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PALLAS, the Goddess with the sparkling eyes,

Excites Penelope t' object the prize,

The bow and bright steels, to the Wooers' strength;

And here began the strife and blood at length.

She first ascended by a lofty stair

Her utmost chamber; of whose door her fair

And half transparent hand received the key,

Bright, brazen, bitted passing curiously,

And at it hung a knob of ivory.

And this did lead her where was strongly kept

The treasure royal; in whose store lay heap't

Gold, brass, and steel, engraven with infinite art;

The crooked bow, and arrowy quiver, part

Of that rich magazine. In the quiver were

Arrows a number, sharp and sighing gear.

The bow was given by kind Eurytides—

Iphitus, fashion'd like the Deities—

To young Ulysses, when within the roof

Of wise Orsilochus their pass had proof

Of mutual meeting in Messena; where

Ulysses claim'd a debt, to whose pay were

The whole Messenian people bound, since they

From Ithaca had forced a wealthy prey

Of sheep and shepherds. In their ships they thrust

Three hundred sheep together; for whose just

And instant rendry old Laertes sent

Ulysses his ambassador, that went

A long way in the ambassy, yet then

Bore but the foremost prime of youngest men;

His father sending first to that affair

His gravest counsellors, and then his heir.

Iphitus made his way there, having lost

Twelve female horse, and mules, commended most

For use of burthen; which were after cause

Of death and fate to him; for, past all laws

Of hospitality, Jove's mighty son,

Skill'd in great acts, was his confusion

Close by his house, though at that time his guest,

Respecting neither the apposed feast,

And hospitable table, that in love

He set before him, nor the voice of Jove,

But, seizing first his mares, he after slew

His host himself. From those mares' search now grew

Ulysses known t' Iphitus; who that bow

At their encounter did in love bestow,

Which great Eurytus' hand had borne before,

(Iphitus' father) who, at death's sad door,

In his steep turrets, left it to his son.

Ulysses gave him a keen falchion,

And mighty lance. And thus began they there

Their fatal loves; for after never were

Their mutual tables to each other known,

Because Jove's son th' unworthy part had shown

Of slaughtering this God-like loving man,

Eurytus' son, who with that bow began

And ended love t' Ulysses; who so dear

A gift esteem'd it, that he would not bear

In his black fleet that guest-rite to the war,

But, in fit memory of one so far

In his affection, brought it home, and kept

His treasure with it; where till now it slept.

Odyssey. Homer. ed. George Chapman. London. 1857.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Current edition Experimental

English (George Chapman, 1667, ed. Hooper 1857) (OCR draft) (English) (English (George Chapman, 1667, ed. Hooper 1857))

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (1)

Ὀδύσσεια Perseus (Homer. The Odyssey, Volume 1-2. Murray, A. T. (Augustus Taber), editor. London: William Heinmann; New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1919.) — 21.1 focus

τῇ δʼ ἄρʼ ἐπὶ φρεσὶ θῆκε θεὰ γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη,

κούρῃ Ἰκαρίοιο, περίφρονι Πηνελοπείῃ,

τόξον μνηστήρεσσι θέμεν πολιόν τε σίδηρον

ἐν μεγάροις Ὀδυσῆος, ἀέθλια καὶ φόνου ἀρχήν.

κλίμακα δʼ ὑψηλὴν προσεβήσετο οἷο δόμοιο,

εἵλετο δὲ κληῗδʼ εὐκαμπέα χειρὶ παχείῃ

καλὴν χαλκείην· κώπη δʼ ἐλέφαντος ἐπῆεν.

βῆ δʼ ἴμεναι θάλαμόνδε σὺν ἀμφιπόλοισι γυναιξὶν

ἔσχατον· ἔνθα δέ οἱ κειμήλια κεῖτο ἄνακτος,

χαλκός τε χρυσός τε πολύκμητός τε σίδηρος.

ἔνθα δὲ τόξον κεῖτο παλίντονον ἠδὲ φαρέτρη

ἰοδόκος, πολλοὶ δʼ ἔνεσαν στονόεντες ὀϊστοί,

δῶρα τά οἱ ξεῖνος Λακεδαίμονι δῶκε τυχήσας

Ἴφιτος Εὐρυτίδης, ἐπιείκελος ἀθανάτοισι.

τὼ δʼ ἐν Μεσσήνῃ ξυμβλήτην ἀλλήλοιϊν

οἴκῳ ἐν Ὀρτιλόχοιο δαΐφρονος. ἦ τοι Ὀδυσσεὺς

ἦλθε μετὰ χρεῖος, τό ῥά οἱ πᾶς δῆμος ὄφελλε·

μῆλα γὰρ ἐξ Ἰθάκης Μεσσήνιοι ἄνδρες ἄειραν

νηυσὶ πολυκλήϊσι τριηκόσιʼ ἠδὲ νομῆας.

τῶν ἕνεκʼ ἐξεσίην πολλὴν ὁδὸν ἦλθεν Ὀδυσσεὺς

παιδνὸς ἐών· πρὸ γὰρ ἧκε πατὴρ ἄλλοι τε γέροντες.

Ἴφιτος αὖθʼ ἵππους διζήμενος, αἵ οἱ ὄλοντο

δώδεκα θήλειαι, ὑπὸ δʼ ἡμίονοι ταλαεργοί·

αἳ δή οἱ καὶ ἔπειτα φόνος καὶ μοῖρα γένοντο,

ἐπεὶ δὴ Διὸς υἱὸν ἀφίκετο καρτερόθυμον,

φῶθʼ Ἡρακλῆα, μεγάλων ἐπιίστορα ἔργων,

ὅς μιν ξεῖνον ἐόντα κατέκτανεν ᾧ ἐνὶ οἴκῳ,

σχέτλιος, οὐδὲ θεῶν ὄπιν ᾐδέσατʼ οὐδὲ τράπεζαν,

τὴν ἥν οἱ παρέθηκεν· ἔπειτα δὲ πέφνε καὶ αὐτόν,

ἵππους δʼ αὐτὸς ἔχε κρατερώνυχας ἐν μεγάροισι.

τὰς ἐρέων Ὀδυσῆϊ συνήντετο, δῶκε δὲ τόξον,

τὸ πρὶν μέν ῥʼ ἐφόρει μέγας Εὔρυτος, αὐτὰρ ὁ παιδὶ

κάλλιπʼ ἀποθνῄσκων ἐν δώμασιν ὑψηλοῖσι.

τῷ δʼ Ὀδυσεὺς ξίφος ὀξὺ καὶ ἄλκιμον ἔγχος ἔδωκεν,

ἀρχὴν ξεινοσύνης προσκηδέος· οὐδὲ τραπέζῃ

γνώτην ἀλλήλων· πρὶν γὰρ Διὸς υἱὸς ἔπεφνεν

Ἴφιτον Εὐρυτίδην, ἐπιείκελον ἀθανάτοισιν,

ὅς οἱ τόξον ἔδωκε. τὸ δʼ οὔ ποτε δῖος Ὀδυσσεὺς

ἐρχόμενος πόλεμόνδε μελαινάων ἐπὶ νηῶν

ᾑρεῖτʼ, ἀλλʼ αὐτοῦ μνῆμα ξείνοιο φίλοιο

κέσκετʼ ἐνὶ μεγάροισι, φόρει δέ μιν ἧς ἐπὶ γαίης.

