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This made fresh fears breathe

Their former boldness. Every man had eye

On all the means, and studied ways to fly

So deep deaths imminent. But seeing none,

Eurymachus began with suppliant moan

To move his pity, saying: "If you be

This isle's Ulysses, we must all agree,

In grant of your reproof's integrity,

The Greeks have done you many a wrong at home,

At field as many. But of all the sum

Lies here contract in death; for only he

Imposed the whole ill-offices that we

Are now made guilty of, and not so much

Sought his endeavours, or in thought did touch

At any nuptials, but a greater thing

Employ'd his forces; for to be our king

Was his chief object; his sole plot it was

To kill your son, which Jove's hand would not pass,

But set it to his own most merited end.

In which end your just anger, nor extend

Your stern wreak further; spend your royal powers

In mild ruth of your people; we are yours;

And whatsoever waste of wine or food

Our liberties have made, we'll make all good

In restitutions. Call a court, and pass

A fine of twenty oxen, gold, and brass,

On every head, and raise your most rates still,

Till you are pleased with your confessed fill.

Which if we fail to tender, all your wrath

It shall be justice in our bloods to bathe."

"Eurymachus," said he, "if you would give

All that your fathers' hoard, to make ye live,

And all that ever you yourselves possess,

Or shall by any industry increase,

I would not cease from slaughter, till your bloods

Had bought out your intemperance in my goods.

It rests now for you that you either fight

That will 'scape death, or make your way by flight.

In whose best choice, my thoughts conceive, not one

Shall shun the death your first hath undergone."

This quite dissolved their knees. Eurymachus,

Enforcing all their fears, yet counsell'd thus:

"O friends! This man, now he hath got the bow

And quiver by him, ever will bestow

His most inaccessible hands at us,

And never leave, if we avoid him thus,

Till he hath strewn the pavement with us all;

And, therefore, join we swords, and on him fall

With tables forced up, and borne in opposed

Against his sharp shafts; when, being round enclosed

By all our onsets, we shall either take

His horrid person, or for safety make

His rage retire from out the hall and gates;

100

And then, if he escape, we'll make our states

Known to the city by our general cry.

And thus this man shall let his last shaft fly

That ever this hand vaunted."

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.) — 22.42 focus

ὣς φάτο, τοὺς δʼ ἄρα πάντας ὑπὸ χλωρὸν δέος εἷλεν·

πάπτηνεν δὲ ἕκαστος ὅπη φύγοι αἰπὺν ὄλεθρον.

Εὐρύμαχος δέ μιν οἶος ἀμειβόμενος προσέειπεν·

εἰ μὲν δὴ Ὀδυσεὺς Ἰθακήσιος εἰλήλουθας,

ταῦτα μὲν αἴσιμα εἶπας, ὅσα ῥέζεσκον Ἀχαιοί,

πολλὰ μὲν ἐν μεγάροισιν ἀτάσθαλα, πολλὰ δʼ ἐπʼ ἀγροῦ.

ἀλλʼ ὁ μὲν ἤδη κεῖται ὃς αἴτιος ἔπλετο πάντων,

Ἀντίνοος· οὗτος γὰρ ἐπίηλεν τάδε ἔργα,

οὔ τι γάμου τόσσον κεχρημένος οὐδὲ χατίζων,

ἀλλʼ ἄλλα φρονέων, τά οἱ οὐκ ἐτέλεσσε Κρονίων,

ὄφρʼ Ἰθάκης κατὰ δῆμον ἐϋκτιμένης βασιλεύοι

αὐτός, ἀτὰρ σὸν παῖδα κατακτείνειε λοχήσας.

νῦν δʼ ὁ μὲν ἐν μοίρῃ πέφαται, σὺ δὲ φείδεο λαῶν

σῶν· ἀτὰρ ἄμμες ὄπισθεν ἀρεσσάμενοι κατὰ δῆμον,

ὅσσα τοι ἐκπέποται καὶ ἐδήδοται ἐν μεγάροισι,

τιμὴν ἀμφὶς ἄγοντες ἐεικοσάβοιον ἕκαστος,

χαλκόν τε χρυσόν τʼ ἀποδώσομεν, εἰς ὅ κε σὸν κῆρ

ἰανθῇ· πρὶν δʼ οὔ τι νεμεσσητὸν κεχολῶσθαι.

τὸν δʼ ἄρʼ ὑπόδρα ἰδὼν προσέφη πολύμητις Ὀδυσσεύς·

Εὐρύμαχʼ, οὐδʼ εἴ μοι πατρώϊα πάντʼ ἀποδοῖτε,

ὅσσα τε νῦν ὔμμʼ ἐστὶ καὶ εἴ ποθεν ἄλλʼ ἐπιθεῖτε,

οὐδέ κεν ὣς ἔτι χεῖρας ἐμὰς λήξαιμι φόνοιο

πρὶν πᾶσαν μνηστῆρας ὑπερβασίην ἀποτῖσαι.

νῦν ὑμῖν παράκειται ἐναντίον ἠὲ μάχεσθαι

ἢ φεύγειν, ὅς κεν θάνατον καὶ κῆρας ἀλύξῃ·

ἀλλά τινʼ οὐ φεύξεσθαι ὀΐομαι αἰπὺν ὄλεθρον.

ὣς φάτο, τῶν δʼ αὐτοῦ λύτο γούνατα καὶ φίλον ἦτορ.

τοῖσιν δʼ Εὐρύμαχος προσεφώνεε δεύτερον αὖτις·

ὦ φίλοι, οὐ γὰρ σχήσει ἀνὴρ ὅδε χεῖρας ἀάπτους,

ἀλλʼ ἐπεὶ ἔλλαβε τόξον ἐΰξοον ἠδὲ φαρέτρην,

οὐδοῦ ἄπο ξεστοῦ τοξάσσεται, εἰς ὅ κε πάντας

ἄμμε κατακτείνῃ· ἀλλὰ μνησώμεθα χάρμης.

φάσγανά τε σπάσσασθε καὶ ἀντίσχεσθε τραπέζας

ἰῶν ὠκυμόρων· ἐπὶ δʼ αὐτῷ πάντες ἔχωμεν

ἀθρόοι, εἴ κέ μιν οὐδοῦ ἀπώσομεν ἠδὲ θυράων,

ἔλθωμεν δʼ ἀνὰ ἄστυ, βοὴ δʼ ὤκιστα γένοιτο·

τῷ κε τάχʼ οὗτος ἀνὴρ νῦν ὕστατα τοξάσσαιτο.

