
11.544–46 I won / Achilles’ armor, when the case was judged / beside the ships: Achilles’ mother, the Sea Goddess Thetis, gave him armor crafted by the god Hephaestus. After Achilles’ death, the Greeks held a meeting beside their ships to judge which other hero should get the divine armor. Ajax hoped to win, but the judgment went in Odysseus’ favor, and Ajax killed himself. According to some versions of the myth, Ajax was first driven mad by Athena (a story used in Sophocles’ Ajax).
11.573 I saw great Orion: Mythical hunter, who was turned into the constellation Orion.
11.577 Tityus, the son of Gaia: See note for 7.723–24.
11.600–602 I saw a phantom of great Heracles. / The man himself is . . . with fine-ankled Hebe: Heracles, a son of Zeus, was supposed to have been rewarded after all his Labors with a place among the Olympian gods. The confusing suggestion that his phantom is with the dead, while his real self is with the gods, may be a reflection of various views about whether or not Heracles really was apotheosized.
BOOK 12 SUMMARY
Back on Circe’s island, they held a funeral for Elpenor. Circe gave Odysseus advice about his route. They sailed past the Sirens; Odysseus, tied to the mast, was the only one who heard their song. They reached the six-headed Scylla and the whirlpool Charybdis; Scylla devoured six men. They were marooned on the island of Helius, the Sun God, and the men were half starved; while Odysseus napped, they killed the forbidden cattle and ate them. When they left, Zeus wrecked the ship and all the men drowned. Odysseus, the sole survivor, was swept back; he clung to a fig tree above the whirlpool Charybdis, then jumped into the water, clutched a broken ship’s timber, and managed to row out of the way of Scylla. After ten days of drifting, he reached the island of Calypso; and so the story of the wanderings comes full circle.
12.65–66 Zeus must send another to restore / the number of the flock: There may be an obscure reference here to the legend of a lost Pleiad. The Pleiades were seven sisters who were hunted by Orion and turned first into doves and then into stars.
12.70–71 Only the famous Argo sailed through there / returning from the visit with Aeetes: The Greek hero Jason sailed in the Argo to get the Golden Fleece from King Aeetes of Colchis. The journey of Jason and the Argonauts was supposed to have taken place a generation before the wanderings of Odysseus. Jason was the favorite of the goddess Hera.
12.125 Cratais: The name means “mighty force.”
12.133 Phaethousa and Lampetia: The names literally mean “shining.”
12.251–52 long rod and line set round with oxhorn / to trick the little fishes with his bait: The technology implied by the reference to oxhorn is unclear, but probably a tube of hollow oxhorn was used to protect the line above the hook (perhaps to stop fish biting through the line when they took the bait).
12.357 on the ship there was no barley: Barley is a component of a ritual sacrifice.
BOOK 13 SUMMARY
The Phaeacians give Odysseus a rich array of gifts and put him on a magical self-steering ship, equipped with talented rowers, to go back to Ithaca; he falls asleep on the journey and they lay him, still asleep, on the shore of his homeland, beside the cave of the Nymphs. When the ship approaches Phaeacia, Poseidon wrecks it, turns it to stone, and threatens to cover the country with a mountain. Odysseus wakes up and, because Athena has disguised the island, does not recognize Ithaca. She approaches, in the guise of a young man, reveals that they are in Ithaca, and questions Odysseus. He pretends to come from Crete. She praises his caution and capacity for deceit, expresses her love for him, and reveals the truth. They hide the treasure in the cave, and form plans about how to kill the suitors. Athena disguises Odysseus as an old beggar, and then goes to fetch Telemachus from Sparta.
13.144 an elder so high-ranking: There are different traditions about whether Zeus or Poseidon was the elder brother. The text here might suggest that Poseidon is the older, or only that he is one of the older generation of Olympian gods (in contrast to relative newcomers like Aphrodite and Dionysus).