Translations (8)

Odyssey Perseus (Homer. The Odyssey, Volume 1-2. Murray, A. T. (Augustus Taber), translator. London: William Heinmann; New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1919.) — 21.1 focus

1 But the goddess, flashing-eyed Athena, put it into the heart of the daughter of Icarius, wise Penelope, to set before the wooers in the halls of Odysseus the bow and the gray iron, to be a contest and the beginning of death. 5 She climbed the high stairway to her chamber, and took the bent key in her strong hand—a goodly key of bronze, and on it was a handle of ivory. And she went her way with her handmaidens to a store-room, far remote, where lay the treasures of her lord, 10 bronze and gold and iron, wrought with toil. And there lay the back-bent bow and the quiver that held the arrows, and many arrows were in it, fraught with groanings—gifts which a friend of Odysseus had given him when he met him once in Lacedaemon , even Iphitus, son of Eurytus, a man like unto the immortals. 15 They two had met one another in Messene in the house of wise Ortilochus. Odysseus verily had come to collect a debt which the whole people owed him, for the men of Messene had lifted from Ithaca in their benched ships three hundred sheep and the shepherds with them. 20 It was on an embassy in quest of these that Odysseus had come a far journey, while he was but a youth; for his father and the other elders had sent him forth. And Iphitus, on his part, had come in search of twelve brood mares, which he had lost, with sturdy mules at the teat; but to him thereafter did they bring death and doom, 25 when he came to the stout-hearted son of Zeus, the man Heracles, who well knew¹ deeds of daring; for Heracles slew him, his guest though he was, in his own house, ruthlessly, and had regard neither for the wrath of the gods nor for the table which he had set before him, but slew the man thereafter, 30 and himself kept the stout-hoofed mares in his halls. It was while asking for these that Iphitus met Odysseus, and gave him the bow, which of old great Eurytus had been wont to bear, and had left at his death to his son in his lofty house. And to Iphitus Odysseus gave a sharp sword and a mighty spear, 35 as the beginning of loving friendship; yet they never knew one another at the table, for ere that might be the son of Zeus had slain Iphitus, son of Eurytus, a man like unto the immortals, who gave Odysseus the bow. This bow goodly Odysseus, when going forth to war, would never 40 take with him on the black ships, but it lay in his halls at home as a memorial of a dear friend, and he carried it in his own land.

Odyssey Perseus (Homer. The Odyssey: rendered into English prose for the use of those who cannot read the original. Butler, Samuel, 1835-1902, translator. Revised by Timothy Power and Gregory Nagy. London: A.C. Fifield, 1900.) — 21.1 focus

1 Athena now put it in Penelope's mind to make the suitors try their skill with the bow and with the iron axes, in contest among themselves, as a means of bringing about their destruction. She went upstairs and got the store room key, which was made of bronze and had a handle of ivory; she then went with her maidens into the store room at the end of the house, where her husband's treasures of gold, bronze, and wrought iron were kept, and where was also his bow, and the quiver full of deadly arrows that had been given him by a friend whom he had met in Lacedaemon - Iphitos the son of Eurytos. The two fell in with one another in Messene at the house of Ortilokhos, where Odysseus was staying in order to recover a debt that was owing from the whole dêmos; for the Messenians had carried off three hundred sheep from Ithaca , and had sailed away with them and with their shepherds. In quest of these Odysseus took a long journey while still quite young, for his father and the other chieftains sent him on a mission to recover them. Iphitos had gone there also to try and get back twelve brood mares that he had lost, and the mule foals that were running with them. These mares were the death of him in the end, for when he went to the house of Zeus’ son, mighty Herakles, who performed such prodigies of valor, Herakles to his shame killed him, though he was his guest, for he feared not heaven's vengeance, nor yet respected his own table which he had set before Iphitos, but killed him in spite of everything, and kept the mares himself. It was when claiming these that Iphitos met Odysseus, and gave him the bow which mighty Eurytos had been used to carry, and which on his death had been left by him to his son. Odysseus gave him in return a sword and a spear, and this was the beginning of a fast friendship, although they never visited at one another's houses, for Zeus’ son Herakles killed Iphitos ere they could do so. This bow, then, given him by Iphitos, had not been taken with him by Odysseus when he sailed for Troy ; he had used it so long as he had been at home, but had left it behind as having been a keepsake from a valued friend.

42 Penelope presently reached the oak threshold of the store room; the carpenter had planed this duly, and had drawn a line on it so as to get it quite straight; he had then set the door posts into it and hung the doors. She loosed the strap from the handle of the door, put in the key, and drove it straight home to shoot back the bolts that held the doors; these flew open with a noise like a bull bellowing in a meadow, and Penelope stepped upon the raised platform, where the chests stood in which the fair linen and clothes were laid by along with fragrant herbs: reaching thence, she took down the bow with its bow case from the peg on which it hung. She sat down with it on her knees, weeping bitterly as she took the bow out of its case, and when her tears had relieved her, she went to the room where the suitors were, carrying the bow and the quiver, with the many deadly arrows that were inside it. Along with her came her maidens, bearing a chest that contained much iron and bronze which her husband had won as prizes. When she reached the suitors, she stood by one of the bearing-posts supporting the roof of the room, holding a veil before her face, and with a maid on either side of her. Then she said:

68 "Listen to me you suitors, who persist in abusing the hospitality of this house because its owner has been long absent, and without other pretext than that you want to marry me; this, then, being the prize that you are contending for, I will bring out the mighty bow of Odysseus, and whomsoever of you shall string it most easily and send his arrow through each one of twelve axes, him will I follow and quit this house of my lawful husband, so goodly, and so abounding in wealth. But even so I doubt not that I shall remember it in my dreams."

80 As she spoke, she told Eumaios to set the bow and the pieces of iron before the suitors, and Eumaios wept as he took them to do as she had bidden him. Hard by, the stockman wept also when he saw his master's bow, but Antinoos scolded them. "You country louts," said he, "silly simpletons; why should you add to the sorrows of your mistress by crying in this way? She has enough to grieve her in the loss of her husband; sit still, therefore, and eat your dinners in silence, or go outside if you want to cry, and leave the bow behind you. We suitors shall have to contend [ athlos] for it with might and main, for we shall find it no light matter to string such a bow as this is. There is not a man of us all who is such another as Odysseus; for I have seen him and remember him, though I was then only a child."