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.) — 22.42 focus

So he spoke, and thereat¹ pale fear seized them all, and each man gazed about to see how he might escape utter destruction; Eurymachus alone answered him, and said: 45 “If thou art indeed Odysseus of Ithaca , come home again, this that thou sayest is just regarding all that the Achaeans have wrought—many deeds of wanton folly in thy halls and many in the field. But he now lies dead, who was to blame for all, even Antinous; for it was he who set on foot these deeds, 50 not so much through desire or need of the marriage, but with another purpose, which the son of Cronos did not bring to pass for him, that in the land of settled Ithaca he might himself be king, and might lie in wait for thy son and slay him. But now he lies slain, as was his due, but do thou spare the people 55 that are thine own; and we will hereafter go about the land and get thee recompense for all that has been drunk and eaten in thy halls, and will bring each man for himself in requital the worth of twenty oxen, and pay thee back in bronze and gold until thy heart be warmed; but till then no one could blame thee that thou art wroth.” 60 Then with an angry glance from beneath his brows Odysseus of many wiles answered him: “Eurymachus, not even if you should give me in requital all that your fathers left you, even all that you now have, and should add other wealth thereto from whence ye might, not even so would I henceforth stay my hands from slaying until the wooers had paid the full price of all their transgression. 65 Now it lies before you to fight in open fight, or to flee, if any man may avoid death and the fates; but many a one, methinks, shall not escape from utter destruction.” So he spoke, and their knees were loosened where they stood, and their hearts melted; and Eurymachus spoke among them again a second time: 70 “Friends, for you see that this man will not stay his invincible hands, but now that he was got the polished bow and the quiver, will shoot from the smooth threshold until he slays us all, come, let us take thought of battle. Draw your swords, and hold the tables before you against 75 the arrows that bring swift death, and let us all have at him in a body, in the hope that we may thrust him from the threshold and the doorway, and go throughout the city, and so the alarm be swiftly raised; then should this fellow soon have shot his last.”

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.) — 22.42 focus

42 They turned pale with fear as he spoke, and every man looked round about to see whither he might flee for safety, but Eurymakhos alone spoke.

44 "If you are Odysseus," said he, "then what you have said is just. We have done much wrong on your lands and in your house. But Antinoos, who was the head and front of the offending [ aitios], lies low already. It was all his doing. It was not that he wanted to marry Penelope; he did not so much care about that; what he wanted was something quite different, and Zeus has not granted it to him; he wanted to kill your son and to be chief man in Ithaca . Now, therefore, that he has met the death which was his due, spare the lives of your people. We will make everything good among ourselves in this district [ dêmos], and pay you in full for all that we have eaten and drunk. Each one of us shall pay you a fine worth twenty oxen, and we will keep on giving you gold and bronze till your heart is softened. Until we have done this no one can complain of your being enraged against us."

60 Odysseus again glared at him and said, "Though you should give me all that you have in the world both now and all that you ever shall have, I will not stay my hand till I have paid all of you in full. You must fight, or flee for your lives; and flee, not a man of you shall."

68 Their hearts sank as they heard him, but Eurymakhos again spoke saying:

English (Butler, rev. Nagy et al., 2020) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Butler, rev. Nagy et al., 2020)) — 22.42 focus

They turned pale with fear as he spoke, and every man looked round about to see where he might flee for safety, but Eurymakhos alone spoke.

[45] “If you are Odysseus,” said he, “then what you have said is just. We have done much wrong on your lands and in your house. But Antinoos, who was the head and front of the guilty [ aitios], lies low already. It was all his doing. [50] It was not that he wanted to marry Penelope; he did not so much care about that; what he wanted was something quite different, and Zeus, son of Kronos, has not granted it to him; he wanted to kill your son and to be chief man in strong-founded Ithaca. Now, therefore, that he has met the death which was his due, spare the lives [55] of your people. We will make everything good among ourselves in the district [ dēmos], and pay you in full for all that we have eaten and drunk. Each one of us shall pay you a fine worth twenty oxen, and we will keep on giving you gold and bronze till your heart is softened. Until we have done this no one can complain of your being enraged against us.”

[60] Resourceful Odysseus again glared at him and said, “Though you should give me all that you have in the world both now and all that you ever shall have, I will not stay my hand till I have paid all of you in full. [65] You must fight, or flee for your lives; and flee, not a man of you shall.”

Their hearts sank as they heard him, but Eurymakhos again spoke saying:

[70] “My friends, this man will give us no quarter. He will stand where he is and shoot us down till he has killed every man among us. Let us then show fight; draw your swords, and hold up the tables to shield you [75] from his arrows. Let us have at him with a rush, to drive him from the pavement and doorway: we can then get through into the town, and raise such an alarm as shall soon stay his shooting.”

English (William Cullen Bryant, 1873) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (William Cullen Bryant, 1873)) — 22.42 focus

He spake, and all were pale with fear, and each

Looked round for some escape from death. Alone

Eurymachus found voice, and answered thus : -

"If thou indeed be he, the Ithacan

Ulysses, now returned to thine old home,

Well hast thou spoken of the many wrongs

Done to thee by the Achaians in thy house

And in thy fields. But there the man lies slain

Who was the cause of all. Antinoüs first

Began this course of wrong. Nor were his thoughts

So much of marriage as another aim, -

Which Saturn's son denied him, - to bear rule

Himself o'er those who till the pleasant fields

Of Ithaca, first having slain thy son

In ambush. But he now has met his fate.

Spare, then, thy people. We will afterward

Make due amends in public for the waste

Here in thy palace of the food and wine.

For each of us shall bring thee twenty beeves,

And brass and gold, until thy heart shall be

Content. Till then we cannot blame thy wrath."

Sternly the wise Ulysses frowned, and said:

"Eurymachus, if thou shouldst offer me

All that thou hast, thy father's wealth entire,

And add yet other gifts, not even then

Would I refrain from bloodshed, ere my hand

Avenged my wrongs upon the suitor-crew.

Choose then to fight or flee, whoever hopes

Escape from death and fate; yet none of you

Will now, I think, avoid that bitter doom."

He spake. At once their knees and head grew faint,

And thus Eurymachus bespake the rest : -

"This man, O friends, to his untamable arm

Will give no rest, but with that bow in hand,

And quiver, will send forth from where he stands

His shafts, till he has slain us all. Prepare

For combat then, and draw your swords, and hold

The tables up against his deadly shafts,

And rush together at him as one man,

And drive him from the threshold through the door.