13.150–54 But now . . . I want / to smash it in the sea . . . to prevent them / from ever guiding travelers again: It is unclear whether Poseidon is threatening to wipe out the whole Phaeacian people, by crushing them, or simply intends to block their way out to the open sea, by surrounding the city and its harbor with a mountain. It is also unclear what actually happens to the Phaeacians.
BOOK 14 SUMMARY
In his disguise, Odysseus visits Eumaeus, the swineherd. The guard dogs set on the visitor, but Eumaeus rescues him and welcomes him into his humble abode. Eumaeus expresses his loyalty to his master and grief for his supposed death; Odysseus predicts the return of Odysseus. He tells a convoluted false story about his history, saying he came from Crete, stayed in Egypt, was tricked by a Phoenician, shipwrecked, landed in Thesprotia (where he heard about Odysseus), was again tricked and enslaved, landed on Ithaca with the slave ship, and eventually escaped from the traffickers, ending up in Eumaeus’ hut. Eumaeus responds that he does not believe Odysseus is en route; he explains his skepticism of tricksters. They eat, then Odysseus tells a story about Odysseus tricking one of his men into giving him a cloak. Eumaeus gives him a cloak as a reward for a good story. They go to sleep—Odysseus in the hut, and Eumaeus out with the pigs.
14.182 Arcesius’ line: Arcesius was the father of Laertes; he may have been more prominent in earlier versions of the myth.
14.328–30 Odysseus . . . had gone off / to Dodona, to ask the holy oak / what Zeus intended: Dodona in Epirus was the seat of the most ancient oracle of Zeus. A holy oak there was supposed to deliver the god’s voice, perhaps through rustling leaves.
14.337 Thesprotians: A Greek tribe with a friendly relationship to the Ithacans.
14.378 Aetolian: Aetolians were a Greek tribe living on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, a mountainous region; they were reputed to be a wild or primitive people.
14.453 Taphians: See note to 1.105.
BOOK 15 SUMMARY
Athena urges Telemachus to set out for home. Menelaus and Helen send Telemachus and Pisistratus off with ample gifts. Telemachus explains to his companion that he will not accompany him back to his father Nestor’s house; instead, Telemachus sets off for Ithaca by ship. While boarding, he meets Theoclymenus, who is in exile for murder and is exceptionally skilled at prophecy. Meanwhile, in the swineherd’s cottage, Eumaeus urges Odysseus to stay with him rather than go into town to beg. He shares news of Odysseus’ parents and tells the story of how he himself, born into a king’s family, was enslaved as a little child, bought by Laertes, and raised by Anticleia alongside Odysseus’ own sister. Telemachus approaches Ithaca and receives a promising sign. He sends Theoclymenus to stay with Piraeus, who had sailed home with him.
15.227–28 Melampus, who once lived in Pylos, land / of sheep: The story told here elliptically is that Melampus, a famous prophet who was the great-grandfather of Theoclymenus, lived in Pylos, and his brother fell in love with the daughter of Neleus, Pero. Neleus demanded the herds of Phylacus as the bride-price; Melampus tried to steal them for his brother, but he was imprisoned by Phylacus. He noticed that worms were eating the wooden beams of his prison, and foretold their fall. Phylacus, impressed at his prophetic talent, released him; he brought the herds to Neleus, won Pero for his brother, and moved to Argos. For another version of the story, see the note to 11.297–98.
15.248–49 he was killed at Thebes, / because his wife took bribes: The mythical Theban War was initiated by the two sons of Oedipus, Polyneices and Eteocles, over control of the city. Eriphyle, wife of Amphiaraus, was bribed with a gold necklace by Polyneices to persuade Amphiaraeus to join his army, although he was doomed to die if he did so.
15.299 Needle Islands: It is unclear which islands are meant, and the epithet translated as “Needle” is mysterious—it could suggest “sharp” or “swift,” an odd term for islands.
