PAGE HEADING: The Odyssey

Book 2 - Telemachus Sets Sail

Telemachus Holds an Assembly

At dawn Telemachus calls the assembly for his people and the suitors. When Telemachus arrives, Athena imbues him with an impressive splendour so that others will feel impressed by him. Aegyptius, an old lord, is the first to speak. He is a loyal follower of Odysseus whose son, Antiphus, went to war with Odysseus but was killed by the cyclops on their way home. However, another of his sons, Eurynomus, mixes with the suitors. Aegyptius calls the assembly to attention and anticipates an important announcement about an approaching army or something else of public concern.

Pisenor puts the staff of council into Telemachus’ hand and Telemachus addresses the assembly. He says he speaks not of a public concern, but his own. Having lost his father, he expresses anger at the suitors who bother his mother and won’t seek her hand through her father, Icarius, as would be the custom. Telemachus complains of their rapacious use of their family resources; their wine and food. Speaking to his own people, he says that it is not possible for their household to fight off the suitors, and that he, himself, is inept for battle, otherwise he would use force against them. He begs to be left alone with the anguish of his lost father. He argues that the suitors could only justify their actions if Odysseus had done them some great wrong. He feels in that situation it would have been easier to have found some solution: that they might have been recompensed to end the situation. Telemachus dashes the speaker’s sceptre to the ground in frustration.

Antonious rises to speak. He blames the situation on Penelope. He claims she has been leading the suitors along for years. As an example, he describes how she claimed to be weaving a funeral shroud for Laertes, her father, for when he died, thereby delaying the suitors’ advances. But she would undo her work each night. When she was caught doing this, she was made to finish the shroud. Antonious demands that Telemachus sends his mother back to Laertes, and that either she or Laertes can pick a husband and the matter can be resolved. He says the suitors will continue to plague the household while ever the issue of a new husband has not been decided.

Telemachus replies that he would have to pay a high price to return his mother to her father, and that he would be punished by the Furies for forcing her to leave. He insists it is the suitors who must leave. He says he will call upon the gods to bring vengeance against the suitors. Hearing this, Zeus sends two eagles to swoop low over the assembly.

Halitherses, an old warrior adept at reading bird-signs, predicts a dire outcome if the suitors do not leave. Halitherses long ago predicted that Odysseus would return from the war after twenty years and would not be recognised. He predicts a bad outcome for the suitors should he return.

Eurymachus is dismissive of Halitherses and his prophecies. He warns Halitherses not to encourage Telemachus, and that the suitors will impose a fine on Halitherses if he does. Eurymachus also insists that Telemachus should send his mother back to her father to arrange a wedding. Until then, the suitors will stay. They have no one to fear. He says that while ever the queen drags things out, Telemachus’ wealth shall be drained by their staying.

Telemachus abandons hope of appealing to the suitors. He announces the plan that Athena/Mentes suggested to him: of taking a ship and a crew of twenty men to Sparta and Pylos to seek news of his father; that he will wait a year and if he hears no news, he will raise a funeral mound for his father and marry off his mother.

Mentor, Odysseus’ friend in arms, rises to speak. He points out that few present at the assembly remember Odysseus as their king. He warns that the suitors do not understand the danger they are in if Odysseus should return. But as for Odysseus’ own people, he is angered that they take no action, themselves.

Leocritus stands to rebuff Mentor. He calls Mentor a fool and says that even if Odysseus did return, he would be no match alone against all the suitors. He calls for the assembly to be dissolved. He suggests letting Telemachus go to look for his father. He mockingly suggests that Telemachus won’t even make it out of Ithaca.

Telemachus Prepares to Leave

The assembly breaks and Telemachus prays to Athena, calling attention to the attitude of the suitors. Athena comes to Telemachus, this time disguised as Mentor. She encourages him to act, saying that he is a worthy son of Odysseus and that she believes he will succeed in his quest. She says the suitors are madmen who cannot guess at the doom awaiting them. She next encourages Telemachus to get his rations ready while she goes to find a ship and crew for him.

Telemachus returns to the house where he finds the suitors preparing their meals with slaughtered animals belonging to Odysseus. Antonius encourages Telemachus to join them. Telemachus refuses, and says he is determined to work towards their destruction. He is determined the journey he is about to undertake will succeed. Telemachus is mocked by the suitors as he leaves them.

Telemachus heads to his father’s storeroom which is locked and guarded against the suitors. It contains valuables like gold, bronze and linen, as well as jars of seasoned wine. Telemachus calls Eurycleia, his old nurse, into the storeroom. He asks her to draw him wine in smaller jars. He tells her of his decision to sail to Sparta and Pylos. Eurycleia wails with fear. She fears the risk of Telemachus’ journey, but more so, what advantage the suitors might take in his absence to carve up his possessions for themselves. Telemachus asks her to take courage and to not reveal his plan to his mother until he has been gone for ten or twelve days. Eurycleia swears an oath to keep quiet and draws wine for Telemachus.

