The Ancient World (HUM 124 - UNC Asheville)/Texts/Odyssey/Book 21

Summary of book 21

Book 21 begins with Athena putting a thought in Penelope's mind to set the bow and the gleaming axes out in the grand hall to test the skills of the suitors and bring on their slaughter. Here her suitors will attempt to string the bow and shoot an arrow through a line of 12 iron axes, if they are successful in doing so the suitor may have Penelope's hand in marriage. Penelope retrieves the bow from the storeroom and upon holding it, she weeps in remembrance of Odysseus, and his friendship with Iphitus. Penelope dried her eyes she went to go meet her proud suitors; Telemachus tries his hand in stringing the bow but fails three times, he tries to see if he is man enough to take on his father's position in his absence.The suitors warm and grease the bow in an effort to make it supple yet they all fail in their attempts. Meanwhile, a disguised Odysseus follows Eumaeus and Philoetius outside and asks them what they would do if they saw Odysseus again. After proving their loyalty Odysseus then shows them a scar on his foot signaling that it is indeed him, and tells them he will provide them houses and wives, they will be like brothers of Telemachus if they help him fight the suitors. Odysseus then goes into the hall where all the suitors are and asks to try the challenge, Antinous, the most arrogant of the suitors, calls him a fool. While Penelope allows the " beggar" to try his hand at the task, Eurymachus tells that if this peasant wins, the rest of the suitors will look like fools. After Penelope leaves, Eumaeus tells another servant that she must lock the doors and to tell the other women to not come out of their quarters if they hear men screaming. Then Odysseus strings the bow shooting through all 12 iron axes after he signals to his son and they stand together weapons drawn.

Characters

Athena- Daughter of Zeus, often in disguise.

Penelope- (Main character) Wife of Odysseus, currently has suitors vying for her attention in her husbands absence

Odysseus- Husband of Penelope, a great warrior that is currently in a disguise of a old beggar

Telemachus- Son of Penelope and Odysseus, attempting to follow in his fathers footsteps

Eumaeus- swineherd

Philoetius- cowherd

Iphitus- Friend of Odysseus, gifted him the bow

Antinous- most arrogant suitor

Eurymachus- suitor

Eurycleia- wet nurse of Odysseus

Ancient worldview

Relations

Example 1: The loyalties held by a man is greater than relationships he holds

While women are many times defined by their relation to men, men are often described by their titles. We see an example of this on the first page of Book 21(460) starting with " the wise Penelope, daughter of Icarius" then compare that to " in the hall of great Odysseus". We already know these characters however as we are introduced to them this chapter we are reminded of Penelope relationship to a male figure while Odysseus is introduced with his warrior status. Furthermore, Odysseus tests the loyalty of his "friends" by interrogating their thoughts on his return; Antinous and the suitors are another set of characters that highlight these views; following odysseus departure they showed that they were more interested in reaping the benefits of the kingdom so when Odysseus returned he did not hesitate to kill them. Another example in the poem was the story of Zeus killing a traitor in his home after feeding and taking care of him.

Gender

Example 2: female characters are often subtle/internal

While in book 21 women are not in the spotlight it does not mean they are not there. Penelope occupies a certain space in this story which is in the home, however she still has thoughts about everything that is going on beyond that. The notion that she will not remarry until she finishes her burial shroud, then proceeds to undo her original weaving to add time. We see how she sets up the challenge in book 21 on page 462 saying that any man who can string the bow of Odysseus and shoot through all 12 axes will be able to marry her. It is inferred that Penelope knows none of the suitors will be able to complete the challenge therefore she will not have to remarry. While Penelope's actions are not always boisterous as in comparison to her suitors which are often characterized as arrogant, she makes a strong impact.

Example 3: representation

We do not see a lot of female representation in this story as compared to males. However this is the way society operated at the time the role of women was a specific one and did not often vary. Other than Athena and Penelope the only women that are present in this chapter are servants. Although the representation is limited, Penelope is portrayed as a strong independent woman and a strong judge of character. When Odysseus leaves, there are scenes where she is displaying remorse, however it is behind the scenes to her maids and not the council of suitors. In addition, Athena is the goddess of war and several times throughout the poem, Odysseus, who is a strong and respected man, is seen calling out to her for help.