Then, hurrying through the city, let us sound

The alarm, and soon he will have shot his last."

English (Alexander Pope, 1726, ed. Watson, 1858) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Alexander Pope, 1726, ed. Watson, 1858)) — 22.42 focus

Thus dreadful he. Confus'd the suitors stood;

From their pale cheeks recedes the flying blood:

Trembling they sought their guilty heads to hide;

Alone the bold Eurymachus replied:

"If, as thy words import," (he thus began,)

"Ulysses lives, and thou the mighty man,

Great are thy wrongs, and much hast thou sustain'd

In thy spoil'd palace, and exhausted land;

The cause and author of those guilty deeds,

Lo! at thy feet unjust Antinoüs bleeds.

Not love, but wild ambition was his guide;

To slay thy son, thy kingdoms to divide,

These were his aims; but juster Jove denied.

Since cold in death th' offender lies, oh spare

Thy suppliant people, and receive their prayer!

Brass, gold, and treasures, shall the spoil defray,

Two hundred oxen every prince shall pay,

The waste of years refunded in a day.

Till then thy wrath is just." Ulysses burn'd

With high disdain, and sternly thus return'd:

"All, all the treasures that enrich'd our throne

Before your rapines, join'd with all your own,

If offer'd, vainly should for mercy call;

'Tis you that offer, and I scorn them all:

Your blood is my demand, your lives the prize,

Till pale as yonder wretch each suitor lies.

Hence with those coward terms; or fight or fly;

This choice is left you to resist or die;

And die I trust ye shall." He sternly spoke:

With guilty fears the pale assembly shook.

Alone Eurymachus exhorts the train:

"Yon archer, comrades, will not shoot in vain;

But from the threshold shall his darts be sped,

(Whoe'er he be,) till every prince lie dead?

Be mindful of yourselves, draw forth your swords,

And to his shafts obtend these ample boards;

(So need compels.) Then, all united strive

The bold invader from his post to drive;

The city rous'd shall to our rescue haste,

And this mad archer soon have shot his last."

English (Thomas Hobbes, 1667, ed. Molesworth 1843) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Hobbes, 1667, ed. Molesworth 1843)) — 22.42 focus

At this they frighted were, and looked wan;

And each one peep'd about what way to take

To save his own life, if he could, by flight.

None but Eurymachus t' Ulysses spake:

If you Ulysses be, you say but right;

Much harm is done you both in house and field;

But this Antinous author was of't all;

He set us on, and here lies justly killed.

For wedding of your wife his care was small.

His care was how to make himself here king

(Which Jove not suffer'd him to bring to pass);

And to destruction how your son to bring,

He chiefly thinking and designing was.

And since that he deservedly is slain,

Spare your own people; we'll repair what's done,

And what is spent we will make up again,

And recompense with twenty cows each one;

And brass and gold till you be satisfied;

If not, there's no man can your anger blame.

To this Ulysses with a sour look replied:

Your whole estates, and added to the same

How much soever you can elsewhere get,

Too little is to bind me to desist,

Until the suitors shall have paid their debt.

Two ways before you lie, take which you list,

To fight or fly, if you will death avoid ;

But fly, I think you cannot. So said he.

Eurymachus then to the suitors said:

The man will not lay down his bow you see;

But since 'tis in his hand, and arrows by,

And stands upon the threshold of the door,

His shafts will fly at us continually,

And till we are all slain will not give o'er:

Let's therefore take up tables for defence

Against his shafts, and, sword, in hand, run all

Unto the door at once and drive him thence,

And people of the town together call.

English (William Cowper, 1791, ed. Southey) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (William Cowper, 1791, ed. Southey)) — 22.42 focus

He said; their cheeks all faded at the sound,

And each with sharpen'd eyes search'd every nook

For an escape from his impending doom,

Till thus, alone, Eurymachus replied.

If thou indeed art he, the mighty Chief

Of Ithaca return'd, thou hast rehearsed

With truth the crimes committed by the Greeks

Frequent, both in thy house and in thy field.

But he, already, who was cause of all,

Lies slain, Antinois; he thy palace fill'd

With outrage, not solicitous so much

To win the fair Penelope, but thoughts

Far different framing, which Saturnian Jove

Hath baffled all; to rule himself supreme

In noble Ithaca, when he had kill'd

By an insidious stratagem thy son.

But he is slain. Now therefore, spare thy own,

Thy people; public reparation due

Shall sure be thine, and to appease thy wrath

For all the waste that, eating, drinking here

We have committed, we will yield thee, each,

Full twenty beeves, gold paying thee beside

And brass, till joy shall fill thee at the sight,

However just thine anger was before.

To whom Ulysses, frowning stern, replied.

Eurymachus, would ye contribute each

His whole inheritance, and other sums

Still add beside, ye should not, even so,

These hands of mine bribe to abstain from blood,

Till every suitor suffer for his wrong.

Ye have your choice. Fight with me, or escape

(Whoever may) the terrours of his fate,

But ye all perish, if my thought be true.

He ended, they with trembling knees and hearts

All heard, whom thus Eurymachus address'd.

To your defence, my friends! for respite none

Will he to his victorious hands afford,

But arm'd with bow and quiver, will dispatch

Shafts from the door till he have slain us all.

Therefore to arms--draw each his sword-oppose

The tables to his shafts, and all at once

Rush on him; that dislodging him at least

From portal and from threshold, we may give

The city on all sides a loud alarm,

So shall this archer soon have shot his last.

English (H. B. Cotterill, 1911) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (H. B. Cotterill, 1911)) — 22 focus

ODYSSEY BOOK XXII

CASTING his beggarly raiment aside, deep-plotting Odysseus

Leapt on the threshold of stone, still holding the bow and the quiver

Laden with bolts; and before him the swift-winged arrows he poured out

Close to his feet on the floor; and he spake, addressing the suitors:

"Lo, this fatal, calamitous contest is done—it is finished!

Now for a mark far other—a mark ne'er smit by a bowman!

This will I choose me, and see if renown shall be sent by Apollo."

Spake, and at Antinous directed the sharp-fanged arrow,

Just as he paused at the moment of lifting a beautiful goblet,

Golden, with handles at both of its sides; and already he held it,

Meaning to drink of the wine; and of death no thought or suspicion

Troubled his mind. (Would any believe in the midst of a banquet

One man, single among so many, however audacious,

Thus might compass his doom and plunge him in death and in darkness?)

Steadily aimed was the bolt of Odysseus: it struck on the gullet.

Pierced was the delicate neck right through by the point of the arrow.