15.405–6 Syria, where the sun turns round, above / Ortygia: The concept is that the sun, like a competitor in a Greek race, turns round on its course when it reaches the farthest point—
presumably towards the west. The place-names here do not seem to correspond to any real geography.
BOOK 16 SUMMARY
Telemachus arrives at Eumaeus’ hut and is greeted warmly by the swineherd, who introduces him to the “stranger.” Telemachus sends Eumaeus to take news of his arrival to Penelope. Athena transforms Odysseus, so he looks young and strong again; he tells the startled Telemachus who he really is. After weeping together, they start making plans for how to kill the suitors. Odysseus tells Telemachus he must hide almost all the weapons, so that the suitors will be unarmed, and must keep his father’s identity secret, even from Laertes and Penelope. Telemachus explains how many suitors there are and proposes a slight modification of Odysseus’ plan. Meanwhile, news reaches the palace that Telemachus has come back safe. The suitors are angry at the foiling of their plan to murder him, but continue to scheme. Amphinomus speaks against killing the boy. Penelope speaks out against the suitors, then goes upstairs. Eumaeus returns to his cottage, telling Telemachus and Odysseus that the suitors have returned from their failed attempt at ambush. They eat and sleep.
BOOK 17 SUMMARY
Telemachus heads out, telling Eumaeus that the stranger will have to go begging his way. When the boy reaches home, Eurycleia greets him warmly, as does a tearful Penelope. Piraeus brings Theoclymenus to the palace; Telemachus invites him in as a guest. Penelope questions Telemachus about his trip. Theoclymenus intervenes to report the promising sign. Eumaeus and Odysseus set out towards the town center. At the fountain they meet the goatherd Melanthius, who insults them and kicks Odysseus. Eumaeus prays for revenge. Melanthius returns to the palace and eats. Argos, the old dog left behind by Odysseus as a puppy twenty years earlier, recognizes his master and then dies. Odysseus enters his own home as a beggar. Telemachus gives him food and tells him to beg from all the suitors. They each give him scraps, except Antinous, who hurls a footstool at him. Odysseus curses him, and the others reproach Antinous. Telemachus sneezes. Penelope invites the supposed beggar to talk to her, promising him new clothes if he tells her the truth about any news he has of Odysseus. Odysseus puts off the conversation.
BOOK 18 SUMMARY
Odysseus, still in his guise as a beggar, encounters a real beggar, Irus, at the palace, who taunts him. Challenged by the suitors, they fight, and Odysseus wins; the suitors reward him with a meal. Odysseus tells Amphinomus, a kind suitor, a false autobiographical story of which the moral is that the suitors will be punished when Odysseus comes back: “there will be blood.” Amphinomus almost heeds the warning, but Athena makes him stay in the palace to die. Penelope is inspired by Athena to show herself in her full beauty to the suitors; she comes downstairs and reproaches Telemachus for his treatment of the beggar, and declares that she must soon marry one of the suitors. Odysseus is glad and the suitors give her gifts. The slave woman Melantho taunts Odysseus, who responds aggressively. Eurymachus taunts him and hurls a footstool at him. The suitors have a final drink, then go off to their homes.
18.7 Irus, because he was their messenger: An allusion to Iris, the messenger and rainbow goddess. The name also seems to be related to the word hieros, meaning “holy” or “strong.”
18.74 the end of Irus—brought upon himself!: Literally, he will be “not-Irus,” with an allusion to the name’s link with the word for “strong.”
18.117 Odysseus was thrilled to hear this omen: This omen—an utterance that has resonance for the future undetected by the speaker—is presumably the suitors’ wish for Odysseus to get his heart’s desire. They do not know that his desire is to kill them.
