Book one the poem begins with an invocation, or prayer, to the muse. One of two prominent suitors vying for penelopes hand in marriage, the other being eurymachus, antinous is presented as a violent, meanspirited, and overconfident character who willfully defiles odysseus home while the hero is lost at sea. Chapter summary for homers the odyssey, book 2 summary. Telemachus is anguished to see his father abused, but he hides his feelings. The speeches by antinous, eurymachus, and amphinomus clearly delineate their characters. Other deaths are portrayed in an ironic light, as well.
When penelope confronts the suitors about their rancor toward her son, eurymachus typically tries to finesse the situation with smooth talk. With this final story, odysseus finishes his tale for the phaeacians. She has even resorted to trickery, claims antinous. Rather than seeking permission from her father to marry penelope, they stay at odysseuss home, consuming his wine, sheep, and goats. His carefully honed syntax gives the narrative energy and a whirlwind pace. As in the odyssey, he is leading the suitors in their revelries believing jason to be iros. Telemachus excuses himself from eumaeus to see his mother, and instructs him to lead odysseus to town so he can beg. Because the narrator invokes a muse at the beginning of the tale, he, and by extension his audience, are given privileged sight of odysseuss tale. Athena talks with odysseus in ithaca, tells him what he needs to do, and turns him into an old beggar book 14 odysseus goes to see eumaeus, the swineherd, and. It also describes the insolence of the young nobles in ithaca led by antinous and eurymachus who, in the absence of odysseus, live off his wealth and woo his wife, penelope. Telemachus calls an assembly, pleads with the suitors, and is.
In book 17, for example, he gives us the most critical depiction yet of antinous, who disgusts even the other suitors with his abuse of the disguised odysseus. Opening the city gates, they let in the greek soldiers. The palace itself will go to penelope and, of course, the man she weds a man antinous believes to be himself. It will then go on to include a summary of book 17. Telemachus leaves odysseus at eumaeuss hut and heads to his palace, where he receives a tearful welcome from penelope and the nurse eurycleia. This man had no strength nor stay in him, but he was a great hulking fellow to look at. Daughter of zeus and goddess of wisdom, purposeful battle, and the womanly arts. Then you can start reading kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer no kindle device required. This free synopsis covers all the crucial plot points of the odyssey. The epic begins with the invocation of the muses, requesting inspiration and the beginning of odysseuss story. Insolently, antinous, the leading suitor, denies responsibility and puts the blame on that queen of cunning, penelope 2. Odyssey study guide contents telemachus son of odysseus who was left as a baby when odysseus went off 20 years earlier to fight in the trojan war. Featured content includes commentary on major characters, 25.
The odyssey books 2124 summary and analysis gradesaver. Antinous was about to take a drink of wine from his cup when the arrow. Antinous was about to take a drink of wine from his cup when the arrow pierced his neck, which caused the suitors to panic. He urges conveyance, and entreats us for its assurance. This lesson will begin with a brief recap of book 16 of the odyssey.
The poet invokes the muse to help him tell the story of odysseus. Many cities of men he saw and learned their minds, many pains he suffered, heartsick on the open sea, fighting to save. Though a strong and courageous warrior, he is most renowned for his cunning. Odysseus fought among the other greek heroes at troy and now struggles to return to his kingdom in ithaca. The king kicks the table and scatters the food on the floor, and the food mingles with antinous s blood.
He tells the legendary tale of the shroud that penelope wove for the eventual funeral of odysseus father, laertes, the former king now living on a. Book odysseus leaves phaeacia and sets sail for ithaca, but poseidon gets angry and destroys the phaeacian ship when its sailing back to phaeacia. At the manor, penelope tearfully embraces her son and asks what news he learned. He tells piraeus not to bring his gifts from menelaus to the palace. Dramatic irony is used throughout the story to build tension and suspense for the listening audience. When the suitors retire for the night, telemachus and odysseus remove the arms as planned. He tells penelope that menelaus had heard that odysseus had been trapped on calypsos island. Athene appears to telemachus, telling him to make a plea to the suitors to leave his house and then go in quest of news of his father. At pylos, telemachus and mentor athena in disguise witness an impressive religious ceremony in which dozens of bulls are sacrificed to. What is the importance of odysseuss bed in homers odyssey. This 77page guide for the odyssey by homer includes detailed chapter summaries and analysis covering 24 chapters, as well as several more indepth sections of expertwritten literary analysis.