Over he lurched; from his hand dropt crashing the cup, and he lay there

Mortally struck, while jetted a thick red stream of his life-blood

Out of his nostrils. His foot, convulsively striking the table,

Spurned it afar and upset it. Defiled lay all of the viands,

Spilt on the ground, roast flesh with the bread. Then clamour and tumult

Rose in the hall when the suitors beheld their comrade was fallen.

Up from the seats at the table they leaped in a panic of terror,

Eagerly peering around at the well-built walls to discover

Either a shield or a spear strong-shafted; but nothing they found there.

Then on Odysseus they turned and with angry reviling assailed him:

"Stranger, in sooth thou'lt suffer for shooting at men! In a contest

Never again shalt thou share. Death certain and sudden awaits thee.

Lo, thou hast murdered a man who was foremost of all of the princes

Here in the Ithacan land—so Ithacan vultures shall eat thee."

Thus spake all, for they deemed of a truth that the stranger had killed him

Not with intent. Ah, fools! yea, foolish and blind, for they saw not

Over the heads of them all impending the toils of destruction.

Glaring askance at the men, deep-plotting Odysseus addressed them :

"Dogs! ye imagined me never returning again to my homestead

Back from the land of the Trojans and so laid waste my possessions,

Won by compulsion to lustful embraces the women, my servants,

Yea and with guile came wooing my wife while still I was living,

Neither afraid of the gods who inhabit the infinite heaven

Nor that the vengeance of man could smite you hereafter. Behold now

Over the heads of you all impending the toils of destruction!"

Thus did he speak. Forthwith pale dread seized all of the suitors,

Each one peering to 'scape from the doom that was swiftly approaching.

Eurymachus was the one that alone found voice, and he answered :

'Art thou Odysseus the Ithacan, come once more to thy homeland,

Truly thou speakest with right. Such things have wrought the Achaeans,

Many and many infatuate deeds in thy palace and farmsteads.

Lo now, he that was guilty of all here lieth before us,

Antinous. It is he that alone these crimes hath incited.

Not so much that he needed to wed or was longing for marriage;

No, his intent was another—but heaven refused to fulfil it—

E'en to install as the king of the flourishing Ithacan people

None but himself, and, catching thy son in an ambush, to slay him.

Now he is dead, as he richly deserved. So spare us, thy people,

Even thy own! We will go each one to his tribe, and hereafter

Each shall requite thee for all he has eaten and drunk in thy palace,

Each one make an atonement of five score oxen in value.

Also with bronze and with gold will we offer requital and soften

Fully thy heart. Till then for thy wrath none truly can blame thee."

Glaring askance at the man, thus spake deep-plotting Odysseus:

"Eurymachus, if ye give me the whole of the wealth of your fathers,

All ye at present possess and all ye shall add to it later,

Not e'en thus shall my hands be restrained nor shall cease from the slaughter

Till I shall wreak my revenge to the full on the sins of the suitors.

Now there lieth before you to fight, or to flee—if by fighting

Any shall hope, or by fleeing, to save him from doom and destruction.

Nay but I trow not a man shall escape from his utter perdition."

Thus as he spake were loosened the knees and the hearts of the suitors.

Then spake Eurymachus once more as he turned to his comrades :

"Friends, it is vain! The invincible might of his hands he will check not.

Now he has got in his power the smooth-wrought bow and the quiver,

Down from the threshold of stone he will shoot us, until he has slain us

All, to a man. Let us turn our minds to the fury of battle.

Draw ye! and hold ye the tables before you to shield you as bucklers,

Quenching his bolts so fatal and swift. Then, rushing upon him

All in a body, attempt from the threshold and portal to drive him!

So let us get to the city and quickly arouse the alarm there!

Then shall the shaft that the fellow has shot be the last of his lifetime."

These words loudly he uttered, and drawing his sword from the scabbard,

Bronzen and sharpened on both of the edges, he leaped on Odysseus

Terribly shouting; but just at the moment the godlike Odysseus

Loosened a bolt from the bow, and smiting his breast by the nipple

Into the liver was driven the swift-winged shaft; and his sword dropt

Out of his hand to the ground; then, staggering, over a table,

All entangled around it, he fell and scattered the dishes

On to the floor with the food and a twy-cupped bowl; and his forehead

Smote on the earth as he writhed in his agony, spurning the armchair

Sharply with both of his feet. On his eyes then darkness descended.

Amphinomus now rushed at Odysseus, the glorious hero,

Charging him straight from the front with his sharp sword drawn from the scabbard,

Hoping to drive him away from the portal; but ere he had reached him

Telemachus from behind with a bronze-shod javelin smote him

Right in the midst of the back; and out of his breast it protruded.

Crashing he fell, and he struck on the ground with the whole of his forehead.

Telemachus sprang back, but his long-stemmed spear he had left there

Planted in Amphinomus, for he feared lest one of the nobles

While he was drawing it forth might suddenly rush to assail him,

Giving a stab with a sword or a downward stroke of his weapon.

Then to his well-loved father he ran, and reaching him quickly

Stood at his side, and in haste these swift-winged words he addressed him :

100

"Father, at once I will fetch thee a shield and a couple of lances,

Also a helm all bronze with a visor to cover the temples.

Then I will go and will clothe me in armour, and give to the swineherd

Other, and also the cowherd. 'Tis better in arms to equip us."

Forthwith answering spake these words deep-plotting Odysseus:

105

"Run for them! run!—while yet I have arrows enough to defend me!

Lest thus single I fail to resist and be thrust from the doorway."

Thus did he speak, and the youth, as his well-loved father commanded,

Ran to the chamber in which were lying the glorious weapons.

Out of them eight good lances and four of the shields he selected;

110

Four bronze helmets he chose him with horse-tails heavily crested,

Carrying which he returned full quickly and came to his father.

Firstly himself in a harness of bronze he invested; and likewise

Also the thralls, those twain, encased them in beautiful armour.

Then at the side of the wise and wary Odysseus they placed them.

115

He however, as long as the arrows sufficed to defend him,

Aye at the suitors at one or the other—entrapped in his mansion

Aimed; and they fell as he smote them, the one by the side of the other.

Then, when the shafts had deserted their lord and had failed him in shooting,

Nigh to the post of the door of the massively builded apartment

120

Propping the bow, on the face of the inside glistering house-wall,

Over his shoulders he hung him a fourfold target of oxhide;

Also a well-wrought helm on his stalwart head he adjusted,

Plumed with the tail of a horse, which terribly nodded above it.