English (Butler, rev. Nagy et al., 2020) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Butler, rev. Nagy et al., 2020)) — 21.1 focus

The owl-vision goddess Athena now put it in daughter of Ikarios, circumspect Penelope’s, mind to make the suitors try their skill with the bow and with the iron axes, in contest among themselves, as a means of bringing about their destruction. [5] She went upstairs and got the store room key, which was made of bronze and had a handle of ivory; she then went with her maidens into the store room at the end of the house, where her husband’s treasures [10] of gold, bronze, and wrought iron were kept, and where was also his bow, and the quiver full of deadly arrows that had been given him by a friend whom he had met in Lacedaemon—Iphitos, the son of Eurytos, one like the immortal gods. [15] The two fell in with one another in Messene at the house of high-spirited Ortilokhos, where Odysseus was staying in order to recover a debt that was owing from the whole district [ dēmos]; for the Messenians had carried off three hundred sheep from Ithaca, and had sailed away with them and with their shepherds. [20] In quest of these Odysseus took a long journey while still quite young, for his father and the other chieftains sent him on a mission to recover them. Iphitos had gone there also to try and get back twelve brood mares that he had lost, and the mule foals that were running with them. These mares were the death of him in the end, [25] for when he went to the house of strong-hearted Zeus’ son, mighty Hēraklēs, who performed such prodigies of valor, Hēraklēs to his shame killed him, though he was his guest, for he feared not the gods’ vengeance, nor yet respected his own table which he had set before Iphitos, but killed him in spite of everything, [30] and kept the mares himself. It was when claiming these that Iphitos met Odysseus, and gave him the bow which mighty Eurytos had been used to carry, and which on his death had been left by him to his son. Odysseus gave him in return a sword and a spear, [35] and this was the beginning of a fast friendship, although they never visited at one another’s houses, for Zeus’ son Hēraklēs killed Iphitos before they could do so. This bow, then, given him by Iphitos, son of Eurytos, one like the gods, had not been taken with him by Odysseus when he sailed for Troy; [40] he had used it so long as he had been at home, but had left it behind as having been a keepsake from a valued friend.

English (William Cullen Bryant, 1873) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (William Cullen Bryant, 1873)) — 21.1 focus

PALLAS, the goddess of the azure eyes,

Put in the mind of sage Penelope,

The daughter of Icarius, this design,

To put into the suitors' hands the bow

And gray steel rings, and to propose a game

That in the palace was to usher in

The slaughter. So she climbed the lofty stair,

Up from the hall, and took in her plump hand

The fair carved key; its wards were wrought of brass,

And ivory was the handle. Soon she reached

The furthest room with her attendant maids.

There lay the treasures of Ulysses, brass

And gold, and steel divinely wrought. There lay

His bow unstrung; there lay his quiver charged

With arrows; many were the deadly shafts

It held, a stranger's gift, who met him once

In Lacedæmon, Iphitus by name,

The son of Eurytus, and like the gods

In presence. In Messenè met the twain,

And in the mansion of Orsilochus,

The warlike. Thither had Ulysses come

To claim a debt from all the region round;

For rovers from Messenè to their ships

Had driven and carried off from Ithaca

Three hundred sheep and those who tended them.

For this Ulysses, though a stripling yet,

Came that long voyage, on an embassy,

Sent by his father and the other chiefs.

And Iphitus had come in search of steeds

Which he had lost, twelve mares, and under them

Twelve hardy mules, their foals. That errand brought

The doom of death upon him. For he came,

In journeying, to the abode of Hercules,

The mighty hero-son of Jupiter,

Famed for his labors, who, in his own house,

Slew Iphitus, the stranger. Cruel wretch!

Who reverenced not the vengeance of the gods,

Nor what was due to his own board, at which

He placed his guest, and slew him afterward,

And in his stables kept the goodly mares.

'T was when this guest was seeking for his steeds

He met Ulysses, and bestowed on him

The bow, which mighty Eurytus once bore,

And dying in his lofty palace left

The weapon to his son. Ulysses gave

In turn a trenchant sword and massive lance,

A pledge of kindly hospitality,

Begun, but not continued till they sat

Each at the other's table; for the son

Of Jove first took the life of him who gave

The bow, the godlike son of Eurytus.

That bow Ulysses, when he went to war

In his black galleys, never took with him,

But left it in his palace, to be kept

In memory of a beloved friend,

And only bore it in his own domain.

English (Alexander Pope, 1726, ed. Watson, 1858) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Alexander Pope, 1726, ed. Watson, 1858)) — 21.1 focus

AND Pallas now, to raise the rivals' fires,

With her own art Penelope inspires:

Who now can bend Ulysses' bow,¹ and wing

The well-aim'd arrow through the distant ring,

Shall end the strife, and win th' imperial dame:

But discord and black death await the game!

The prudent queen the lofty stair ascends;

At distance due a virgin-train attends:

A brazen key she held, the handle turn'd,

With steel and polish'd elephant adorn'd:

Swift to the inmost room she bent her way,

Where, safe repos'd, the royal treasures lay;

There shone high heap'd the labour'd brass and ore,

And there the bow which great Ulysses bore;

And there the quiver, where now guiltless slept

Those winged deaths that many a matron wept.

This gift, long since when Sparta's shores he trod,

On young Ulysses Iphitus² bestow'd:

Beneath Orsilochus's³ roof they met;

One loss was private, one a public debt;⁴

Messena's state from Ithaca detains

Three hundred sheep, and all the shepherd swains;

And to the youthful prince to urge the laws,

The king and elders trust their common cause.

But Iphitus, employ'd on other cares,

Search'd the wide country for his wandering mares,

And mules, the strongest of the labouring kind;

Hapless to search! more hapless still to find!

For journeying on to Hercules, at length

That lawless wretch, that man of brutal strength,

Deaf to Heaven's voice, the social rite transgress'd;⁵

And for the beauteous mares destroy'd his guest.

He⁶ gave the bow; and on Ulysses' part

Receiv'd a pointed sword, and missile dart:

Of luckless friendship on a foreign shore

Their first, last pledges! for they met no more.

The bow, bequeath'd by this unhappy hand,

Ulysses bore not from his native land;

Nor in the front of battle taught to bend,

But kept in dear memorial of his friend.

English (Thomas Hobbes, 1667, ed. Molesworth 1843) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Hobbes, 1667, ed. Molesworth 1843)) — 21.1 focus

PENELOPE, the suitors' strength to try,

Who soon st could bend her noble husband s bow,

And through the axes make his arrow fly,

And whom she was to marry now to know,

To a high chamber up the stairs she went,

Wherein Ulysses' precious goods did stand.

There hung upon a pin the bow unbent;

The well-made key she carried in her hand.

This bow was given him by Iphitus

At Sparta. But Ulysses with him met

First at Messena; for it fell out thus.

Ulysses then was there about a debt.

Messena men their ships had put ashore

At Ithaca, and thence had ta'en a prey

Of sheep, which was in number fifteen score,

And, with the shepherds, carried them away.

This was the cause Ulysses thither went.

'Twas a long way, and he scarce past a boy;

But by his father and the lords was sent

T' ask reparation for this annoy.

But Iphitus twelve mares had lost; each one

A young mule had that followed her behind,

(Which of his death were the occasion),

And at Messena these he thought to find.

But as he was returning back again,

And came unto the house of Hercules,

That mighty man first did him entertain,

And after, killing him, his mares did seize.

This was the man that to Ulysses gave

The bow; and from him had a sword and spear.