The odyssey sparknotes literature guide and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle. He commends the citizen who was bold enough to call for the meeting. About his shoulder he slung his sharp sword, and beneath his shining feet bound his fair sandals, and went forth from his chamber like a god to look upon. Telemachus instead tells her to make a sacrifice to the gods to help them with their revenge. Home english literature classic books the odyssey book xxi navigate here introduction book i book ii book iii book iv book v book vi book vii book viii book ix book x book xi book xii book xiii book xiv book xv book xvi book xvii book xviii book xix book xx book xxi book xxii book xxiii book xxiv. Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in the odyssey, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. Telemachus gathers an assembly of achaeans to make his case for removing the suitors from his home. Book i athena inspires the prince sing to me of the man, muse, the man of twists and turns driven time and again off course, once he had plundered the hallowed heights of troy. He asks them how they can stand idly by and allow his mothers hospitality to be abused. Telemachus formally upbraids the suitors, demanding that they quit the palace and leave his mother to her grief. In the palace hall he meets theoclymenus and piraeus.
As soon as rosyfingered dawn appeared, godlike odysseus steadfast son telemachus, eager to leave for the city, strapped on his fine sandals, picked up his sturdy spear, one comfortable to hold, and said to the swineherd. Numerous suitors mill about the castle, hoping to win the hand of penelope, odysseuss beautiful wife. Lombardos odyssey offers the distinctive speed, clarity, and boldness that so distinguished his 1997 iliad. About the odyssey the odyssey summary character list glossary themes quotes and analysis books 14 books 58 books 912 books 16 books 1720 books 2124 symbols, allegory and motifs metaphors and similes irony imagery the fractal structure of epics literary elements related links essay questions quiz 1 quiz 2 quiz 3 quiz 4 citations.
Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides for challenging works of literature. In this lesson, we will first recap book 20 of the odyssey. Book 1 the first book informs the reader of the imprisonment of odysseus on calypsos island, ogygia, in the tenth year after the trojan war. Book i athena inspires the prince sing to me of the man, muse, the man of twists and turns. The odyssey begins on the island of ithaca, in the castle of odysseus, a great hero of the trojan war. Eurymachus tries to calm odysseus down, insisting that antinous was the only bad apple among them, but odysseus announces that he will spare none of them. Lacking the support he needs, antinous must abandon his plot. The odyssey books 2122 summary the odyssey by homer books 2122 summary and analysis. Start studying the odyssey books quizmost of chapter 3. Antinous and eurymachus, two particularly defiant suitors, rebuke telemachus and ask the identity of the. Book 24 odyssey summary flashcard test, questions and. He was killed with an arrow to the neck by odysseus. Learn more the odyssey sparknotes literature guide sparknotes literature guide series. The odyssey books 1720 summary and analysis gradesaver.
Murray 1 meanwhile the two in the hut, odysseus and the goodly swineherd, had kindled a fire, and were making ready their breakfast at dawn, and had sent forth the herdsmen with the droves of swine. Samuel butler now there came a certain common tramp who used to go begging all over the city of ithaca, and was notorious as an incorrigible glutton and drunkard. Antinous, one of the ringleaders of the suitors, puts the blame on penelope, for not choosing one of them as husband. Only amphinomus has the courage to speak against the plot. Find summaries for every chapter, including a the odyssey chapter summary chart to help you understand the book.
The odyssey books 14 summary and analysis gradesaver. He comes upon antinous who treats eumaeus in an ugly manner then throws a. When odysseus answers insult with insult, antinous gives him a blow with a stool that disgusts even the other suitors. His maturation, especially during his trip to pylos and sparta in books 3 and 4, provides a subplot to the epic. Athena talks with odysseus in ithaca, tells him what he needs to do, and turns him into an old beggar book 14 odysseus goes to. Here begins the tale of the odyssey, as sung by the blind minstrel homer.
He tells the legendary tale of the shroud that penelope wove for the eventual funeral of odysseus father, laertes, the former king now living on a farm where he grieves his sons absence. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of the odyssey and what it means. Odysseus, disguised as a beggar, goes to the palace, and is then. One of the suitors, antinous, plans to assassinate. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. Telemachus answered, antinous, do not chide with me, but, god willing, i will be chief too if i can. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Now it was time for odysseus and his fellow warriors to return to their home across the sea. Athena travels to sparta, where she finds telemachus and pisistratus, nestors son. One of the suitors, antinous, plans to assassinate the young prince, eliminating the only opposition to their dominion over the palace. The king kicks the table and scatters the food on the floor, and the food mingles with antinous.
