Directions: Please read this section before you come to class. The Return of Odysseus Odysseus was the king of the rocky island of Ithaca, where he lived with his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus. When Agamemnon asked the Greek Odysseus, to escape going, pretended to be mad, ploughing the sands and sowing salt. Palamedes, however, discovered the trick, for he placed Telemachus in the field and Odysseus turned the plough aside to save his infant son. In the Trojan War, it was by his plan of the wooden horse that Troy was captured. After the fall of Troy the Greek heroes returned home, but none suffered so many hardships as Odysseus. For ten years he had fought at Troy, but it was ten years more before he came to Ithaca. During this time he passed through the adventures which are recorded in Homer's poem The Odyssey. You may have heard of him as Ulysses, the name by which he is known in Latin poetry. Odysseus Hears Bad News on His Homecoming Odysseus was asleep when the Phaecians carried him ashore. He awoke to find himself lying under a tree with his gifts beside him. But he had been away from Ihaha so long that he did not recognize his owncountry. He was disappointed as he thought that again he was on a foreign coast, and that the Phacians had deceived him. A youth approached and Odysseus asked the name of the place. “ You are in Ithaca," was the reply. “ Who are you and where did you come from?" Overjoyed to find that he was in his own kingdom at last, Odysseus wanted to shout the glad news. But remembering his past experience, he decided that it was best not to trust the unknown youth. He pretended to be a traveler from Crete. His imagination created such interesting details that he became telling and would have gone on and on had not a delighted laugh interrupted him. Before his surprised eyes, the youth seemed to disappear and the stately goddess Athena stood in his place. “ You need not use your trickery on me, Odysseus," she laughed. “I have come to help you. It is not safe to return to your palace yet. It is filled with nobles who, believing you to be dead, have been urging your wife Penelope to marry one of them. For years they have eaten your food and ordered your servants about as if they were already masters of the house. If you were suddenly to appear among them, they would kill you. ” “ And my wife Penelope- -tell me about her," said Odysseus. “ She is a wise queen, worthy of the clever Odysseus. Three years ago she told the suitors that she could not marry until she had woven a robe for your aged father. The work was never finished, for each night Penelope undid what she wove in the daytime. But the suitors discovered her trick and now are bolder than ever. ” Odysseus' face darkened with anger, but Athena was continuing. “ Your son Telemachus is now on his way home from Sparta, where he went to seek news of you from King Menelaus. The suitors have set a trap to kill him before his ship reaches Ithaca. But I shall be there to bring him safely home. Tomorrow you shall see him. ” Odysseus Is Disguised as a Beggar Then Athena gave Odysseus the form and clothes of an old and ugly beggar and sent him to the hut of his faithful swineherd Eumaeus. The old servant, who was always kind to strangers, receiving him hospitably and filled his ears with tales of the suitors and of their endless banqueting. “Unless Odysseus returns very soon, ” he said, “ there will be no flocks and herds left, for they are all being killed to feed those hateful nobles. ” The next morning when Eumaeus was preparing breakfast, a handsome youth appeared at the doorway. “ Telemachus!" The old swineherd held his young master in his arms. “I have feared for your life!" Tears sprang into Odysseus's eyes at the sight of his son, and he turned away to hide them. “Take the news of my homecoming to my mother," said Telemachus to Eumaeus,“but be careful that the suitors do not hear. I very narrowly escaped their attack and do not yet want them to know I have returned.” As the servant left, Odysseus saw Athena appearing outside the door. He went out and in an instant she had restored him to his own form. Tall and kingly, he re-entered the hut. Telemachus looked at him, puzzled. “ I am your father Odysseus, home after twenty years." Happy tears flooded their eyes as father and son embraced, and the eager questions could not be answered enough. But there was much to be done; together they worked out a plan to get rid of the suitors. Odysseus Enters the Palace and Sees Penelope Resuming his beggar's disguise, Odysseus went the next day with Eumaeus to the palace. As he came near the gate, his old hunting dog Argus pricked up his ears, wagged his tail, and tried to crawl a few inches toward him. His master had come home at last. With a long, happy sigh the dog put down his head and died. Odysseus entered the banquet hall and began to beg food from the noisy suitors. They laughed at his dirt and rags. Then, not content with words alone, one struck at him with a stool. Seeing this, Telemachus controlled himself and said: “You forget the laws of hospitality! Even a beggar deserves a better treatment than this!" The suitor whispered to the man beside him: “We'll have to get rid of this young man soon; he becomes a bit troublesome." Penelope came into the room. Odysseus's heart sang. She was as fair as on that long-ago day when they had parted. Pityingly she looked at the beggar and told her servants to bring him food and a mat to lie on. Then the old nurse who had cared for Odysseus when he was a child came to wash his feet. Suddenly she gave a cry of joy, for she recognized a scar he had received from a wild pig when he was young. The cry was unheard above the noisy merrymaking of the suitors, and Odysseus said softly, “Do not reveal my secret; it is not yet time. ” Penelope Makes a Decision That night as Penelope lay in her bed, she decided sadly that she could no longer put off her suitors. Her son was grown now, old enough to be master of the palace; yet they pushed him aside like a child and he could do nothing because they were so many. If she were to marry one of them, the others would have to leave. Her husband must be dead or he would have returned by now. Weeping, she went to the store-room where Odysseus’ treasures were kept. From the wall she took his bow and arrows, fingering lovingly the worn spots where his hands had been. In the morning when the suitors again assembled to resume their banqueting, Penelope came into the great hall carrying the bow and arrows. “ I will marry whichever one of you can bend the bow of Odysseus and shoot an arrow through the holes of twelve axes set up one behind the other. My husband was able to do this easily." Then she returned to her own room, unwilling to see the bow of her noble husband in the hands of men so worthless. Odysseus Triumphs Once More The suitors leaped up noisily to try their skill, but not one of them could bend the bow. Then the old beggar said quietly, “Let me try." The suitors broke into laughter. But the beggar picked up the bow and bent it. Then he sent an arrow flying through the twelve axes holes. He leaped to the doorway and his disguise fell from him. “ Odysseus!” The cry broke from the nobles. His bow twanged again, and this time the target was one of the suitors. The other ran to seize the weapons that usually hung on the wall, but Telemachus had removed them before the contest. When his arrows were gone, Odysseus's sword- -brought to his side by Telemachus- flashed through the hall until every suitor lay dead. Odysseus had fought the Trojan warriors, the monsters and tricksters of the islands, and the enemies in his own palace. Now at last he could put aside his sword and live in happy peace with Telemachus and the lovely Penelope. Reading Comprehension Circle the letter of the best answer.