Then two weapons he chose, bronze-bladed and powerful lances.

125

Now in the well-built wall was a high-raised postern inserted

Flush with the slab of the threshold, and here from the hall was an outlet

Through to a passage by doors well-fitting and double defended.

This had Odysseus commanded the good old swineherd to look to

Standing anigh it; for here was the only approach to the passage.

130

Then from the midst of the suitors, addressing them, spake Agelaus:

"Friends, is a man to be found who will mount by the postern and quickly

Bring a report to the men of the city and rouse an alarm there ?

Then shall the shafts that the fellow has shot be the last of his lifetime."

Him forthwith gave answer Melanthius master of goatherds :

135

"Twere not possible, prince Agelaus, for terribly near it

Opens the beautiful door of the court, and the mouth of the passage

Offers a peril, for one strong man might hinder a thousand.

Navy, let me fetch you, to arm you withal, both weapons and hauberks

Out of the chamber in which (for I trow it was there and not elsewhere)

140

All were stowed by this fine prince Telemachus and his father."

These words spoken, he clambered—Melanthius master of goatherds—

Up by the loophole lights of the hall to the rooms of Odysseus.

Thence twelve targets he took and a dozen of lances, and also

Twelve bronze helmets he chose him with horse-tails heavily crested.

145

Then he returned, and he brought them and gave them in haste to the suitors.

Now did the knee-joints quake and the inmost heart of Odysseus

While he perceived them equipping themselves in the armour and shaking

Long-stemmed spears in their hands; and he felt that his task was a great one.

Quickly he turned to his son and with swift-winged words he addressed him :

150

"Telemachus, is it one of the maids in the women's apartment

Plying this treacherous game—or else peradventure Melantheus?"

Him sage Telemachus addressing in turn gave answer:

"Father, the fault is my own that it happened, and guilty is no one

Other, for after I opened the fast-closed door of the chamber

155

Wholly forgetting I left it, and some one cleverer spied it.

Go now, good Eumaeus, and closing the door of the chamber

Watch and discover if one of the women is doing this mischief;

Else it is Dolius' son, I am certain, the goatherd Melantheus."

Thus did the men hold converse and counsel the one with the other.

160

Then once more to the chamber Melanthius master of goatherds

Went for the beautiful arms; and the good old swineherd, who saw it,

Hastily called to Odysseus, who stood full near, and addressed him :

"Zeus-born son of Laertes, thou wise and wary Odysseus,

Yea it is even the fellow we thought, that impudent goatherd!

165

See, he is going again to the room! Come, tell me exactly :

Should I be able to master the man, were't better to slay him,

Or shall I bring him to thee for his punishment, so that he pay for

All of the many transgressions his malice devised in thy homestead?"

Him then in answer addressed these words deep-plotting Odysseus:

170

"I and my son will be able to cope with the insolent suitors,

Holding them penned in the hall of the palace in spite of their fury.

Ye two, twisting the hands and the feet of the fellow behind him,

Drag him within. To his back then lashing a panel of boarding,

Firmly attach to his body a rope strong-stranded, and haul him

175

Up by a pillar aloft till he dangle anigh to the roof-beam,

So that he live right long while suffering terrible torture."

Thus did he speak, and they listened attent to his words and obeyed them.

Unto the chamber they went, and they saw him within; but he wist not;

Right at the innermost end of the room he was searching for armour.

180

So at the door they remained, each one by the side of a door-post.

Soon came crossing the threshold Melanthius master of goatherds,

Laden with arms: in the one of his hands was a beautiful helmet,

While in the other he carried a buckler—a broad and an old one

Spotted with mould (as a youngster the hero Laertes had borne it;

185

Here long years it had lain, and the seams were loose of the oxhide).

Suddenly leaping upon him they seized him, and into the chamber

Dragged by the hair he was flung on the floor, and groaning he lay there,

While with a bond right grievous they girded his hands and his ankles,

Twisting the limbs well back and securely, as bid by the master,

190

Even Also Laertes' son, long-suffering godlike Odysseus.

Then to his body attaching a rope strong-stranded they hauled him

Up by a pillar aloft till he dangled anigh to the roof-beam.

Here as he hung Eumaeus the swineherd addressed him and mocked him :

"Somewhat a long and a sleepless night thou'lt find it, Melantheus,

195

Though right soft is the bed in the which thou art couched, as befits thee;

Nor shall the Dawn, when she newly ariseth from streams of the Ocean,

Fail to appear to thee throned in her glory, as erst when thou dravest

Goats of the flock to the palace to furnish a feast for the suitors."

Thus held tight in the deadly embrace of the rope he was left there,

200

While in the armour they clad them, and shutting the glistering portal

Quickly returned to the master, the wise and wary Odysseus.

Here then, breathing the fury of battle, they stood on the door-stone,

Four of them, while in the hall stood many opposing them bravely.

Now did the daughter of Zeus draw nigh them, the goddess Athene,

205

Once more likened to Mentor in voice and in bodily semblance.

Then did Odysseus rejoice as he saw her, and spake to her saying:

"Mentor, I pray thee, defend me from harm, and remember thy comrade,

One that was dear and was kind to thee often—the friend of thy boyhood!"

Thus did he speak, but he deemed 'twas Athena who stirreth the battle.

210

Then from the depths of the hall great clamour was raised by the suitors,

Foremost shouting abuse Agelaus the son of Damastor :

"Mentor, I bid thee beware lest words of Odysseus beguile thee

Thus with the suitors to fight and to stand by his side and defend him,

Since I am sure we shall win us the end that we purpose in this wise :

215

After the death of the twain (they shall die, both son and the father)

Thou shalt be slain, thou too—such mischievous deeds thou art wishing

Here in the palace to work. With thy head thou shalt pay for thy folly.

So with the edge of the sword we shall rob you of strength to resist us ;

Then thy possessions—the whole of the wealth in thy fields and thy mansion—

220

All we shall mix with the wealth of Odysseus, and ne'er shall we suffer

Either thy sons or thy daughters to dwell in the halls of thy homestead,

Nor shall thy excellent wife go gadding about in the city."

So did he speak, and it maddened to fury the heart of Athene,

Till on Odysseus she turned and with angry reproaches addressed him:

225

"Now no longer, Odysseus, of worth is thy strength or thy manhood,

Such as was thine when in battle for white-armed Helen the high-born

Nine long years with the Trojans thou foughtest unweariedly ever,

Slaughtering many and many a foe in the terrible warfare.

Thine was the counsel that captured the wide-wayed city of Priam.