18.164 so her son and husband would respect her: This passage has been much discussed since antiquity. It can be read as hinting that Penelope has secretly recognized Odysseus already, or as reflecting an earlier version of the story, in which her recognition might have happened earlier. Alternatively, and perhaps more likely, it is Athena, not Penelope herself, who wants to make Odysseus and Telemachus honor Penelope more. Whichever view one takes, the ambiguity is important in itself: we are reminded that we do not fully understand what is happening in Penelope’s head. Similarly, her mysterious laugh is open to multiple interpretations—suggesting her confidence in her own powers, or her discomfort at her own impulses.
BOOK 19 SUMMARY
Athena makes a magic light shine in the hall. Odysseus sends Telemachus to bed and lurks downstairs. Melantho is rude to him; Penelope scolds her. Penelope tells Odysseus about her weaving trick, which held the suitors at bay for a while. Odysseus tells her a false autobiographical story, claiming to come from Crete and to know Odysseus. She weeps. Odysseus promises that Odysseus will be home within the month. Penelope offers him a nice bed with clean sheets; he refuses, saying he is used to sleeping rough, but he is willing to let an old slave women wash his feet. Eurycleia, the old nurse, washes Odysseus, finds the scar on his leg from an old hunting wound, and recognizes him. He got the scar on a trip to his grandfather Autolycus, who named him as a baby. Odysseus makes Eurycleia keep the secret of his identity. Penelope tells Odysseus of her suffering and also of her dream about the geese killed by an eagle. Odysseus is glad. Penelope explains her plan tomorrow to set up the contest of the bow and the axes; the winner will gain her hand.
19.26 This stranger will: Eurycleia’s question implies an assumption that carrying the light is the job of a woman, a female slave; there is a momentary surprise that the answer is a man.
19.108 My good woman: With heavy dramatic irony, Odysseus addresses Penelope with a word that means both “woman” and “wife”—both here and throughout the book. The word can be understood by Penelope as simply a form of address (like “Madam”), but the text allows us to read it in the other sense as well.
19.179–80 Minos . . . was king / for nine years: The original could also mean “nine-year-old Minos.” There are various theories about what the line means. Some have theorized, speculatively, that the Cretan kingship may have been held for nine years, after which the king was killed and a new one took his place.
19.183–84 My name / is Aethon: The name “Aethon” can suggest either “shining” or “brown.” It may suggest foxy tricks, since the word is applied to the reddish color of the fox in Pindar (Olympian 11.19).
19.190–91 Amnisus, beside the cave / of Eileithyia: Amnisus is the port of Knossos in Crete.
Eileithyia is a goddess associated with childbirth.
19.206–8 the snow that Zephyr / scatters across the mountain peaks; then Eurus / thaws it: Zephyr is the West Wind, Eurus the East. The West Wind is imagined to bring the snow that is melted by the East Wind of springtime.
19.258–59 Evilium— / the town I will not name: Penelope coins a compound word suggesting “Bad Troy” (Kakoïlion; Troy = Ilium).
19.274–75 Helius / and Zeus despised Odysseus: The verb here, odussomai, is the same one associated with the name Odysseus elsewhere in the poem (1.63). It means “to be angry at [somebody]” or “to hate,” and it is a cognate with a noun for “pain” (odune). See also the note to 19.408.
19.356–57 wash your master’s / age-mate: The original also has a temporary ambiguity (suggested here by enjambment), where the reader or listener may wonder if Penelope has already recognized her husband and may be about to say, “Your master’s . . . feet.”
19.408 I dislike them back: Autolycus uses the same verb odussomai as in 19.274, which sounds like the name “Odysseus” and can mean either “I am angry at” or “I am the cause of anger (in others).” See also the note to 1.63.
19.520 the daughter of Pandareus: This is the earliest instance of the myth of the nightingale, most influentially retold by Ovid. In this version, Aedon, daughter of Pandareus, king of Crete, married Zethus, king of Thebes, and tried to kill one of the children of her sister-in-law, Niobe, in a fit of jealousy. By mistake, she killed her own son, Itylus (called Itys in other versions of the myth). She was turned into a nightingale, whose song is supposed to be a constant lament for the dead boy.