But Hercules had sent him to his grave,

Ere they had tasted one another's cheer.

This bow he carried not to Ilium,

Nor ever had made use of it in fray;

But often had it in his hand at home;

For only as a monument it lay.

English (William Cowper, 1791, ed. Southey) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (William Cowper, 1791, ed. Southey)) — 21.1 focus

MINERVA now, Goddess cærulean-eyed,

Prompted Icarius' daughter, the discrete

Penelope, with bow and rings to prove

Her suitors in Ulysses' courts, a game

Terrible in conclusion to them all.

First, taking in her hand the brazen key

Well-forged, and fitted with an ivory grasp,

Attended by the women of her train

She sought her inmost chamber, the recess

In which she kept the treasures of her Lord,

His brass, his gold, and steel elaborate.

Here lay his stubborn bow, and quiver fill'd

With numerous shafts, a fatal store. That bow

He had received and quiver from the hand

Of godlike Iphitus Eurytides,

Whom, in Messenia', in the house he met

Of brave Orsilochus. Ulysses came

Demanding payment of arrearage due

From all that land; for a Messenian fleet

Had borne from Ithaca three hundred sheep,

With all their shepherds; for which cause, ere yet

Adult, he voyaged to that distant shore,

Deputed by his sire, and by the Chiefs

Of Ithaca, to make the just demand.

But Iphitus had thither come to seek

Twelve mares and twelve mule colts which he had lost,

A search that cost him soon a bloody death.

For, coming to the house of Hercules

The valiant task-performing son of Jove,

He perish'd there, slain by his cruel host

Who, heedless of heaven's wrath, and of the rights

Of his own board, first fed, then slaughter'd him;

For in his house the mares and colts were hidden.

He, therefore, occupied in that concern,

Meeting Ulysses there, gave him the bow

Which, erst, huge Eurytus had borne, and which

Himself had from his dying sire received.

Ulysses, in return, on him bestow'd

A spear and sword, pledges of future love

And hospitality; but never more

They met each other at the friendly board,

For, ere that hour arrived, the son of Jove

Slew his own guest, the godlike Iphitus.

Thus came the bow into Ulysses' hands,

Which never in his gallant barks he bore

To battle with him, (though he used it oft

In times of peace,) but left it safely stored

At home, a dear memorial of his friend.

English (H. B. Cotterill, 1911) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (H. B. Cotterill, 1911)) — 21 focus

ODYSSEY BOOK XXI

NOW did a thought that was sent by the grey-eyed goddess Athene

Come to the daughter of Icarius, wise Penelopeia,

Bidding her carry the bow and the cold grey axes of iron

Into the hall for the contest—beginning of death for the suitors.

So by the stair that ascended aloft to her chamber she mounted.

Here with her fair strong hand she selected a well-curved door-key,

Beautiful, bronzen; and fitted thereon was an ivory handle.

Then to the room of the treasure she went with her maiden attendants,

Even the innermost room where stored was the wealth of her husband,

Many a rich-wrought treasure of bronze and of gold and of iron.

Here was the back-bent bow of Odysseus and here was the quiver

Holding the shafts, full many an arrow, the bringer of anguish,

Gifts of a friend he had met when he journeyed to fair Lacedaemon,

Iphitus, Eurytus' son, who was like the immortals of heaven.

Once in Messenian land they had lighted the one on the other,

E'en at the house of the wise prince Orsilochus for Odysseus

Thither had come for a debt that was owing from all of the people,

Since in their well-benched vessels Messenian robbers had carried

Off from the Ithacan isle three hundred sheep with the shepherds.

These to recover Odysseus had come from afar as an envoy.

Though but a lad he was sent by his sire and the rest of the elders.

Iphitus also was there; he had lost, and was seeking, his horses,

Twelve of them, mares, each one with a strong young mule at the udder.

(These same mares proved later his bane and the cause of his murder

While he was guest of the man who was son of Cronion, the dauntless

Hercules—wight that was guilty of many a terrible action;

Yea and he slew him, although as a friend he was there in his homestead,

Wickedly slew him despite of the wrath of the gods and the table

Spread by his hands for a stranger; and, after the man he had murdered,

Also the strong-hoof'd horses he kept for himself at his palace.)

Questing for these he had met with Odysseus, and gave him the weapon,

Even the bow that the great prince Eurytus carried, and later

Left to his son when he died in the high-roofed hall of his homestead.

Him with a sharp-edged sword and a powerful lance did Odysseus

Also present a beginning of intimate friendship; but neither

Shared of the bread of the other before by the son of Cronion

Murdered was Iphitus, Eurytus' son, who was like the immortals.

Such was the friend who had given the bow; but the godlike Odysseus

Never, when warring he went and aboard of his black-hulled vessels,

Took it, but aye it remained, of his well-loved friend a remembrance,

Lying at home, or alone in his native country he bare it.

Now when she came to the room of the treasure, that fairest of women,

Up to the threshold of oak she advanced, which once by the joiner

Smoothly was planed and was cut to the line with the skill of a master

(Posts he had fitted thereto and the glittering doors to the door-posts).

Straightway deftly she loosened the strap that was bound to the handle;

Then she inserted the key, and the bolt of the portal she shot back,

Pressing with accurate aim; and as grazing alone in a meadow

Bellows a bull, thus bellowed the doors of the beautiful portal,

Smit by the stroke of the key; and they both flew open before her.

Then on the high-built dais she stept, where many a coffer

Stood, in the which were lying her treasures of fragrant apparel.

Here outstretching her hand to the bow of Odysseus, she took it

Off from the peg where sheathed in its glittering case it was hanging.

Then did she seat her, and laying it down on her knees she beheld it

Bitterly weeping, and drew from its cover the bow of her husband,

Till, when at last she had sated her soul with her weeping and wailing,

Back to the hall she betook her and came to the arrogant suitors

Bearing the back-bent bow, and carrying also the quiver

Laden with shafts—full many an arrow, the bringer of anguish.

Maidens as well came after her bearing a basket with treasures,

Iron and bronze, full many a prize once gained by Odysseus.

So when at last she had come to the suitors, that fairest of women

Stood by the post of the door of the massively builded apartment,

Holding in front of her cheeks soft folds of her glistering head-dress.

There as she stood, with a trusty attendant on this and on that side,

Straightway unto the suitors she spake, and thus she addressed them :

"Listen, ye arrogant suitors incessantly haunting my homestead,

Vexing it ever and ever again with your bouts and your banquets

These long years that my lord was away—and never a pretext

Other in all that ye said did ye offer (nor could ye invent one)

Save that ye longed to possess me as wife and to force me to marry.

Come now, suitors! Behold, since such is the prize ye compete for,

Here is the bow of the godlike Odysseus! I lay it before you.

Who with his hands most easily stringeth the bow of my husband,

Should he be able to shoot clean through all twelve of the axes,

Him will I follow as wife, and shall bid farewell to this mansion,

Beautiful, beautiful home of my girlhood, abounding in comfort,

Home that I often in future, methinks, in my dreams shall remember."

Thus did she speak, and she bade Eumaeus, the good old swineherd,

Place for the suitors the bow and the cold grey axes of iron.

