The Truth at Last

The elderly maid tells Penelope that Odysseus has returned, but Penelope is doubtful.  She fears that someone has come to deceive her and does not trust Odysseus.  When she sits across from her husband, she acts coldly until she orders  her bed to be brought downstairs and Odysseus says how he made the bed out of an olive tree and nobody would be able to lift it.  Knowing that Odysseus has returned at last, Penelope rushes to him and begs his forgiveness for not recognizing him sooner.  Soon, they are recounting their stories for each other in bed and when dawn comes, Odysseus tells Penelope to stay in the house and not to speak to any visitors while he and Telemachus go to visit his father.

I think that the olive tree connects to Odysseus because everything changed rapidly around it, while the actual tree only changed very slightly. Also, the tree is the last to change, like Odysseus.  Odysseus fears that the bed has been misplaced like his position as master of the house has, but finds that it is still the same as when he had left.

I think that Odysseus has successfully untangled himself because the stays firm and planted, unlike the tree that was half and half at the beginning of the poem.  Which means that Odysseus has overcome his most pressing obstacles and can return to a normal family life.

The Bloody Massacre

Odysseus, Telemachus, and two servants kill each of the suitors one by one.  When Telemachus goes to get more weapons, he forgets to close the door and Melanthius goes and gets some weapons for the suitors to defend themselves with.  Odysseus finds out and orders one of the servants to tie up Melanthius and lock him in the room with all of the weapons.  Athena arrives and the suitors mock and insult her, she yells at Odysseus for lacking the courage that he had in Troy and makes most of the suitors’ spears miss Odysseus, Telemachus, and the servants.  A few of the suitors beg for their lives, but Odysseus mercilessly slaughters them.  However, he does save the bard and another man who raised Telemachus.  Later, Odysseus, Telemachus, and the servants clean up with the help of twelve unfaithful female servants.  When they finish cleaning, the women are murdered for thier crimes.

Those suitors got what was coming to them.  I think that they knew it too, by the look on their faces when I had finally revealed myself to them.  My actions were more out of revenge than for justice.  The women who slept with the suitors and disobeyed my wife were almost as bad as the suitors themselves!  I told the women that “I won’t allow a clean death for these women-/the suitor’s sluts-who have heaped reproaches upon my own head and upon my mother’s”(Book 22 Line 485-488).  Those women dishonored me.  I suppose that the could have lived, but I thought that my home needed to be purged of all of its wrongdoers.  So I killed them all without mercy.

The Worried Wife

Penelope brings out Odysseus’ old bow and says that the suitor who can string the bow and shoot it threw axes will marry her.  All of the suitors fail.  Meanwhile, Odysseus reveals himself to his faithful servants, Eumaeus and Philoetius, who are overjoyed at his return. Odysseus tells them that if they help him get rid of the suitors, they will treated like Telemachus’ brothers.  Later, Odysseus goes and asks for the bow after the last of the suitors has failed to string it.  He easily sends the arrow through the axes.

I am very worried that the suitors may actually be as strong as my great Odysseus, but I know that that fear has no possible way of coming true.  None but the mighty Odysseus can string the bow.  I have nothing to fear from these suitors.  However, I was a bit shocked by the attitude that my son gave me.  He seemed to think that he put me in my place when he told me “This bow is men’s business, and business/especially, since I am the master of this house”(Book 21 line 376-377).  Telemachus seems to know what he is doing, so I will have to trust his judgement.

Odysseus, The Beggar

Odysseus ans the swineherd go into the city where they meet Melanthius, who insults Odysseus and trues to push him off of the path.  Odysseus wants to hurt him, but he controls himself and just takes it.  Then, Odysseus and the swineherd go to Odysseus’ home and stay for dinner.  Before they go inside, Odysseus sees the dog that he bred sitting in a dung heap.  Once Odysseus is inside, Telemachus comes up withthe plan for Odysseus to beg from each of the suitors in turn to see which of them are decent people.  Only Antonious refuses him, insults him, and throws a stool at him.  Everyone is astounded by his actions.

As I returned home at last and I saw my dog, Argus sitting in the dung pile.  I am told that in his glory days, he was an amazing dog that could do anything, but now he is old and forgotten, just I will be.  “Now , his master gone, he lay neglected/in the dung of mules and cattle outside the doors” (Book 17 Line 321-322).  Some day, it will be me sitting on that dung heap, wasting away as the younger people go about their day.  Hopefully that day will not come for some time.