230

How then! Now thou art come to thy home and to all thy possessions,

Why in the face of the suitors lament and behave as a weakling?

BATTEN WILSON
THE SLAUGHTER OF THE SUITORS

Navy, come hither, my friend, to my side! Stand nigh and behold me,

So shalt thou learn from my deeds what manner of mortal is Mentor,

Alcimus' son, to requite thee a kindness by fighting thy foemen."

235

Thus did she speak, but she gave no victory full and decisive;

Still was she wishing to put to a trial the strength and the prowess

Both of Odysseus himself and his valiant son; and she vanished,

Suddenly flying aloft to the smoke-stained roof of the palace,

Where on a rafter she sat in the fashion and form of a swallow.

240

Now took lead in the fray Agelaus the son of Damastor,

Eurynomus, Demoptolemus, and the son of Polyctor

Peisandrus, and Amphimedon and Polybus wily,

Even the best and the bravest by far that of all of the suitors

Still were living and fighting to save their lives from destruction

245

(Others already the bow with the storm of its arrows had conquered).

These Agelaus addressed and to all of them shouted, exclaiming:

"Friends, the invincible strength of the fellow is failing already!

Lo too, Mentor is gone from his side, with his brags and his boastings,

Leaving the four thus standing alone in the front of the doorway.

250

Come, let us hurl with the spears—not all of us casting together :

Six of us only attempt it at first, in the hope that the Father

Grant that we gain us the glory of smiting and slaying Odysseus.

Should this fellow be brought to a fall, of the others I reck not."

Thus did he speak, and they cast at Odysseus with spears as he bade them,

255

Eagerly hurling; but all were foiled by the goddess Athene.

Into the post of the door of the strong-built hall of the palace

One of them drave, and the door close-fastened was smit by another,

While in the wall struck lances of ash bronze-bladed and heavy.

So when they thus had escaped unharmed from the spears of the suitors,

260

Then to address them began long-suffering godlike Odysseus :

"Now for myself is the moment to speak and to bid you, my comrades,

Into the throng of the suitors to hurl; for they thirst to destroy us,

Adding to all of their former iniquities murder and rapine."

Thus did he speak, and the four, their keen-edged lances uplifting,

265

Hurled them with accurate aim. Demoptolemus by Odysseus,

Euryades by the prince, Elatus by the swineherd was smitten,

Peisandrus by the man who as neatherd tended the cattle.

Biting the dust these lay on the floor's wide surface extended,

While to the end of the hall in a panic retreated the others.

270

Then dashed forward the four and drew their spears from the corpses..

Now once more did the suitors, the keen-edged lances uplifting

Eagerly hurl; but the most were foiled by the goddess Athene.

Into the post of the door of the strong-built hall of the palace

One of them drave, and the door close-fastened was smit by another,

275

While in the wall struck lances of ash bronze-bladed and heavy.

Amphimedon natheless smote Telemachus by the hand-joint

Lightly, the edge of the blade scarce scratching the skin on the surface.

Next with a long-stemmed spear Ctesippus hurled at the swineherd.

Over his shield, just grazing the shoulder, it flew, and alighted.

280

Then did the four on the side of the wise and wary Odysseus

Once more hurl in the throng of the suitors the keen-edged lances.

Smitten was Eurydamas by Odysseus the sacker of cities;

Amphimedon fell struck by the prince, Polybus by the swineherd,

Ctesippus by the man who as neatherd tended the cattle;

285

Full on the breast he was struck, and the man exultingly mocked him :

"Ah, Polytherses' son, thou'rt fond of abuse, but I warn thee

Never to yield to the folly of brag, but to leave the decision

Unto the gods, whose wisdom is greater by far than a mortal's.

This is my gift in return for the foot of an ox that thou gavest

290

Unto the godlike Odysseus when here in his home he was begging."

These words uttered the herd of the crook-horned kine; and Odysseus

Stabbed with the thrust of a spear long-shafted the son of Damastor;

Telemachus too smote Leiocritus, son of Euenor,

Right in the midst of the flank, and the blade clean through him was driven ;

295

Forward he fell and he struck on the ground with the whole of his forehead.

Then did Athena her aegis uplift, that is death to a mortal;

High in the roof she displayed it, appalling the minds of the suitors.

Hither and thither they rushed in a panic, as kine on a pasture

Scatter whene'er comes glancing and darting upon them a gadfly

300

Late in the season of spring, when the days grow longer and longer;

While as the vultures with sharp-hooked beaks and with terrible talons

Out of the hills come swooping and chasing the birds of the lowland

Down from the clouds, till over the plain affrighted they flutter,

Then pounce suddenly down and destroy them, and nought can defend them,

305

Nor can they flee (men also rejoice at the chase and the capture),

Thus those four gave chase in the hall to the horde of the suitors,

Smiting around them to left and to right; and a horrible groaning

Rose midst lopping of heads; and the floor ran red with the life-blood.

Leiodes, with a rush, now fell at the feet of Odysseus,

310

Clasping his knees in entreaty; and swift-winged words he addressed him :

"Lo, by thy knees I beseech thee to pity and spare me, Odysseus!

None of the women, I swear, did I wrong in the halls of thy palace

Either by act unseemly or word; yea, also the others

Often I tried to restrain when I saw such folly committed.

315

Natheless ne'er did they listen nor keep their hands from offending;

So hath a terrible doom o'erwhelmed them because of their madness.

What! shall an innocent priest who has harmed thee in nothing be slaughtered

Even as those? Is it thus thou repayest me thanks for my goodness?"

Glaring askance at the man deep-plotting Odysseus addressed him:

320

"Navy, if indeed thou avowst thee as priest to the rabble of suitors,

Often, I ween, in the hall of my palace a prayer thou hast offered

Begging my happy return might still be afar from fulfilment,

Ay and my well-loved wife might wed thee and bear thee an offspring.

So thou art doomed to a death right bitter—nor hope to escape it."

325

These words uttered, he seized with his powerful hand on a broadsword

Lying anear—dropt there on the floor by the prince Agelaus

While he was dying—and into the nape of the kneeler he drave it.

Down in the dust went rolling the head while still it was speaking.

Filled with a hope to escape from the darkness of death was the minstrel

330

Phemius, Terpes' son, who had sung at the feasts by compulsion.

Holding his sweet-voiced lute in his tremulous fingers he stood there

Nigh to the postern door; and his heart was divided within him

Whether to slip from the hall and to flee to the altar for refuge

Built in the court to omnipotent Zeus, where often aforetime

335

Thighs of the cattle Odysseus had burnt, and his father Laertes,

Or rush forward and grasp with his hands at the knees of Odysseus.

