Brief Summary Of Odysseus Of Homer's Odyssey

After the suitors have departed Odysseus and Telemachus remove the weapons and armor from the great hall and stow them in the upper chamber of the palace. Telemachus retires to his room, but Odysseus remains in the great hall until Penelope arrives and sits with him before a roaring fire. She questions him as to his name and country. When he initially attempts to avoid the issue, she leads the conversation by relating her own situation among the suitors and her attempt to stall them for as long as possible. When she again requests his identity, he tells her his name is Aethon from Crete. Altering the story he told Eumaeus significantly, he claims to be the younger brother of the famous Cretan prince, Idomeneus. When his older brother departed for Troy, “Aethon” remained behind in Crete. There he had the opportunity to entertain the traveling Odysseus for twelve days because the Ithacan had encountered stormy weather on his way to Troy.
Penelope is moved by his story but demands proof of its authenticity by …show more content…
Penelope summons Eurycleia, who gladly offers to tend the stranger whom she claims reminds her so strongly of her long lost master.
However, as Eurycleia examines his leg, she notices a scar that Odysseus had received as a boy when visiting his maternal grandfather, Autolycus. Odysseus had been hunting with Autolycus’ sons on Mount Parnassus during a visit to receive promised gifts from his grandfather, who had named Odysseus and suggested the visit years earlier. Now Odysseus was hunting a wild boar, and presently engaged the beast at close quarters. Although slaying the beast, Odysseus received a leg wound, just above his knee. His grandfather’s family brought him to the house and healed him, and then sent him home bearing many