BOOK 20 SUMMARY
Odysseus lies at the entrance of the palace and is aware of slave women slipping out to meet the suitors. He is enraged, but Athena calms him, promising to protect him and his interests. Penelope weeps and prays. Odysseus hears his wife weeping as he wakes up. He prays and hears a slave praying for an end to the suitors’ banquets. Telemachus wakes and worries that his mother has failed to treat his father properly; Eurycleia reassures him. Under her supervision, the slaves prepare the house for a special feast day. Melanthius the goatherd appears and insults Odysseus. Another herdsman, Philoetius, arrives and speaks politely to Odysseus. Philoetius and Eumaeus both swear their loyalty to their master. The suitors reconsider the plan to kill Telemachus, following the advice of Amphinomus. Telemachus helps Odysseus to food and warns the suitors not to abuse him. One of them, Ctesippus, hurls an ox-foot at Odysseus. Telemachus speaks out against their behavior. Athena makes the suitors laugh unstoppably; after the prophet Theoclymenus foretells their death, he leaves the house. The suitors tease Telemachus, who does not react; he and Odysseus wait for their moment.
20.19–20 You were / hounded by worse: The original conveys that Odysseus’ heart has suffered “something more doglike” before. The Greek word for “doglike” usually suggests shame or shamelessness.
20.53 distance yourself, Odysseus, from trouble: The word used in the original for “distance yourself” (more literally, “rise up out of”) sounds somewhat like the name Odysseus.
20.65–66 where the waters of the Ocean / pour forth and back again: See note to 3.1.
20.66–67 the breezes / took up the daughters of Pandareus: According to later sources, Pandareus stole a golden dog made by Hephaestus from a temple of Zeus; the gods punished him, his wife, and his daughters. The story told in Book 19, that a daughter of Pandareus killed her son by accident and was turned into a nightingale, has been seen by some scholars as contradicting this passage. But the passage does not say that all the daughters were swept away by the winds. There are no other sources for this story.
20.211 Cephallenia: Cephallenia is apparently the name of Ithaca and all the other towns under the dominion of the Ithacan king. It is not, in this text, identical with the modern Ionian island of Cephalonia.
20.243 an eagle flew high on their left: The left side is unlucky.
20.275 one hundred animals: A hecatomb—a ritual sacrifice of one hundred animals—may be understood as the sacrifice of a large number, not necessarily literally one hundred. But some
scholars have traced a connection between the hundred animals and the roughly one hundred suitors (108 is the usual count), who are also soon to be killed. There was an ancient festival to Apollo, the Hecatombia, which may be referred to here; the festival may have been associated, like the return of Odysseus, with the new moon.
BOOK 21 SUMMARY
Penelope takes the storeroom key and fetches Odysseus’ bow; her slaves bring the axes. Telemachus tries the bow first and fails to string it; Odysseus makes him stop trying. Leodes, the suitors’ prophet, tries and fails. Antinous sneers, and asks Melanthius to light a fire and bring some fat, to grease the bow. Even so, they fail to string the bow; only Antinous and Eurymachus have still not tried it when they stop. Meanwhile, Odysseus reveals himself to Eumaeus and Philoetius. Eurymachus fails to string the bow. Antinous uses the excuse of the feast day to Apollo (god of archery) to put off the contest. Odysseus suggests that, while waiting for the real contest the next day, they should let him try the bow. Antinous and Eurymachus speak against allowing it; Penelope speaks up for the beggar; Telemachus scolds her and sends her upstairs. Eumaeus gives Odysseus the bow. Eurycleia locks up the women in their quarters; Philoetius secures the gate of the house. Odysseus effortlessly strings the bow and shoots through all the axes.
21.16 in Lacedaemon, in Messenia: Lacedaemon, also known as Laconica, is the region around Sparta; Messenia is an area within that region.