Thus as he pondered thereon this plan seemed surely the better,

Even to fall at the feet of the godlike son of Laertes.

Therefore his hollow phorminx he set on the floor of the palace

340

Next to a crater of wine and an armchair studded with silver,

Then rushed forward and fell at the feet of Odysseus and begged him,

Clasping his knees in entreaty; and swift-winged words he addressed him :

"Lo, by thy knees I beseech thee to pity and spare me, Odysseus

Also thyself wouldst suffer hereafter the pain of repentance

345

Wert thou to slaughter a minstrel, who singeth for men and immortals.

None but the god was my master: he breathed in my heart and he taught me

All the enchantment of song; and now I am singing before thee

E'en as my god. Then long not to smite at my throat and to slay me!

Yea, and thy well-loved son prince Telemachus will assure thee

350

Ne'er was I willing to come to thy halls, far less was I wishful

Here to resort with the suitors and sing to them after the banquet.

Being the stronger by far and many in number, they forced me."

Thus as he spake he was heard by the valiant son of Odysseus.

Quickly the prince turned round and called to his father anigh him :

355

"Hold! he is innocent! Strike not the man with thy weapon, my father!

Medon the herald as well let us save, for he ever aforetime

Tended me carefully while I was still but a child in thy homestead,

Should he be living and not by Philoetius slain, or the swineherd,

Neither discovered by thee while raging around in the palace."

360

Thus as he spake he was heard by the wise old Medon the herald.

Cowering under a chair, wrapt round in a new-flayed oxskin,

Hiding in hope to escape from the darkness of death, he was lying.

Swiftly uprising from under the chair and unrolling the oxhide

Forward he sprang, and he fell at the feet of the youth, in entreaty

365

Clasping his knees, and with haste these swift-winged words he addressed him:

"Friend, I am here! Hold, hold, I beseech thee! and call to thy father

Lest in his furious might with the keen-edged sword he shall harm me,

Angered because of the men—these suitors who wasted his substance

Here in his palace ;—and thee they regarded as nothing, the madmen!"

370

Then to the man spake thus with a smile deep-plotting Odysseus:

"Be not afraid! Thou art safe. He wishes to succour and save thee.

So shalt thou feel in thy heart this truth, and shalt tell it to others:

Better by far is the doing of good than the doing of evil.

Go now, both of you. Go from the hall and away from the slaughter.

375

Sit outside in the court, both sweet-voiced singer and herald,

While I remain in the palace to finish my work, as I needs must."

So did he speak, and the twain went forth from the hall to the courtyard.

Here by the altar of Zeus the Almighty they sat, and around them

Hither and thither they peered and of death were ever expectant.

380

Also Odysseus was peering around in the house, to discover

Any remaining and hoping to 'escape death's terrible darkness.

Weltering there in the dust and in blood lay all of the suitors,

Fallen in many and many a heap, like fishes that boatmen

Drag in a strong-meshed net from the grey-green depths of the ocean

385

On to the beach of a hollow recess in the shore, and they lie there

Heaped on the sand, all gasping in vain for the salt sea water,

While by the heat of the sun drawn forth is the life from their bodies.

Thus were lying in heaps, piled one on the other, the suitors.

Then at the last to his son deep-plotting Odysseus addressed him :

390

"Telemachus, go call me the old nurse Eurycleia,

So that I tell her a thing that is stirring my spirit within me."

Thus did he speak, and the youth, as his well-loved father commanded,

Rattled the door of the chamber and called nurse Eurycleia :

"Hither in haste, old dame, who over the women attendants

395

Keepest an eye and hast charge of them all in the palace as matron.

Haste! for my father is bidding thee come. He has something to tell thee."

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

Opening quickly the door of the fair-built women's apartment,

Over the threshold she stept; and the youth went onward before her,

400

Till to Odysseus she came. In the midst of the dead he was standing,

Smeared all over with blood and filthy with gore. As a lion,

Leaving the place in the which he has eaten an ox of the farmstead,

Goes on his way, and the whole of the chest and the cheeks of the monster

Drip with the gore——and a terror befalleth the man who beholds him—

405

So all smeared with the blood on his hands and his feet was Odysseus.

Now when the slain she beheld and the terrible blood, and in triumph

Fain had exulted aloud (for she saw that the deed was accomplished),

Then did Odysseus, perceiving her longing, restrain and rebuke her,

While upraising his voice these swift-winged words he addressed her :

410

"Woman, exult in thy heart, but in silence, subduing thy triumph.

Triumphing over the slain is a deed unseemly, unholy.

These hath the doom of the gods in the midst of their wickedness smitten,

Seeing they treated alike all earth-born men with dishonour,

Good no less than the bad—yea every one that approached them.

415

So hath a terrible doom o'erwhelmed them because of their madness.

Come now, tell me of all concerning the maids in the palace,

Which of them honour me not and which are guiltless among them."

Then did the dear old nurse make answer and thus she addressed him:

"Well now, all of the truth in this matter, my child, I will tell thee.

420

Here in thy palace the women that serve are fifty in number,

Thralls that we trained of ourselves to attend to the work of the household,

Such as the carding of wool and enduring the labours of bondage.

Twelve of the maidens in all have trodden the path of dishonour,

Neither respecting myself nor the mistress, Penelopeia.

425

Telemachus was of late but a half-grown lad, and his mother

Would not allow him to give his commands to the women attendants.

Come now, might I ascend to the glistering upper apartment

All to report to thy wife? Some deity sank her in slumber."

Her then in answer addressed these words deep-plotting Odysseus:

430

"Navy, not yet shalt thou wake her; but go to the women and tell them

Hither to come—those maidens that shamelessly acted aforetime."

Thus did he speak, and the nurse went back to the inner apartment

Bearing the message, and ordered the women to hasten their coming.

Now did Odysseus to Telemachus and the cowherd and swineherd

435

Call, and he bade them approach, and with swift-winged words he addressed them:

"See to removing the bodies, and order the women to help you.

Then to the cleaning attend of the fine-wrought chairs and the tables.

Wash them with water, and use soft porous sponges to rub them.

Then, when the whole of the mansion is thoroughly cleansed and in order,

440

Lead those maids from the hall, and bringing them out of the palace

Down by the dome-roofed kitchen and faultless fence of the courtyard

Smite them with swords long-bladed, until ye shall see them before you,

All of them, dead. Yea, thus let them die and forget the delicious

Rites of the goddess of love that they held with the suitors in secret."

