Book 17: Odysseus Goes To Town
New Major Characters
Melanthius: The first to insult the great Odysseus when he is in the guise of a beggar.
As Dawn arose and brought the day, Telemachus departed from the hut of the gentle Eumaeus and went to present himself to his mother. When he entered his house the first to greet him was the faithful Eurycleia, who grabbed him in her arms as the other maids rushed around him and they kissed his head and shoulders. Directly his mother, the fine Penelope came to him with tears in her eyes and kissed his forehead and eyes, scolding him and showering him with tender affections. Presently he bade his mother and the maids to go bathe and pray and he left to meet with his good friend Peiraeus. When Peiraeus urged Telemachus to take back all of his treasures and riches, Telemachus replied by striking a bargain with the man; if he destroys the Suitors then he will take it back, but if they are to destroy him then his good friend may have pleasure of them.
As the good queen approached, she begged her son to tell her of his travels and so he proceeded to tell her the tale. He relayed all that he had heard from both King Nestor and Menelaus and he ended by telling that Odysseus was last heard to be alive on an island in the sea to which the seer Theoclymenus shot down and assured the queen that the king Odysseus was already on this land and planning revenge on the Suitors for he had seen the omen fly before Telemachus in Sparta.
With the gentle Eumaeus for a guide, Odysseus the beggar headed out for the city, a good walking stick in hand. As the two walked they exchanged words and as they approached a fountain, built long ago for the Nymphs of that isle, they encountered the wretched Melanthius. With black words, Melanthius insulted Odysseus and kicked him in the side. Odysseus wished badly to destroy the man, to bash his head into the ground, but he restrained himself and it was Eumaeus who acted, invoking the wrath of the gods upon the traitorous Melanthius. As they approached the palace the two decided that it should be Eumaeus to enter first, and he did and sat by Telemachus. Odysseus passed onto the threshold thereafter and sat, until his son sent a servant with food to him.
Telemachus then sent wise words of action to his father, to go and beg to each of the suitors in turn and scope them out, to which the goddess Athene agreed. So in this manner Odysseus the beggar went before all and filled his sack with food until he came upon the dark-hearted Antinous, who insulted him further and struck a stool across his back. Odysseus, shot back with sharp edged words and Eumaeus also until the rest of the Suitors were all talking that it was wrong to insult a beggar for he very well might be a god. After this altercation, Odysseus the beggar returned to the threshold and sat with his sack of food until he was beckoned by the queen, to whom he replied he speak with after everyone else was asleep.
Book 18: The Beggar in the Palace
New Major Characters
Irus: Another beggar who foolishly insults and challenges Odysseus.
Melantho: Maiden raised by Penelope who insults Odysseus.
As Odysseus the beggar sat calmly on the threshold he was approached by another vagrant who flung harsh words at him and suggested that he leave. Odysseus, however, did not take so kindly to this rude man and flew back at him with his own sharp words, in this way they came to blows. The Suitors, in favor of Irus, spurred the two men on with a promise of food and comfort for the evening and to this Odysseus replied by making the Suitors vow not to aid Irus in any way for he was but an old man, weary from his hardships. The Suitors were taken aback, however, when Odysseus tied up his robes and revealed his muscles and Irus shook in terror. With a great blow he landed his fist on Irus’ chin and broke the bones that lie there and he was sent away.
Eating the food that he had won and sitting again in the threshold, Odysseus sat until he was approached by Amphinomus, the most sensible of the Suitors. To him he gave a grave warning of the disaster to come, but the young Amphinomus did not leave, he was already marked by Pallas Athene to die by dear Telemachus’ spear. It was then that Athene took an idea to her head to have Penelope show herself to the Suitors. She put Penelope into a blissful sleep and endowed on her all the favorable features of a woman before sending her out into the banquet. With a veil across her cheeks, her beauty radiated nonetheless making the Suitors tremble with desire. Penelope first addressed her son, telling him not to let the Suitors act they way they were, to which he agreed and retorted.
Eurymachus then beseeched the queen, showering her with compliments to her beauty to which she retorted that her beauty left her the day her husband left, that the behavior of these Suitors was wretched and wrongful and that she did not approve of their wasteful behavior. The Suitors responded with sharp words, they would not leave but they would and did give her gifts to which she took and left. Odysseus, seeing his wife in such a distressed state, approached the maids tending the fires and bade them go comfort the Queen, however these women had become ungrateful and Melantho repaid Odysseus’ kind gesture with insult. Eurymachus then decided to insult Odysseus further, he was not expecting the sharp words that flew and cut from Odysseus’ mouth, leaving him enraged. After this altercation, Telemachus stood and warned all of the Suitors that their time there that evening was over and away they went, surprised at the young man’s boldness.
*Notes based off reading from “The Odyssey” by Homer