Ann Arbor: Michigan University Press. The parents of the suitors hold an assembly at which they assess how to respond. Enticed by some resources, and twelve of his men end up entrapped in the cave of the , who, after blocking the entrance of the cave with a giant boulder, starts eating them, two by two. Surely it is no accident that only one man, Odysseus himself, has ever been able to perform this feat. Penelope and the Suitors Accompanied by , next heads for his own house.
Ironically — since he had been the one to propose the oath in the first place — did not want to join the expedition; and he had a good reason for it: the seer Halitherses had informed him that if he participated, it would take him a long time to return home. Odysseus' craftiness is so central to his character that it's almost part of his name. He told Penelope that if he had not returned by the time that Telemacus had a beard, he … was dead and that she would have to remarry to keep the kingdom. I may have spent seven years with a goddess, but you still look divine to me. He warns him not to let anyone, even Eumaeus or Penelope, know about his identity, as a test of loyalty.
Dolius, the father of Melanthius and Melantho, joins them. Odysseus protests that this cannot be done since he made the bed himself and knows that one of its legs is a living. Only Odysseus would have known this and so he passes Penelope's test. He tells the story of his life and how he came to Ithaca. He listens to the beggar and agrees that he must stand up to the scoundrels who have taken over his home. Odysseus makes up a story about himself being from Crete. Once reached adulthood, he went to to meet his father.
Agamemnon's warning also causes Odysseus to be weary in returning home as himself, as he does not know if his wife is true and on his side yet. Most interesting is the contest that Penelope decides will choose her husband. Penelope does not believe her. She orders her maids to remove her marriage bed from its current room. Odysseus replies that this is impossible because the bed is built around a tree which grows within and forms a fundamental part of the structure of the palace and so to move it would be impossible.
We can now see that he has divided the poem into three distinct acts. Beneath the surface, however, the reader can see several indications that Penelope is at least suspicious about the vagrant's true identity. Athena puts Odysseus in disguise because he was away from home too long about 20 years and many things have changed over the years. As a beggar, Odysseus has already dared to challenge his son about the suitors. However, Amphinomus, the most decent of the suitors, calls for patience in order to learn the will of the gods before striking. At a signal, the prince is to gather all the weapons and place them in the storeroom.
They spent the whole day joyfully celebrating their victory and dancing around the Horse. The men go to sleep. Odysseus and Telemachus are now planning their own ambush by hiding the weapons in the house and disguising Odysseus as a common beggar. Although he is charismatic, Eurymachus is deceitful. What does Athena do when they are embracing? Happy to have had the honor to welcome such an honorable guest, the Phaeacians provide with a ship and a couple of sailors, who pilot the exhausted to. While the Phaeacians are gracious as ever in helping Odysseus, the fulfillment of the prophecy and sinking of their ship forces them to stop helping travelers.
In his absence, however, they do, and , enraged, demands from to punish them, or else he would take the with him to the Underworld. Odysseus's testing of Eumaeus continues to showcase the swineherd's loyalty. One of the suitors, Amphinomos, argues that they should consult the gods to see if murdering Telemachus is the correct action; the others agree and they break up the meeting. She insists that the real Odysseus would know their secret sign. Amphinomus attempts twice to dissuade the suitors from murdering Telemachus.
Back at Pylos, Telemachus prepares to sail home with his crew. Before long, the Greeks stormed at the unsuspecting, drunk and practically defenseless Trojans, slewing many of them and, finally, winning a famous and conclusive victory. Eumaeus, who hates the suitors and misses Odysseus dearly, tells him that the suitors are going to ambush Telemachus upon his return. Appearing in a form that Odysseus can see but Telemachus can't, Athena counsels the king on when and how to reveal his true identity. He sends three men to scout the area, but, not one of them returns to the ships in due time. This is man you want to invite over for pizza when you're moving, because you know he's going to be lifting that refrigerator all by himself.