Bursting in tears Eumaeus received them and laid them in order.

Also the cowherd lamented, beholding the bow of his master.

Then spake Antinous and addressed them and rudely rebuked them:

“ Babies and boors, that regard but the things of the day as it passeth!

Wherefore, you couple of blubbering fools, thus trouble the lady,

Stirring the heart in her bosom again, when her spirit already

Lay o'erwhelmed in its grief at the loss of her well-loved husband?

Nay now, sit at the feast and be silent—or, must ye be weeping,

Get to the door and be gone!—But the bow .. ye can leave it behind you.

Fatal, methinks, 'twill prove as a test for the suitors. I trow not

Easy to bend and to string is the smooth-wrought bow that I see there.

Yea, for of all of us here there's never a man that is present

Such as of yore was Odysseus. I saw him myself and remember,

Well I remember, although I was only a child when I saw him."

Thus did he speak, while deep in his heart he was hoping to prove him

First of his fellows at stringing the bow and at piercing the axes.

Ay but as first of them all he was fated to taste of an arrow

Sped by the hands of the noble Odysseus, whom lately he flouted,

Sitting at meat in his hall and inciting the others against him.

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Then spake Telemachus, young valiant prince, to the suitors :

"Heavens! it seemeth that Father Cronion has robbed me of reason!

Here is my own dear mother, although of a good understanding,

Saying she meaneth to follow a stranger and part from her homestead.

Yea and I laugh and rejoice when I hear it as reft of my senses!

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Well now, suitors, behold! Since such is the prize ye compete for,

Even a lady unrivalled in all of the land of Achaea,

Also in Pylos the fair, and in Argive land and Mycene,

Nay on the Ithacan island itself and the dim dark mainland—

Ah, but ye know it yourselves, and my praise of my mother is needleess.

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Come, and delay no more with excuses! Arise, and defer not

Longer the trial of stringing the bow! Let us see what shall happen!

Ay and myself were fain to attempt this bow of my father.

Should I be able to string it and pierce with an arrow the axes,

Then shall my mother the queen not leave me alone in my sorrow,

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Quitting her home as the wife of a stranger, nor leave me behind her,

Should I be able to win me the glorious arms of my father."

E'en as he spake from his neck he unfastened his mantle of crimson,

Sprang to his feet, and unbuckled the sharp-edged sword from his shoulder.

Firstly the axes he fixed in the ground in a trench that he hollowed,

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One long trench for them all, and straight in a line he arranged them,

Stamping around them the earth—And astonishment seized the beholders,

Seeing him set them in order, although he had learnt it from no one.

Then to the threshold he went and to master the bow he attempted.

Thrice did he make it to quiver in trying to pull it towards him,

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Thrice did his strength give way; but he hoped natheless in his spirit

Still to be able to string it and pierce with an arrow the axes;

Yea he had strung it perhaps, for the fourth time mightily tugging,

Had not his eager attempt been checked by a nod from Odysseus.

Then did the valiant prince once more to the suitors address him:

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"Heavens, methinks I shall prove in the end but a coward and weakling!

Else, maybe, I am still but a youth, nor as yet can I trust me

Unto the strength of my hands, should any assail me in anger.

Come now, ye that excel me in bodily strength and in manhood,

Make an essay of the bow! Let us hasten to finish the contest!"

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These words spoken, the bow from his hands he surrender'd, and placed it

Leaning aslant on the door smooth-polished and finely compacted;

Also the shaft keen-pointed he propped by the beautiful bow-tip.

So he reseated himself on the chair from the which he had risen.

Then spake Antinous, Eupeithes' son, and addressed them :

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"Rise now, all of my mates! From the left hand make a beginning,

E'en from the place at the which he beginneth that filleth the wine-cups."

So spake Antinous, and his words pleased all of the others.

First of them Oenops' son, Leiodes, rose at his bidding.

He was the priest and diviner, and nigh to the beautiful wine-bowl

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Innermost ever he sat; and alone in his heart he detested

All the infatuate deeds of the suitors, and viewed them with anger.

Such was the man who was foremost to handle the bow and the arrow.

Up to the threshold he went, and to master the bow he attempted,

Nor was he able to string it, for ere it was bent he was weary

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Straining his unworn delicate hands; and he said to the suitors:

"Friends, I am wholly unable to string it. I leave it to others.

Ay and this weapon shall rob full many a man, and a brave one,

Soon of his life and his spirit. Indeed far better I hold it

So to be slain than to live and for ever to fail in obtaining

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All that we vainly expected resorting incessantly hither.

Many a man of us still has a hope in his heart and a longing

Penelopeia to marry, the wife of the godlike Odysseus

Yet I believe when he seeth the bow and essayeth to bend it

Then 'twere wiser a wife of the long-robed maids of Achaea

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Other to seek and to win with his bride-gifts, letting the lady

Marry the wooer that giveth the most and is destined to wed her."

These words spoken, the bow from his hands he surrender'd and placed it

Leaning aslant on the door smooth-polished and finely compacted;

Also the shaft keen-pointed he propped by the beautiful bow-tip.

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So he reseated himself on the chair from the which he had risen.

Then spake Antinous and addressed him and rudely rebuked him:

"Leiodes, what word from the door of thy lips hath escaped thee?

Grievous, insulting, I hold it. It rouses my anger to hear thee.

What! shall a bow like this rob many a man and a brave one

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Soon of his life and his spirit because thou failest to bend it ?

Navy, at thy birth, I assure thee, the lady thy mother produced not

One that was meant for a drawer of bows or a shooter of arrows.

Others among the illustrious suitors will easily string it."

Thus did he speak, and he called to Melanthius master of goatherds:

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"Ho there! kindle a flame on the hearth of the palace, Melantheus!

Station a good-sized settle anigh with a cover of sheepskin,

Fetch us moreover a ball of the fat that is stored in the larder;

Then shall the young men melt it, and oiling the bow with the unguent

Make an essay at the stringing and speedily finish the contest."

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Quick at the word was rekindled the restless flame by Melantheus.

Nigh it a good-sized settle he placed with a cover of sheepskin;

Also he fetched them a ball of the fat that was stored in the larder.

This did the young men melt, and they made the attempt; but they could not

String it. The strength for the feat was in all of them utterly wanting.

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Antinous held back and Eurymachus the heroic,

Chief of the suitors and stronger by far than the others and braver.

Now those twain had withdrawn them, the one by the side of the other,

Even the cowherd and also the swineherd of godlike Odysseus.

Following after them went from the palace Odysseus the hero,

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Till, when at length they had passed outside of the gate and the courtyard,

Then he uplifted his voice and with words right gentle addressed them :

"Cowherd, and thou, Eumaeus, a thing I am wishing to tell you.

Or shall I hide it within me? My spirit commands me to say it.

What is it like you'd prove in assisting Odysseus, if haply

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All of a sudden he came from afar and a deity brought him?

Would ye decide on defending the suitors or helping Odysseus?

Speak to me openly! Answer as heart and as spirit command you."