445

Thus did he speak, and the women approached all huddled together

Uttering terrible wails as they shed great tears in abundance.

Firstly the bodies they bore of the slain from the hall, and they set them

Under the inside porch of the gate of the high-walled courtyard,

Propping them one by the other, Odysseus directing the bearers,

450

Forcing them also to work, for they carried the dead by compulsion.

Then they aligned to cleaning the fine-wrought chairs and the tables,

Washed them with water, and used soft porous sponges to rub them.

Meanwhile Telemachus and the cowherd and also the swineherd

Scraping with shovels the floor of the strong-built hall of the mansion

455

Cleared it and all was collected and carried away by the women.

Now when the whole of the house they had cleansed and had set it in order,

Leading the women away from the hall and forth from the palace

Down to the dome-roofed kitchen and faultless fence of the courtyard,

Into a corner they drove them that gave no hope of escaping.

460

Then sage Telemachus spake first, addressing his comrades:

"Heaven forbid that I put to a death so cleanly and honest

Women as these, who brought on my head such shame and dishonour,

Yea and the head of my mother, consorting in love with the suitors."

Speaking, he seized on the rope of a blue-prowed vessel and lashed it

465

High on a pillar, and over the dome of the kitchen he slung it,

Hoisting it tautly, that none might reach to the ground for a foothold.

Then, as it haps if a covey of long-winged thrushes or pigeons

Suddenly fall in the snares of a trap that is set in a thicket,

Whither they flock for the night—but a bed right cruel receives them—

470

Thus with their heads in a row stood all of the women, with nooses

Over the neck, to a death most cruel and pitiful destined.

So with their feet some moments they writhed—and soon it was over.

Out by the porch to the yard they conducted Melanthius also.

First with the merciless steel of his ears and his nose they deprived him;

475

Then they extracted and threw as a feast to the dogs his intestines;

Lastly they hacked off both of his hands and his feet in their fury.

Now when the blood from their hands and their feet they had washed, to Odysseus

Into the house they returned; and the whole of the deed was accomplished.

Then to the dear nurse Eurycleia he called, and address her :

480

"Nurse, bring sulphur! It cleanseth pollution. And bring me a brazier,

So that I sweeten the hall with the fumes. Then go to thy mistress;

Bid her to come to my presence with all of her maiden attendants;

Summon moreover the rest of the women that serve in the palace."

Him then in turn gave answer the dear nurse Eurycleia :

485

"Yea of a surety, my child, thou hast spoken according to reason.

Still, come now, I will fetch thee a mantle and tunic for raiment.

Thus, with thy great wide shoulders enveloped in beggarly tatters,

Stand not here in the hall. 'Twere verily blameful to do so."

Her then in answer addressed these words deep-plotting Odysseus:

490

"Firstly I wish in the hall for a brazier of coals to be brought me."

Thus did he speak, and the dear nurse Eurycleia, obeying,

Brought to her master the sulphur and brazier of coal, and Odysseus

Thoroughly sweetened with fumes of the sulphur the house and the courtyard.

Then did the old dame go through all of the beautiful mansion

495

Taking the news to the women and bidding them hasten their coming.

So with a torch in the hand these came from the inner apartments.

Flocking around him they greeted Odysseus with joy and embraced him

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

Grasping and kissing his hands. And a rapture sweet overcame him,

500

Even a longing for wailing and tears as he saw them and knew them.

New Alexandria Commentaries

Gregory Nagy

Now, at the beginning of Rhapsody 22, a third test awaits Odysseus: he must kill the suitors. The king shows no hesitation. Having just won the contest in archery with the very first arrow that he shoots after stringing his mighty bow, he now goes on to aim his next arrow at Antinoos, who has been by far the worst of those leftover Achaeans of Ithaca. Odysseus shoots the arrow, and it hits the mark: Antinoos is instantly killed, O.22.008–021. The successive arrows, each one of them, will also hit the mark, and he keeps on shooting until there are no arrows left, O.22.116–119. Then, after Odysseus has run out of arrows to shoot, he arms himself with his armor for hand-to-hand combat, O.22.120–125. The slaughter of the suitors will continue until in the end all are killed.

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At the end of Rhapsody 21, Odysseus has already passed, in rapid succession, two of three successive tests that needed to be endured by the true king of Ithaca. That is, he has already performed a stringing of his mighty bow and has already won an ultimate contest in archery by executing a perfect shot with the very first arrow that he shoots from the bow. But now, at the beginning of Rhapsody 22, the third test awaits Odysseus. He must now kill the suitors, and the successive killings that follow will ultimately eliminate all the would-be husbands of Penelope. In the end, Odysseus will be the only Achaean left standing. And he has by now been revealed as the only true husband, the only true king. So, he has become the best of the Achaeans in the Homeric Odyssey. But a question remains. Now that all the suitors have been killed, what will happen to the other characters in the Odyssey who had turned against the king in the course of his lengthy absence? Here is where things get really ugly. The extreme cruelty of the retribution that awaits these characters, as we see it narrated here in Odyssey 22, presents the modern reader with moral problems that cannot be evaded.

draft js image error Odysseus kiling Penelope’s suitors. Attic red-figure skyphos, ca. 440 BCE. Image via Wikimedia Commons.

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On the infusion of strength as by way of divinely breathing it into the hero and thus reminding him of his own menos in the sense of his ‘power’, see the comments at I.10.482, I.11.508, I.15.059–060, I.15.262. Here at O.22.203, the menos ‘power’ that is breathed-out had been presumably breathed-in by divine agency.

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Leonard Muellner

analysis of the meaning and uses of piphauskesthai, here in the sense of ‘reveal through speech’ (in the context of analyzing the semantic and formal confusion of piphaskein and piphauskesthai)

source

analysis of the differentiation of blame in the Odyssey (vs. in the Iliad) and the muting of the mēnis theme in it, here especially regarding the suitors, their relatives, and Odysseus and his family

source

Homer Odyssey 22.42

ed. George Chapman

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Current edition Experimental

ODYSSEY BOOK XXII

BATTEN WILSON
THE SLAUGHTER OF THE SUITORS

New Alexandria Commentaries

Stable identifiers

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Current edition Experimental

ODYSSEY BOOK XXII

BATTEN WILSON THE SLAUGHTER OF THE SUITORS

New Alexandria Commentaries

Stable identifiers

BATTEN WILSON
THE SLAUGHTER OF THE SUITORS