Homer the odyssey translated by robert fagles book i athena inspires the prince sing to me of the man, muse, the man of twists and turns. The poem is fundamental to the modern western canon, and is the second oldest extant work of western literature, the iliad being the oldest. The men appeared confused by odysseuss motivation, so he reveals to them his true identity and tells them that he plans to send each of them to the same fate for greedily living off of his provisions and lusting after his. The odyssey is one of two major ancient greek epic poems written by homer. Its been 10 years since the conclusion of the trojan war and everyone but odysseus and his comrades has returned from their service in troy. By the time homers audience encounters odyssey 23, odysseus has revealed his identity to his son. He is the most decent of the suitors and penelopes favorite because he usually demonstrates good sense and refinement. He meets up with the fugitive theoklymenos in town and brings him home, where they. Odysseus fought among the other greek heroes at troy and now struggles to return to his kingdom in. The odyssey books quizmost of chapter 3 flashcards. Inspired by athena, telemachus calls a council of all the men of ithaca. Telemachus calls an assembly, pleads with the suitors, and is taunted by them.
The beautiful nymph calypso, possessed by love for him, has. The odyssey is an epic journey, but the word journey must be broadly understood. Antinous flings a stool at the king, but odysseus contains his anger once again, and tells the other suitors that such undeserved violence will meet with punishment from the gods. Jun 29, 2017 odyssey study guide contents telemachus son of odysseus who was left as a baby when odysseus went off 20 years earlier to fight in the trojan war. Here is this stranger, i do not know who he is, come wandering suppliant here to my house from the eastern or western people. Homer, odyssey book 2 theoi classical texts library. Odysseus shoots antinous through the throat just as the suitor is about to take a sip of wine. Antinouss father is the only one killed, felled by one of laertes spears. The odyssey books 1617 summary the odyssey by homer books 1617 summary and analysis. Antinous, plans to assassinate the young prince, eliminating the only opposition to their dominion over the palace. About his shoulder he slung his sharp sword, and beneath his shining feet bound his fair sandals, and went forth from his chamber like a.
The description of antinous death reminds us of his gluttonous ways. One of the suitors, antinous, says that penelope has led them on, promising that she would choose a husband from among them once she finishes the shroud she is weaving for laertes. When the assembly gathers the next day, wise old aegyptius points out that the group has not met in session since king odysseus left for the trojan war some 20 years before. Everyone fails to string odysseuss bow, except odysseus, who then wins the contest with his. Find a summary of this and each chapter of the odyssey. Homer, odyssey book 16 theoi classical texts library. However, the war ended 20 years earlier and odysseus still hasnt returned back to his home. Odysseus foreshadows the showdown in book 22 by wishing that antinous might meet his death before he meets his bride. Lombardo has brought his laconic wit and love of the ribald. The other suitors agree that the gods will strike down antinous for his crime. Odysseus is the husband of queen penelope and the father of prince telemachus. Antinous, one of the ringleaders of the suitors, brazenly puts the blame on penelope, for not choosing one of them as husband. It is, in part, a sequel to the iliad, the other work ascribed to homer. The odyssey sparknotes literature guide volume 49 sparknotes literature guide series 9781411469761.
Jason grace, piper mclean, and annabeth chase meet antinous and the other suitors when they go to ithaca. Antinous was one of penelopes suitors in the odyssey. He was deified after his death, being worshipped in both the greek east and latin west, sometimes as a god theos and sometimes merely as a hero heros. Eurymakhos death, too, entangles him with odysseus food and drink one last time. The notion of hospitality is so strong in the world of the odyssey that guests can even be considered part of ones family. The odyssey study guide contains a biography of homer, literature essays, a complete etext, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. The epic focuses, of course, on odysseuss nostos return home or homeward voyage, a journey whose details a greek audience would already know because of their rich oral mythic tradition. It also describes the insolence of the young nobles in ithaca led by antinous and eurymachus who, in the absence of odysseus, live. The odyssey sparknotes literature guide sparknotes literature guide series by homer author, sparknotes author 4.