Him gave answer the man who as cowherd tended the cattle:

"Zeus, our Father! if only thou gav'st this prayer a fulfilment :

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O for the master to come! to be brought by a deity hither!

Then thou'dst learn of my strength and behold how ready my hands be!"

Likewise spake Eumaeus, and calling on all the immortals

Prayed for Odysseus the wise to return once more to his homeland.

Now when we saw that the hearts of the men were steadfastly loyal,

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Once more speaking he gave them an answer, and thus he addressed them :

"Lo, it is I that am here in my home! Great hardships I suffered.

Now in the twentieth year I am come to the land of my fathers.

Yea and I know that my coming is wished for by none of the others,

Only by you of my thralls; for I hear none other beside you

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Offering prayer to the gods to restore me again to my homeland.

Only to you will I say what shall happen and truly disclose it.

Should God grant it indeed that I vanquish the arrogant suitors,

Each of you then I will give an estate, and a wife I shall give him;

Homes near mine ye shall have new-builded, and ever in future

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Even as comrades and brothers of Telemachus I shall treat you.

Come now, also a proof I will give you infallibly certain,

So that ye surely shall know me and feel in your hearts an assurance.

Here is the wound which once by a boar's white tusk was inflicted

While with the sons I was hunting of Autolycus on Parnassus."

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Spake, and withdrawing his rags from the wound's great scar he disclosed it.

Then those twain, when they looked at it well and had marked it for certain,

Sobbed as they fell on the neck of Odysseus the wise and embraced him,

Lovingly kissing his head and his shoulders in token of welcome.

So did Odysseus as well, and kissed them on hand and on forehead;

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Yea and the light of the sun were set on the long lamentation

Had not Odysseus himself thus bid them refrain and addressed them :

"Cease ye from wailing and weeping, I pray, lest any perceive it

Issuing forth from the hall, and return to the house and inform them.

Now let us enter again, not going together, but singly,

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Firstly myself, then you; and let this be arranged and agreed to :

None, I am sure, of the others (I mean of the arrogant suitors)

E'er will allow that the bow shall be placed in my hands, or the quiver.

Therefore, my good Eumaeus, when bearing it round in the palace

Manage to give me the bow in my hands; then order the women,

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Carefully barring the doors fast-closed of the inner apartment,

There to remain ; and if any shall notice a din or a groaning

Here in the hall of the men, let her nowise venture to issue

Forth of her chamber, but still at her task keep silently working.

Thou, O honest Philoetius, see to the gate of the courtyard;

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Shut it and bolt it and fasten a rope right firmly about it."

These words spoken, he entered the pleasant abodes of the palace;

There he reseated himself on the chair from the which he had risen.

Likewise entered the twain—those thralls of the godlike Odysseus.

Now it was Eurymachus that was trying the bow, and on all sides

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Warming it, holding it close to the heat of the flame; but to string it

E'en thus wholly he failed; and he groaned in his valiant spirit

Sorely enraged, and aloud to the others he called and addressed them :

"Heavens! I truly am grieved for myself and for all of you others.

Not for my marriage so much I lament, though great is my sorrow;

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Many a woman is yet to be found of the race of Achaea

Here in the sea-girt Ithacan isle and in many a city.

Rather I grieve that in strength we're wholly unable to vie with

Godlike Odysseus; for here is his bow, and we have not the power

Even to string it—a thing that with men unborn will disgrace us."

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Then spake Antinous, Eupeithes' son, and addressed him :

"No, no, Eurymachus! it shall never be thus—and thou know'st it.

Even to-day in the land is the feast of the Archer Apollo,

Festival solemn, on which none bendeth a bow. Let us calmly

Lay it aside; and the axes methinks 'twere better to leave them

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Just so standing, for none, I am sure, will be likely to steal them,

Venturing nigh to the house of Odysseus the son of Laertes.

Come, let the bearer of wine now prime us the cups for libation.

After the wine we will stow us the well-cooked bow, and will order

Early the morrow Melanthius master of goatherds to bring us

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Goats, prime beasts, from the whole of his flock as the fattest selected.

So we shall offer the meat of the thighs to the Archer Apollo,

Then once more of the bow make trial and finish the contest."

Thus spake Antinous, and his words pleased all of the others.

Forthwith water was poured on the hands of the guests by the henchmen;

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Then did the pages, upwreathing on high with the liquor the wine-bowls,

Bear it around to them all, first priming the cups for libation.

Now when at last they had poured and had drunk to their souls' satisfaction,

Thus with a crafty design deep-plotting Odysseus addressed them

"List to my words, O suitors of far-famed Penelopeia,

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So that I utter a thing that the heart in my bosom commands me.

Chiefly to Eurymachus and to Antinous the heroic

Now I direct my request, for in this he has spoken with reason,

Bidding you cease the essay of the bow and to leave it to heaven;

God will to-morrow the victory grant to the man that he chooseth.

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Give me however the weapon—the smooth-wrought bow. I will test me

Here in your presence my hands and my strength, if I still am possessed of

Power as once in the supple and well-knit limbs of my body,

Or if a wanderer's life with its beggarly fare hath destroyed it."

Thus did he speak; and they all were filled with unspeakable anger,

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Fearing the smooth-wrought bow might haply be strung by the stranger.

Then spake Antinous and addressed him and loudly rebuked him:

"Wretched ridiculous stranger! thy wits seem utterly wanting.

Art not content to be sitting at ease midst nobles and princes

Here at the banquet and share in the feast? Wilt also be spying,

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Listing to all that we say and converse? None other beside thee,

Being a stranger and beggar as thou, e'er ventured to listen.

Wine honey-sweet hath infected thy senses, as many a mortal

Often it harms if he drains it in greedy immoderate potions.

Wine was the bane that distracted the wits of the Centaur, the famous

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Eurytion, in the palace of Peirithous great-hearted,

While in the Lapithan land; for when wine had confounded his senses

Roused to a fury he wrought foul deeds in the house of the monarch.

Wrath then fell on the band of the heroes: rising in anger

Out of the house by the portal they dragged him, his ears and his nostrils

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Shorn by the pitiless steel; and with wits distracted he wandered

Bearing the load of his sin with a mind that was weakened by madness.

Hence the beginning was made of the quarrel of men with the Centaurs;

Yea and he first on himself brought ruin when maddened by drinking.

Also for thee great woe I predict if thou haply accomplish

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Stringing the bow; for of none thou shalt gain thee protection and kindness

Here in the land, but anon in a black-hulled ship we shall send thee

Over to Echetus, king of the mainland and maimer of mortals,

Whence thou shalt never escape with thy life. So quietly sit there!

Drink an thou wilt, but incite not a quarrel with men that be younger!"

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Him forthwith gave answer the wise-souled Penelopeia :

"Antinous, 'twere truly a wrong and unfair to refuse him,

Being the guest of my son, like others that come to the palace.

Weenst thou perhaps, if the stranger in stringing the bow of Odysseus

Were to succeed, on his hands and his strength not vainly relying,

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Me he shall lead to his home and shall make me his consort? I trow not!

Neither, methinks, doth he hope it himself in the depth of his bosom.