The Deadly Team

Odysseus holds a funeral for Elpenor and then spends another night with Circe who tells him how to navigate what is to come.  When Odysseus leaves Circe, he does as she says and puts wax into the ears of his crew and has them tie him to the ship.  After they pass through the Sirens, they pass between a monster with six heads which eats six men at a time and a whirlpool goddess.  When they arrive on an island to rest, Eurylochus persuades the crew to kill the sacred cows, even though Odysseus commanded them not to.  This act angers the gods, so Zeus strikes the ship with lightning and everyone is killed except for Odysseus, who is taken to the island where Calypso lives.

My men are usually so obedient.  I am both angry and disappointed with them.  Although they followed my orders throughout the rest of our journey, they failed me when it was the most important that they follow my instructions.  They killed the god’s cows and now we must fear his wrath.  Even before we left, Circe said “If you leave these unharmed and keep your mind/on your journey, you might yet struggle home/to Ithaca”(book 12 line 142-145).  If only they had listened, we would have all made it home quickly, but instead, I alone survived and it even though many years have passed, I still not home.

The Cyclops

Odysseus tells his host his name and of his journey since the downfall of Troy.  He also tells about how he plundered the city of Cicones and meet the cyclops.  He and his crew blinded the cyclops and Odysseus’ pride got in the way and the cyclops prayed to Poseidon to stop Odysseus from going home quickly.

 As I tell my story, I feel both delighted with my conquests and ashamed with my pride.  When my men and I plundered the city of Cicones, we got good food to eat and sweet wine to drink.  Also, only six men per ship perished.  It was their fate.  They, at least, did not have to go anywhere near the cyclops.  The cyclops trapped me and twelve of my best men in a cave and ate us two at a time.  However, not long after our entombment in that cave, i came up with a brilliant idea.  Four other men and myself blinded the cyclops after I had told him that my name was noman so that no one would help him.  I am ashamed however, that “I called the Cyclops again, with my men /hanging over me and begging me not too”(Book 9 Line 491-492).  I told the cyclops my name so that he could know the name of the brilliant man who caused him this pain and injustice.  Little did I know, though, that he would pray to his father to make life almost impossible for me and cause my return home to be delayed and all of my men to die.

The Feast

There is a meeting held so that people can help Odysseus return home.  After the meeting, there is a feast.  At the feast, the story of Odyseuss’ and Achilles’ fight is told and Odysseus is over come with tears.  The host sees his distress and starts the games.  During the games, Odysseus is asked to join, he declines, but a young man insults his pride so he enters the disc contest and wins easily.  Afterwards, he is given gifts, the tale of the Trojan horse is told, and his host asks for his real name.

The people here at Phaeacian are really very hospitable.  They are helping me return home and for that, I am very grateful.  However, the stories that they told brought back some painful memories for me, but never the less, I was honored that they knew my story.  My temper was tested however, when that young man insulted my pride.  But I showed him.  No one will ever again say that I am not a good athlete.  I beat all of the Phaeacian athletes easily.

The Dangerous Raft Ride

Athena goes back to Zeus and yells at him for not sending Odysseus home yet.  So Zeus sends Hermes to tell the nymph Calypso to tell her to let Odysseus go back to Ithaca.  However, Odysseus must sail on a raft.  This dangerous task becomes even less safe when Poseidon learns that Odysseus is traveling home.  Poseidon creates horrible weather and ultimately throws Odysseus off of the raft, but with the helpof Athena, Odysseus makes it safely back to shore.

Curse the gods! Am I never to return home to Ithaca?  When I finally am allowed to return to my homeland by Calypso, it is on a raft.  A raft I ask you.  Have I not suffered enough?  Twenty years is a long time to be away from home.  And yet it has been decided that my journey has yet to come to an end.  I have decided that I can no longer trust the gods.  When I was floating helplessly in the water and the goddess told me to swim to shore, I could not help thinking “Not another treacherous god/scheming against me, ordering me to abandon my raft./  I will not obey”(Book V line 158-160).  The gods are the beings that put me in this situation in the first place.  I will take my own advice from now one, with the exception of Athena because her advice has never lead me to harm.

Practice

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