21.46 with true aim, thrust back the fastenings: The door seems to be fastened with a leather thong attached to a bolt, which is tied to a hook on the outside when not in use; the key is used to open the door from the outside. The key is presumably a kind of large bronze hook, not serrated in a specific pattern like a modern key.
21.73–74 shoot through all / twelve axes: The mechanics of the axe competition are unclear, but it seems most likely that these are axe heads, without handles, and with round, drilled holes in the end through which the wooden handle could be inserted. The axe heads are lined up, with the holes all aligned straight. The goal of the contest is to shoot an arrow through all of the holes. Scholars debate whether the contest takes place inside the feast hall or in the courtyard outside. It seems most likely that it is inside, with the axes resting on a pile of earth, and perhaps also on some kind of platform, to reduce the danger of spectators being shot.
21.121 trod the earth down flat: If the contest is taking place in the feast hall—which has a finished floor, not dirt—the earth seems to be brought in and heaped up to provide a base for the axes.
21.144 Leodes, their holy man: The holy man is literally a man who performs sacrifices. However, the job description is somewhat fluid, and he also serves as a prophet or diviner.
21.153–55 This bow will take away / courage, life-force, and energy from many / noble young men: Leodes speaks in prophetic language, perhaps unconsciously. His words could suggest only that the attempt to string the bow will discourage those who fail in the attempt; but they can also mean that the bow will kill many men.
21.296 Wine even turned the famous Centaur’s head: The passage refers to the famous drunken brawl between the Lapiths, a Thessalian tribe, and the Centaurs, a wild mountain-dwelling people, later imagined as half-human and half-horse.
21.352–53 The bow is work for men, especially me. / I am the one with power in this house: These two lines echo the words of Hector to Andromache in Book 6 of The Iliad: “War is a job for men, especially me.”
21.392 byblos: A fiber from the papyrus plant, imported to Greece from Egypt and known for its strength.
21.403–5 “I hope / his future luck will match how well he does / in stringing it!”: Dramatic irony: the suitor assumes he will fail in the bow stringing and hopes his life will continue badly thereafter.
21.417 double-dealing Cronus: Cronus, leader of the Titans (divine descendants of Sky and Earth), was persuaded by his mother, Earth, to castrate his father, Sky, which he did with a sickle. Sky threatened revenge, but Cronus killed him, and ruled the world with his sister/wife Rhea. They became the parents of most of the Olympian gods. Cronus swallowed his children when they were born, but Zeus, the sixth child, organized a war against his father, which he won, and he became king in turn.
BOOK 22 SUMMARY
As Antinous lifts his wine-cup, Odysseus shoots him through the neck. He reveals his identity to the suitors and shoots Eurymachus through the nipple. Armed only with chairs and side tables, the suitors try to defend themselves. Telemachus kills Amphinomus, then goes to fetch more weapons from the storeroom. The suitors hope to slip out the back; Melanthius sneaks to the storeroom and gets weapons for them. Odysseus instructs the herdsmen to intercept him and torture him by trussing him up and hanging him from the storeroom roof. In the guise of Mentor, Athena joins Odysseus; many are slaughtered. Phemius and Medon are spared. Soon all the men are dead. Odysseus tells Telemachus to hack to death the girls who slept with the suitors; instead, he hangs them, and the herdsmen mutiliate and slaughter Melanthius. The surviving slave women are brought out to greet their master.
22.74 use tables as your shields: In the usual Greek arrangement, there were light side tables by each diner, rather than a single larger dining table; the suitors are to pick up their tables for self- defense.
22.126–27 There was a back gate in the castle walls, / providing access to the passageway: The exact architectural layout of Odysseus’ palace is difficult to work out from the text. This passage, which has been viewed by some scholars as a later addition to clear up a possible problem with the plot, explains that there is only one exit apart from the main doors of the palace, and it is impossible for the suitors to escape by that route to raise the alarm.
