In the Odyssey, Penelope's chief strategy to trick the suitors is to claim that she cannot marry until she has woven a burial shroud for Laertes, the father of Odysseus. She works at the shroud during the day but unravels it at night so that it is never finished.
How do the suitors learn of Penelope's delaying tactic?
The suitors learn of Penelope's delaying tactic when one of her maidservants, Melantho, reveals it to her lover Eurymachus. Upon finding out, the suitors demand that she choose a husband from among them. The suitors behave badly in Odysseus' home, drinking his wine and eating his food.
What is the role of the suitors of Penelope in the Odyssey?
In Greek mythology, the suitors of Penelope (also known as the Proci) are one of the main subjects of Homer's Odyssey. Contents. Role in the Odyssey. In The Odyssey, Homer describes Odysseus' journey home from the Trojan War. Prior to the Trojan War, Odysseus was King of Ithaca, a Greek island known for its isolation and rugged terrain.
Is there a list of all of Penelope's suitors?
An extensive list of Penelope's suitors is given in the Bibliotheca. This source does not appear to fully respect the Homeric tradition, as the numbers are different and not all of those named in the Odyssey appear in the Bibliotheca.
What is Penelope and the suitors by Waterhouse about?
Penelope and the Suitors by John William Waterhouse (1912). In Greek mythology, the suitors of Penelope (also known as the Proci) are one of the main subjects of Homer 's Odyssey . In the Odyssey Homer describes Odysseus ' journey home from Troy.
What trick has Penelope used to stall the suitors?
For three years, Penelope has put off choosing a husband among the suitors by saying that she must first finish weaving a shroud for Laertes. Each day she weaves and each night she unravels her day's work. Thus she delays for three years until a treacherous maid spills the beans.
How does Penelope manipulate the suitors?
Penelope entices her suitors in case she has to remarry in the future and also she inveigles them into giving her gifts. Penelope simultaneously distances herself from the suitors, delaying them while she waits for her husband to return home.
What happened to Penelope's suitors?
The SUITORS were killed either by Odysseus or by someone in his team, that is, Eumaeus 1, Philoetius or Telemachus. Eumaeus 1 was Odysseus' servant and swineherd.
Why does Penelope chide the suitors?
Though Penelope does not know about Odysseus's plan, her cunning helps to give the suitors a false sense of security, because her announcement gives them the impression that she will soon choose a husband.
How did Penelope trick the suitors for 3 years?
The emblem of Penelope's cleverness is the device by which she tricks her suitors for three years, her weaving. She uses the weaving to buy herself time, but the weaving is itself an image of time. Time is a weaving and unweaving; it makes and unmakes beings and relations.
How does Penelope trick the suitors in Book 18?
When Penelope speaks to the suitors, she leads them on by telling them that Odysseus had instructed her to take a new husband if he should fail to return before Telemachus began growing facial hair.
How are the suitors killed?
Volleys of spears are exchanged, and Odysseus and his men kill several suitors while receiving only superficial wounds themselves. Finally, Athena joins the battle, which then ends swiftly. Odysseus spares only the minstrel Phemius and the herald Medon, unwilling participants in the suitors' profligacy.
Does Penelope cheat on Odysseus?
Pausanias records the story that Penelope had in fact been unfaithful to Odysseus, who banished her to Mantineia upon his return.
Why does Penelope take Odysseus hunting bow to the hall where the suitors are?
why does Penelope take Odysseus' hunting bow to the hall where the suitors are? Because she says she will marry the man who can shoot an arrow through twelve ax handle sockets.
What happened to the suitors in Odyssey?
The suitors' issue was resolved by holding a bow contest, which led to the slaughter of the suitors by Odysseus and his son, Telemachus. With the intervention from Athena, goddess of wisdom, victory, and war, peace was restored on Ithaca.
What is Penelope's final test for Odysseus?
Penelope has not seen her husband for many years. When Odysseus returns, Penelope doesn't recognize him and cannot be sure that Odysseus is really who he says he is. She tests Odysseus by ordering her servant Eurycleia to move their marriage bed.
Who threw a stool at Odysseus?
One of the suitors of Penelope (q.v.), who throws a foot stool at Odysseus (q.v.) when he returns to his palace disguised as a beggar.
What does Penelope do to delay courtship?
Rather than simply rejecting the suitors, Penelope devises a plan to delay their courtship. She claims she will choose a husband after she has finished weaving a funeral shroud to present to Odysseus' father, Laertes.
Why does Eurymachus discover Penelope's plot?
Although he is charismatic, Eurymachus is deceitful. He discovers Penelope's plot because he is having an affair with one of Penelope's maidservants, Melantho. Further, when Odysseus reveals himself to the suitors, Eurymachus attempts to avoid punishment for the suitors' misdeeds by blaming them all on Antinous.
What does Amphinomus do to dissuade the suitors?
Amphinomus attempts twice to dissuade the suitors from murdering Telemachus. Odysseus recognizes this and attempts to warn Amphinomus to leave the home before the final battle. Despite this, Amphinomus stays and dies along with the other suitors.
How many suitors does Odysseus have?
Once Odysseus returns home (whom Athena initially disguises as a beggar so he can plot his revenge in secret), his son Telemachus tells him that there are 108 suitors: 52 from Dulichium, 24 from Same, 20 Achaeans from Zacynthus, and 12 from Ithaca.