Meanwhile, Athena, disguised as Telemachus, gathers a crew and asks Noëmon to lend her a ship. She hauls the ship into the water and moors it at the harbour’s mouth. She then makes the suitors drowsy so that they leave to seek their beds in the town. Then Athena appears to Telemachus again as Mentor to say that his ship and crew are ready. They head to the ship where Telemachus orders the rations to be taken on aboard. When they leave, Athena sits in the pilot’s seat and sends them winds to move the ship along. The crew pour libations to the gods, especially Athena, and the ship sails all night.

The Suitors

The second book of The Odyssey more pointedly addresses the problem created by the presence of the suitors in Odysseus’ house. Odysseus has been gone for many years since he sailed for Troy, so it is reasonable to assume that he has perished on his journey home to Ithaca.

Telemachus describes the problems the suitors cause in his speech at the assembly:

The Odyssey, Book 2, lines 54 - 62

Robert Fagles’ choice of the words ‘plague’ and ‘infest’ here are interesting, since the suitors are portrayed as a pestilence or disease that has descended upon the house. They are described as a ‘devouring’ presence: “devour your own possessions” [157] Telemachus tells them, and in response Antonious responds, “we will devour your worldly goods and wealth / as long as she holds out” [136-137] The carnality of the word ‘devour’ and its repetition seems to presage an imminent future in which Penelope, herself, will be devoured by the rapacious suitor who beats all others for her hand in marriage.

The suitors are young noble men hoping to claim Penelope, Odysseus’ queen, for their own. It is not certain exactly how many suitors there are, but in parts of The Odyssey 108 are said to have sought Penelope’s hand. One Fandom page suggests the number is as high as 131 suitors, and it lists them all, including their places of origin. If you are interested in this list, you can find it by clicking here. Most sources agree that the number is somewhere above a hundred.

Homer introduces two of the most prominent suitors in this second book: Antinous and Eurymachus.

Antinous

Through his tone, Antinous presents as the more reasonable of the two men in this scene, although we will later see that he acts treacherously against Telemachus when he tries to have him ambushed and killed in Book 15. Antinous characterises the suitors as the victims of the situation. His story of the shroud that Penelope pretended to weave for her father is meant to portray her as a “queen of cunning”, whose deception surpasses that of former queens like Tyro and Alcmena (see below). Penelope claimed she could not attend to the suitors until the shroud was finished, but she undid her work each night so as to deceive them and keep them at bay. It is for this reason that the suitors now impose themselves upon her hospitality: they refuse to be fooled again or sent away until the matter of a marriage has been resolved. For this reason, Antonius describes the actions of the suitors as a just cause.

The Odyssey, Book 2, lines 94 - 100

Eurymachus

Eurymachus appears more strident and angrier than Antonious but he is speaking later in the meeting when the stakes have been raised. The appearance of two eagles, sent by Zeus in response to Telemachus’ pray, is recognisably a bad sign, and it is not helped that Halitherses interprets the omen as a premonition of disaster. In this situation there is little left for Eurymachus to do except to discredit Halitherses by describing his words as ‘babble’, and by reversing the import of the portent:

The Odyssey, Book 2, lines 200 - 201

He is also more threatening, warning Halitherses not to support any kind of insurrection by Telemachus, and threatens Halitherses with a fine. But the resolution he proposes is exactly the same as Antonious’ – that Penelope return to her father for a wedding to be arranged – and the punishment for not doing so is equally as clear: “The prince’s wealth will be devoured as always”.

However, Eurymachus will prove a treacherous ally for Antinous. When Odysseus later returns Eurymachus makes a plea for his own life and tries to convince Odysseus that it is only Antinous to blame among the suitors.

Through these speeches we see that the action of the suitors is more than just that of inconsiderate, selfish guests. Their presence in the house is a deliberate strategy to force Penelope and/or Telemachus to bend to their will, and decide the matter of marriage. It is essentially an act of war on a domestic scale.

Tyro and Alcmena

Antonious accuses Penelope of deceiving the suitors, which is justification for their presence in her house, and he makes an allusion to former queens to suggest the scale of Penelope’s deception:

The Odyssey, Book 2, lines 133 - 135

Tyro is important in Greek mythology because she is the mother of several significant figures, including Jason of the Argonauts fame. However, she does not have a reputation as a deceptive character. Tyro was in love with a river god, Enipeus, who rejected her. Poseidon appeared to Tyro disguised as Enipeus, and so seduced her. Their union resulted in the birth of twin boys, Pelias and Neleus. In this instance, it was Tyro who was deceived by Poseidon.

The story of Alcmena takes up a significant portion of Book 19 of The Iliad. If you wish to read a fuller account of her story on this website you can find it by clicking here. Alcmena’s story appears under the heading ‘The Story of Heracles and Eurystheus’ on that page.