22.222 Your sons will not survive here in these halls: It is unclear in the original whether Agelaus is threatening to kill Mentor’s sons or only banish them.
22.228 Zeus’ favorite child: The original epithet, eupatereios, is an unusual one, suggesting “well fathered.”
22.230 the plan that made the city fall: The trick of the Wooden Horse.
22.423 tolerate their life as slaves: There is an important interpretative question in this line. Some scholars think that the original doulosune (“slavery”) here suggests sexual slavery, and that the line (the Greek reads doulosunes apechesthai) should be interpreted to mean “to hold off against (sexual) enslavement”—that is, to resist the kind of advances made by the suitors.
22.432 who made those treasonous plots while I was gone: The Greek verb mechanoonto (“plotted”—with implications of cunning strategy reminiscent of Odysseus himself) suggests that these girls were deliberately hoping to work against their master—a suggestion that goes well beyond Odysseus’ evidence. I use “treasonous” for a word that can suggest lack of shame as well as other kinds of dangerous or inappropriate behavior (aeikea): it can suggest sexual “shamelessness,” but is not limited to that connotation.
BOOK 23 SUMMARY
Eurycleia tells Penelope that the old beggar is really Odysseus, and that he has killed all the suitors. She is reluctant to believe her slave. Telemachus scolds her. Odysseus tells him they will recognize each other in time, through secret signs; meanwhile, they must make noise as if of a wedding party, to delay the moment when the people of Ithaca realize what has been done to the suitors. Penelope, testing Odysseus, tells Eurycleia to pull the bed frame out of the room and make up the bed for the guest. Odysseus is horrified and tells the story of how he built the bed himself, using a still-living tree that grows in the middle of the palace. Penelope acknowledges him as her husband. They weep. Odysseus tells her about his next journey, to the land of people who do not know the sea. They go to bed together. He tells her an edited version of his adventures. In the morning, Odysseus sends her upstairs while he prepares to fight off the Ithacans.
23.160 Athena or Hephaestus: Gods associated with skill in handicrafts and technology.
23.221 That foreigner: The foreigner is Paris, who came from Troy in the Near East, to Sparta in Greece. The connection between Helen’s situation and that of Penelope herself is not spelled out, and some readers, in antiquity as well as more recently, have argued that the passage is an interpolation. But there are no linguistic grounds for excluding the lines, and they can make perfectly good sense if the reader is prepared to do some interpretative work. Penelope is using Helen as an example of two distinct facts about her situation: first, that trusting strangers can be disastrous (so Penelope is not wrong to mistrust this particular stranger), and second, that people in general, and perhaps women in particular, may not be fully in control of their actions, and may not be able to see the consequences of choices that they are forced to make (so, she may hint, Penelope too might not have been to blame if she had ended up marrying a suitor).
23.230 Actoris: Actoris is mentioned only here, and it is possible that she has died, to be replaced by Eurynome—which would explain why Penelope is sure that Actoris has not told the stranger the secret.
23.318–19 wrecked / his fleet and killed his men: There is a line here in some of the texts, missing from most, which reads, “All of them. And Odysseus alone escaped in his black ship.” This is likely to be a later addition, since the reference to the speaker himself by name seems implausibly clumsy.