Wherefore none of you fret at the thought nor be troubled in spirit

While at the banquet ye sit. 'Twere possible never and nowise!"

Then spake Polybus' son, prince Eurymachus, and addressed her :

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"Daughter of Icarius, O wise-souled Penelopeia,

Ne'er did we think of his leading thee home—may heaven forfend it!

Only we dreaded the talk and the tattle of men and of women,

Lest it be said some day by an evilly-minded Achaean

'Lo these fellows a-wooing the wife of a man that excels them

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Greatly—for even his bow they're wholly unable to string it,

While that a stranger that came to the palace, a beggarly vagrant,

Easily strung it and pierced with an arrow the axes of iron.'

Thus will they speak, and for us such words would prove a dishonour."

Him forthwith gave answer the wise-souled Penelopeia:

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"Eurymachus, fair fame in the land would never be given

Unto the men that, affronting the chief of the people as ye do,

Ruin his home. Then why do ye deem such words a dishonour ?

Lo, this stranger is tall; well built is his body and stalwart ;

Also he claims as his father a man that was brave and was upright.

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Give him the smooth-wrought bow! Navy, give! Let us see what will happen.

This one thing will I say—it will certainly find a fulfilment:

Should he be able to string it and win such fame of Apollo,

Then I shall clothe him in beautiful raiment, in mantle and tunic,

Give him moreover a lance that from men and from dogs shall protect him,

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Ay and a two-edged sword, and shall also provide him with sandals.

Then I shall send him wherever his heart and his spirit shall call him."

Her sage Telemachus addressing in turn gave answer:

"Mother, of all the Achaeans is none entitled as I be

Either to offer the bow to a man as I wish or refuse it.

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No one—neither the chiefs that in rockbound Ithaca lord it,

Nor in the isles off Elian land, which pastureth horses—

None of them, none, shall compel me unwilling if even I purpose

Once and for all to bestow on the stranger the bow as a present.

Now to thy chamber return and attend to thy own occupation,

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Even the loom and the distaff, and order thy maiden attendants

Keep to their tasks; we men will attend to the bow and the shooting,

All of us—chiefly myself; it is I that am lord of the household."

Full of amazement she turned her to go to the women's apartment,

Hiding the masterful words of her son deep down in her bosom.

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So, to her upper apartment ascending with maiden attendants,

Here she lamented Odysseus, her well-loved husband, till gently

Slumber was poured on her lids by the grey-eyed goddess Athene.

Now when the good old swineherd had taken the bow to convey it

Unto the stranger a tumult was raised in the hall by the suitors,

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Many an insolent youth in the midst of them loudly exclaiming:

"Where art thou taking the bow, thou detestable wretch of a swineherd?

Vagabond! Soon shall the dogs thou hast bred as a guard of thy pig-sties

Tear thee in pieces afar from the dwellings of man, if Apollo

Showeth us favour, as well as the other immortals in heaven."

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Thus did they speak, and at once did the swineherd who carried it lay it

Down in alarm, since many with clamour assailed him ; but straightway

Telemachus, who was standing apart, spake threatening loudly :

"Come, dad, bring it along! Thou'lt find it unpleasant obeying

Every master that calls. Take care, or I surely shall chase thee

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Out to the fields and shall pelt thee with stones. I am younger and stronger.

Ay and I would 'twere so with the suitors frequenting my homestead!

Would I excelled them as much in the strength of my arm and in manhood.

Soon were many a one sent forth on a road that he likes not

Out of my palace, for nought they imagine but evil against me."

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Thus did he speak, but the whole of the suitors as soon as they heard him

Merrily laughed, and allayed was the grievous wrath that their bosoms

Harboured for Telemachus; and the swineherd approaching anigh him

Unto Odysseus the wise gave over the bow and the arrows.

Then did he call forth Eurycleia the nurse and address her :

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"Telemachus commandeth thee, wise-souled Eurycleia,

Carefully barring the doors fast-closed of the inner apartment,

There to remain; and if any shall notice a din and a groaning

Here in the hall of the men, let her nowise venture to issue

Forth of her chamber, but still at her task keep silently working."

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PATTEN WILSON.
THE STRINGING OF THE BOW

Thus did he speak, and the words that he uttered abode with her wingless.

Firmly she bolted the doors of the fair-built women's apartment.

Then right stealthily out of the mansion Philoetius hastened;

Firmly he bolted the gate of the well-fenced palace enclosure.

Under the portal was lying a rope of a twy-beaked galley

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Made of papyrus; with this when the gates he had lashed he re-entered;

Here he reseated himself on the chair from the which he had risen,

Gazing intent at Odysseus, for now with the bow he was busy,

Turning it hither and thither, to test it on this and on that side,

Lest in his absence the worms peradventure had eaten the horn-tips.

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Meantime many a suitor was muttering thus to his neighbour :

"Truly a judge of a bow and a cunning adept he appeareth!

Either perhaps he possesses a weapon as this in his homestead,

Else he intendeth to make him the like. How deftly he holds it,

Turning it hither and thither, the knowing and mischievous vagrant!"

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Then would others again of the insolent youths make answer :

"O for this fellow to gain from the gods all profit and glory

Just in the selfsame measure wherein he succeeds with the stringing!"

Such words uttered the suitors. But now deep-plotting Odysseus,

After with care he had handled the great strong bow and had viewed it,

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E'en as a man that is skilled with the lute and is practised in singing

Easily stretches the string on a new-made peg of his phorminx,

After attaching the ends of the chord tight-twisted of sheepgut,

Thus with the great strong bow did Odysseus, and easily strung it.

Then with his right hand seizing it firmly he tested the bowstring.

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Under his touch full sweetly it sang, as the voice of a swallow.

Now fell mighty confusion and rage on the suitors: their visage

Changed; while Zeus from the sky crashed terribly, giving a warning.

Greatly exulting thereat long-suffering godlike Odysseus,

Knowing the signal was sent by the all-wise Father Cronion,

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Seized on the keen-edged arrow that lay on the table beside him

Bare (in the hollow quiver anigh lay all of the others,

Ready—and soon it was fated for many Achaeans to taste them).

Laying the shaft on the bridge and pulling the notch with the bowstring,

E'en from the chair on the which he was sitting he shot, and the arrow

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Sped with an accurate aim, and it pierced through all of the axes

Right from the first of the helves—straight through them; & out of the last one

Issued the bronze-tipped bolt; and to Telemachus he addressed him:

"Telemachus, thou art nowise shamed by the guest that is sitting

Here in thy palace. I missed not the mark that was set me and laboured

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Little at stringing the bow, for my strength is as sound as aforetime,

Not as the suitors assert with a scornful despite, to insult me.

Now is the moment at hand! Let us serve the Achaeans their supper

While it is day!—and when supper is done find other amusement,

Singing and dancing—for these are ever the crown of a banquet."

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Speaking, he nodded. At once, with his sharp sword girded about him,

Telemachus, dear son of the godlike hero Odysseus,

Laying his hand on a spear, sprang forth to the side of his father;

There by a chair on the threshold he stood with his glittering weapons.