Alcmena was the victim of Hera’s deception. Wishing to trick Zeus and gain an advantage, Hera sent Eileithyia, her daughter, who was the goddess of childbirth, to sit outside Alcmena’s bedchamber with her legs crossed, so that Alcmena could not open her own legs and give birth. Eileithyia was tricked into standing by Galinthias, a servant of Alcmene, thus allowing Heracles to be born and saving Alcmena’s life.

In both instances, the stories of Tyro and Alcmena are not of deceptive women, but of women who are themselves deceived and are victims of the deception of others. It would seem that Antonious’ use of their names as exemplars of deception are a means by which Homer undermines his argument. As a modern audience, we readily understand that Penelope is a loyal wife in a difficult situation, using whatever cunning and intelligence she has to discourage the suitors and play them off against each other. In this, she is a good match for Odysseus, often described as cunning and intelligent.

Representations in Art

Penelope’s Weaving

These four pieces of art illustrate the story Antonious tells to the assembly about the deception of Penelope to discourage the suitors’ advances by weaving a funeral shroud in anticipation of her father’s death:

The Odyssey, Book 2, lines 104 - 117
Penelope and the Suitors by Bernardino Pinturicchio, 1509
‘Penelope and the Suitors’, Bernardino Pinturicchio, 1509

Pinturicchio’s painting is one of eight fresco paintings originally belong to Pandolfo Petrucci, the ruler of Siena, who commissioned the frescoes to celebrate the marriage of his son to Pope Pius III’s niece. It is one of only three that now survive from the collection.

The painting shows influences from Renaissance art, but it is still very much a medieval piece: the strange perspectives, the proportions (consider the size of the woman sitting at the left), as well as the fluid connection between exterior and interior scenes, are reminiscent of medieval art. The clothing, architecture and scene appear to be contemporary to the 16th century.

Penelope weaves the shroud for her father as suitors enter the room to press their case for marriage. Above Penelope’s head is Odysseus’ bow and arrow which will later be used in a scene in which Odysseus’ identity is revealed. Other websites make various claims about the ship in the background. One suggests it is Telemachus leaving for his voyage, another that it is the scene with the sirens, although there is no evidence for this. Another website suggests that the bearded man entering through the door is Odysseus, disguised as a beggar. Whatever the case may be, the weaving mounted on the loom creates a nice physical barrier between Penelope and her suitors.

Penelope Surprised by the Suitors by John Flaxman, c1793
‘Penelope Surprised by the Suitors’, John Flaxman, circa 1793

John Flaxman did a series of sketches to illustrate Homer’s work. Flaxman was commissioned to illustrate both The Iliad and The Odyssey. He began work in 1792. He had a plan that the drawings would eventually be adapted into a series of bas-reliefs, although he never achieved this.

The drawings were first engraved and published in 1793, and were published two years later in London, as well. They were again published in 1805. The drawings were highly influential during the 19th century.

Flaxman’s sketch is classical in style. His positioning of Penelope creates a barrier with the suitors by presenting them her back. Unlike the suitor who strides confidently into the room in Pinturicchio’s work, these suitors look tentative and uncertain of their approach.

Penelope and the Suitors by Victor John Robertson, 1900
‘Penelope and the Suitors’, Victor John Robertson, 1900

This luxuriantly detailed painting by Victor John Robertson captures a defiant and powerful version of Penelope as she faces down the suitors. As the central figure, she divides the painting in half. To her left are women, presumably from her household, who watch tentatively, their arms raised defensively, against the encroaching suitors on the right. Robertson also characterises the suitors as malevolent figures. The stance of the leading male figure – his hunched posture, his foot forward and his villainous glare – suggests his ill-intentions. The figure behind him holds a crown up to Penelope, perhaps suggesting the suitors’ intention to usurp Odysseus as Penelope’s husband and king.

While the backdrop is not as obviously a weaving as in the other images, the beater used on the loom to tension the yarn can be seen between the woman closest to Penelope who leans into the weaving, and just beneath Penelope’s right hand. Penelope holds a heddle hook in her right hand, while her left hand rests on yarn and hooks in a basket.

Penelope and her Suitors by John William Waterhouse, 1912
‘Penelope and her Suitors’, John William Waterhouse, 1912

Waterhouse’s adoption of the Pre-Raphaelite style is evident in this painting, not only for its classical theme, but its luxuriant colour and details. Waterhouse boldly portrays Penelope, known for her sexual fidelity, in a bright red dress, while her suitors are separated from her physically by a low wall. In this painting, Penelope appears more sexually powerful than the besieged woman of Homer’ poem. The suitors are left to plaintively seek her attention.

Meanwhile, Penelope appears entirely engrossed in her work, and Waterhouse’s positioning of Penelope with her back to the suitors, much like Flaxman, helps to convey her indifference. The very purpose of Penelope’s weaving seems different here: rather than discouraging these men, she is inflaming their desire. This is a more romantic situation than that portrayed by Homer because Waterhouse has given Penelope more agency than she had in reality. The men try to woo her with music – there is a lyre present – with flowers, or have been left merely to desire her, as suggested by the man with his head placed longingly against his fist.

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