BOOK 24 SUMMARY
Hermes leads the spirits of the dead suitors down to Hades. Achilles and Agamemnon are conversing; Agamemnon tells Achilles about Achilles’ funeral. Agamemnon greets the dead suitors; Amphimedon, a suitor, tells how they died. Agamemnon expresses jealousy of Odysseus for having a loyal wife, unlike his own, who killed him. Odysseus goes to the countryside and meets his old father, Laertes, in his orchard. He pretends to think Laertes is a slave and makes up a fake story about his own identity, claiming to be a guest-friend of Odysseus. Laertes is overwhelmed by grief. Odysseus at last reveals his identity, proving it with a childhood memory of being taught about all the trees in the orchard. When they return to the hut, Odysseus reveals himself to the slaves. Meanwhile, news of the suitors’ murder has got out. The people gather in outrage outside the palace, and Eupeithes, the bereaved father of Antinous, speaks out against Odysseus. Old Halitherses tries to restrain the crowd, reminding them that the suitors behaved badly and fighting is risky. But over half still want to fight. Athena and Zeus agree that Odysseus should be appointed as king in Ithaca and there should be peace. Odysseus, his son, his father, and his slaves all arm; Athena, disguised as Mentor, joins them. They begin killing. Eupeithes dies first, and all the rebel Ithacans would have been slaughtered, but Athena intervenes and stops the bloodshed, even though Odysseus himself is eager to keep killing.
24.42 your days of driving chariots forgotten: Achilles is usually known as “swift-footed,” a quick sprinter on foot rather than on a horse or chariot. The most famous episode in which he uses a chariot is near the end of The Iliad, when he drags the body of his slaughtered enemy Hector round the walls of Troy—a gesture of brutality that is forgotten in Achilles’ own splendid death scene.
24.97 wound up the war?: The metaphor, present in the original, is of winding a skein of yarn.
24.113–14 fighting for a city / and women?: The idea is that a group like the suitors, all strong young men, are the type to be chosen for a naval expedition, hunting party, or similar expedition. Agamemnon is trying to think of situations in which a group of young men might all be killed together.
24.120 we had to work so hard to sway that man: According to legend, Odysseus tried to get out of going to the Trojan War by feigning madness. The usual story is that he was demonstrating his insanity by plowing his field using a donkey and an ox yoked together (animals with different strides who would not plow well together). Palamedes, a Greek who had come on the embassy with Agamemnon and Menelaus, put the newborn Telemachus in front of the plow, and Odysseus veered away from his son—thus demonstrating his sanity.
24.147–48 she showed it to us, / bright as the sun or moon: This passage seems to reflect a different version of the story, in which Odysseus arrives on Ithaca at the exact moment that Penelope is forced to finish the weaving, and to alternative versions in which Odysseus and Penelope colluded together to kill the suitors.
24.208–9 he fought / hard for it, and his house was there: It is unclear whether Laertes won his land by wresting it from its natural, untilled state to cultivation, or by taking it from the original inhabitants—either is possible.
24.236–37 he wondered / whether to kiss his father, twine around him: The Greek verb translated here as “twine around” means literally, “to grow around,” as if the embracer is a vine growing around the tree of the embraced.
24.274 I gave him seven heaps of golden treasure: Literally, seven “talents.” It is unclear exactly what measurement the Homeric “talent” is, and perhaps it is not very exact. The term is used only of gold in Homer. The later Attic talent, used for measurement of silver, was about fifty-seven pounds.
24.304–7 I am from / Alybas. . . . My name is Eperitus . . . Apheidas, son of Polypemon: Alybas is probably a made-up place, perhaps coined by analogy with alaomai, “to wander”; ancient scholars thought it was in southern Italy. The made-up name Eperitus suggests “picked” or “chosen.” The fictional father’s name, Apheidas, suggests “Generous,” and the grandfather, Polypemon, “Rich” or “Much Suffering.”
24.321 pierced through his nostrils: The oddly specific physiological detail has been taken as metaphorical by some commentators, but it seems best to take it as entirely literal: the sudden welling up of tears puts pressure on the sinuses.
24.357 Cephallenia: See the note to 20.213.
24.385–86 The old slave Dolius / approached them with his sons: Dolius is also the father of Melantho and Melanthius, who were slaughtered by Odysseus, unbeknownst to him. The poem never shows us his reaction when he finds out what his master has done to his other children.
24.389 also the old man, made weak by age: Presumably the old man is Dolius, even though the same slave also cares for old Laertes.