Notes on the current edition

Odyssey

1. Hercules.

New Alexandria Commentaries

Anita Nikkanen

The inset narrative of how Odysseus came to have the bow that Penelope challenges the suitors to string and shoot with in order to win her hand has (as often for inset narratives in the Homeric poems) layers of meaning relevant to the main narrative. The bow is a gift of friendship from Iphitus, whom Odysseus meets while in Messene to collect a debt owed by the Messenians: they had taken three hundred sheep and their shepherds from Ithaca. Iphitus likewise is in search of twelve lost mares. The situation framing their encounter sets out a model for how reciprocation should work, even if “negative” as here, starting in theft: Odysseus is due recompense for the three hundred sheep and their shepherds. The theft of the sheep and shepherds parallels the suitors’ slaughtering of and feasting on Odysseus’ livestock and abuse of his household.

The suitable recompense for the suitors’ arrogance is foreshadowed in the story of the bow, as well. The twelve mares that Iphitus has come to reclaim turn out to be his undoing when Herakles kills him to keep the mares. Herakles does this while a guest in Iphitus’ house, without regard for the fact that he is offered food there – and without regard for the opis of the gods (O.21.28: σχέτλιος, οὐδὲ θεῶν ὄπιν αἰδέσατ’, “merciless one, and he did not fear the opis of gods”). Watkins (1977) has shown that opis is synonymous with mēnis. In comparing this line with a nearly identical one in Hesiod’s Works and Days (σχέτλιοι, οὐδὲ θεῶν ὄπιν εἰδότες, “merciless ones, and they did not know the opis of gods,” 187) where the transgressions incurring the opis are also listed, it is evident that divine retribution for transgression against the rules that maintain the cosmic order is meant. The scene between Herakles and Iphitus is one of hospitality (O.21.28-29), which parallels the situation between the suitors and Odysseus in the main narrative. Just as Herakles in the inset narrative breaks the rules of hospitality, so in the framing narrative do the suitors. Where the inset narrative contrasts with the main narrative is in the punishment: unlike Herakles, the suitors do not get out scot-free. The instrument of their undoing is the bow, the weapon that gives rise to this inset narrative. It is a gift of friendship (O.21.35), and as Seaford (1994) notes, it embodies the relationship of guest-friendship and the rules of hospitality; as such, it is an appropriate punisher for the abuse of hospitality. I would like to add that we are even told that Odysseus does not take this bow with him when he goes to Troy, but leaves it at home as a μνῆμα ξείνοιο φίλοιο, “a reminder of a dear guest-friend” (O.21.40). Appropriately, in a further way, then, the instrument of the suitors’ punishment embodies also the memory that leads to good conduct as a marker and upholder of a relationship of exchanging kharites, the reciprocal exchange of good turns.

See further:

Muellner, Leonard. 1996. The Anger of Achilles: Mênis in Greek Epic. Ithaca; London: Cornell University Press. (see pp. 36, 40, 187 on opis = mēnis and applications of Watkins’ argument)

Seaford, Richard. 1994. Reciprocity and Ritual: Homer and Tragedy in the Developing City-State. Oxford: Clarendon Press; New York: Oxford University Press.

Watkins, Calvert. 1977. “On Μῆνις.” Indo-European Studies 3:686-722. (see pp. 708-709, where he posits “a virtual semantic identity” between theōn opis and theōn mēnis)

West, Martin Litchfield, ed. 1966. Hesiod, Theogony. Oxford: Clarendon Press. (see p. 230 on Theogony 222 for theōn opis in Hesiod as meaning divine punishment rather than mere divine regard)

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Compare O.19.576-581, where these same lines occur when Penelope proposes the contest of the bow. As noted there, Penelope’s memory and mindfulness of her marriage to Odysseus are exceptional in the Odyssey: other women, we are told (O.15.20-23), tend to forget their previous marriage and children when remarrying, but Penelope, as she issues the challenge of the bow to the suitors here, presents herself as doing the opposite (these lines are also found at O.19.576-581 where Penelope proposes the contest of the bow to determine the successful suitor). Compare O.24.194-198, where Agamemnon singles out Penelope’s memory of Odysseus as that which deserves commemorating as a kleos. Penelope stands out as an example of socially ethical behavior.

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Gregory Nagy

Toward the end of Rhapsody 21, Odysseus will pass an all-important test set by Penelope: he will string his famous bow—which none of the suitors could string, no matter how hard they tried—and he will shoot an arrow straight through all the holes of twelve axe-heads lined up in a row for this one-time occasion, designed to be viewed as the contest to end all contests in the skills of archery. This contest will determine, once and for all, who is really eligible, among all the Achaeans, to be recognized as the husband of the queen. But the winning of this ultimate contest by Odysseus is not enough: the king must now kill, with the same bow, all the would-be husbands of the queen. So, once Odysseus passes the test set by Penelope, as narrated toward the end of Rhapsody 21, the killing of the rival Achaeans can begin in Rhapsody 22. And the overall occasion for both the passing of Penelope’s test and the killing of the suitors is the beginning of a grand festival celebrating the god Apollo and the arrival of spring.

draft js image error Hēraklēs stringing a bow. Silver stater, c. 450–440 BCE, Thebes (Boeotia). Image via Wikimedia Commons.

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Hēraklēs is involved here, however indirectly, in the story that tells how Odysseus once upon a time acquired his famous bow. The epithet epi-histōr describing Hēraklēs in this context, at O.21.026, can be interpreted as an agent noun: ‘one who has witnessed great events’ (Ἡρακλῆα μεγάλων ἐπιίστορα ἔργων). As an agent noun, histōr is derived not only from eidénai ‘know’ but also from ideîn ‘see’: a case in point is the meaning of ep-ideîn at I.22.061, ‘having witnessed many evil events’ (κακὰ πόλλ’ ἐπιδόντα).

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Telemachus recognizes here that the praise deserved by Penelope is self-evident, in the sense that the word ainos here can mean ‘praise’. What is less clear, however, is whether he fully recognizes—as of yet—the right words to use for encoding and decoding what should be said about his mother. The further meaning of ainos as ‘coded words’ leaves room for such lack of full clarity.

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Here we see that Odysseus is a paragon of biē ‘force, violence, strength’ in his own right. He and only he has the strength to string his own bow, while all the suitors fail to show any matching strength. So, Odysseus here is a paragon not only of mētis ‘mind, intelligence’ but also of biē ‘force, violence, strength’.

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Leonard Muellner

analysis of thuoskoos as not a particularly prestigious occupation, in the context of analyzing Odysseus’ response to Leodes in O.22.321

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Homer Odyssey 21.1

ed. George Chapman

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Current edition Experimental

ODYSSEY BOOK XXI

PATTEN WILSON.
THE STRINGING OF THE BOW

Notes on the current edition

New Alexandria Commentaries

Stable identifiers

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Current edition Experimental

ODYSSEY BOOK XXI

PATTEN WILSON. THE STRINGING OF THE BOW

Notes on the current edition

New Alexandria Commentaries

Stable identifiers

PATTEN WILSON.
THE STRINGING OF THE BOW