Why is Eurymachus the leader of the suitors?
Eurymachus acts as a leader among the suitors because of his charisma. He is noted to be the most likely to win Penelope's hand because her father and brothers support the union and because he outdoes the other suitors in gift-giving. Although he is charismatic, Eurymachus is deceitful.
What does Odysseus beg for in the book?
While Odysseus is killing the suitors, he begs for mercy, saying that he tried to stop the others and they were paying for not listening to him.
How long does Penelope weave the shroud?
For three years, Penelope weaves the shroud during the day and unravels it at night, awaiting her husband's return. The suitors learn of Penelope's delaying tactic when one of her maidservants, Melantho, reveals it to her lover Eurymachus. Upon finding out, the suitors demand that she choose a husband from among them.
Who is Penelope's father in law?
Penelope claims to be weaving a death shroud for her father in-law Laertes, or in some translations, Odysseus himself. Each night she unravels the shroud, forcing herself to start work over the next night. There is another tactic, which may or may not count.
Why is Penelope considered a symbol of faithfulness in marriage?
After he is successful, he kills his wife's suitors. Because she resists remarriage and does everything she can to avoid it , Penelope is considered a symbol of faithfulness in marriage. Penelope claims to be weaving a death shroud for her father in-law Laertes, or in some translations, Odysseus himself.
How long does Odysseus's burial shroud remain unfinished?
Every night, she unravels part of this garment, so for three years it remains unfinished. Unfortunately, one of her maid servants then betrays her.
Why does Artemis ask Artemis to kill her?
After that, she asks the goddess Artemis to kill her so that she doesn't have to remarry, though that strategy doesn't work. She also shows or pretends to show an interest in some of the suitors, apparently a pretense meant to buy time.
How long was Odysseus gone?
Odysseus, king of Ithaca, is gone for twenty years. After a certain amount of time, it's assumed he is dead. Penelope, his wife, finds herself with 108 suitors. She holds to her faith, however, that her husband will return.
Why did Penelope dislike the suitors?
Penelope disliked the SUITORS' attentions, and in order to win time fooled them with the help of The Shroud of Laertes, which she wove by day and unravelled by night. When the SUITORS discovered Penelope 's trick, they refused to leave Odysseus ' palace unless she married one of them, and in the meantime they consumed Odysseus ' estate in great ...
Who were the suitors of Penelope?
SUITORS OF PENELOPE are called those who wished to marry Penelope and living in the palace of Odysseus consumed his wealth at their feasts during his absence. But Odysseus returned and no one of them escaped the palace alive. Penelope says that no one was dealt, because of the Trojan War, a heavier blow than her.
What were the consequences of the Antinous 2 massacre?
Consequences. The massacre was not without consequences. For when the news of the SUITORS' death spread, many mourners gathered at Odysseus ' gate, and soon Antinous 2 's father Eupeithes, commanding a force formed by the SUITORS' relatives, rose in arms, attacking Odysseus ' palace.
Where did the Suitor of Penelope come from?
And so, SUITORS came from Ithaca and the neighboring islands, wishing to marry the queen. The SUITORS OF PENELOPE. These youths, who are known as the SUITORS OF PENELOPE, were the crème de la crème of Ithacan society, the flower and tops of this insular state.
Who was Antinous 2 courting?
And yet now, Penelope pointed out, Antinous 2 not only was courting Odysseus ' wife, but he was also plotting against the life of Odysseus ' son, disregarding the grief that the death of her son could cause to Penelope herself. Eurymachus 2 's false words.
Who rebukes Antinous 2?
However, some among them did not feel ready to carry on this murderous plan, and they adjourned their decision in this matter. Penelope rebukes Antinous 2. But the herald Medon 5 overheard the SUITORS' debate, and warned Penelope, who called Antinous 2 to account saying:
Who was the beggar in the palace?
Odysseus came to the palace disguised as a beggar, and when Penelope declared that she would marry the man who could bend Odysseus bow and shoot an arrow a contest was arranged. And when no one could string the bow, Odysseus took it and shot the SUITORS.
Overview
Role in the Odyssey
In the Odyssey Homer describes Odysseus' journey home from Troy. Prior to the Trojan War, Odysseus was King of Ithaca, a Greek island known for its isolation and rugged terrain. When he departs from Ithaca to fight for the Greeks in the war, he leaves behind a newborn child, Telemachus, and his wife, Penelope. Although most surviving Greek soldiers return shortly after the end of the fighting, Odysseus does not return to Ithaca until ten years after the end of the Tro…
Important suitors
Although there are many suitors, three are particularly important to the narrative of the epic.
Antinous, son of Eupheithes, is the first of the suitors to speak in the epic and the first to die upon Odysseus' return. Antinous is the most disrespectful of the suitors and is the one who devises a plan to murder Telemachus upon his return to Ithaca. Although his plan is vetoed by Amphinomus, Antinous continues to behave arrogantly. When Odysseus finally returns home, disguised as a b…
List of suitors
While most of the suitors are not dealt with individually by Homer, some are mentioned by name and play more or less significant roles in the poem. Among them are:
• Agelaus, son of Damastor. Killed by Odysseus.
• Amphimedon, son of Melaneus. Killed by Telemachus.
External links
Media related to Suitors of Penelope at Wikimedia Commons