Upon Odysseus arrival to Ithaca, Athena hides his identity to help him defeat the suitors. She turns him into a very old beggar to conceal his identity from everyone, most importantly the suitors. Odysseus reveals himself to his son Telemachus, cowherd and the swine herd. The nurse Eurycleia recognizes him because of a scar he got years ago by a boar’s white tusk. Penelope doesn’t recognize Odysseus at first sight because of the disguise. She starts to put things together that Odysseus could be the beggar right in front of her when she tells him her dreams and he answers “Dear woman,” quick Odysseus answered, “Twist it however you like, your dream can only mean one thing. Odysseus told you himself – he’ll make it come to pass. Destruction is …show more content…
“Now I will bring them on as a trial for my suitors. The hand that can string the bow with greatest ease, that shoots an arrow clean through all twelve axes- he’s the man I follow, yes forsaking this house where I was once a bride,” (Od. 19.648-652). As soon as Penelope utters these words Odysseus urges her and assures her that her once lost husband will be home in time before the suitors can complete this task. This reassures Penelope that the beggar indeed is Odysseus. Although Odysseus is still hiding his identity, Penelope’s confidence grows because she knows that this will force Odysseus to finally come out of disguise and compete in the contest to finally prove that he is indeed the one true Odysseus, king of Ithaca. During the contest while the suitors struggle, Odysseus still disguised as the beggar pleads to Antinous to give him a shot at stringing the bow. They are enraged by the fact that a mere beggar will even think of competing but most importantly they are frightened he will prevail. Penelope uses this moment to finally get Odysseus to reveal his true identity. Odysseus proves his identity by stringing the bow and successfully shooting it through all twelve
Odysseus, king of Ithaca, loves his wife, as well as the power he has over the island. However, while he is journeying back to his city, suitors begin to swarm his home. These men aspire to wed Penelope, who is still married to Odysseus. This threatens Odysseus’s marriage and sense of control. Odysseus is afraid of losing all that is important to him, causing him to challenge and kill all of the suitors.
The beggar says that the Odysseus is the eagle that will come to kill all the “geese” or suitors and no one will “escape from death and doom” (193). Penelope still finds this hard to believe and decides to let Telemachus live a happy life with no worries by leaving him and marrying a suitor. She will hold a contest to and marry the suitor that will shoot an arrow through twelve iron axe heads. The beggar tells her that Odysseus “will be here before the suitors” and win the contest (193). Penelops is reluctant to believe this and cries herself to
He hid all of the possible weapons for the suitors to use and killed them all while being disguised as a old beggar. Penelope's nurse saw the scar on the bottom of his foot. Penelope held a test that no could complete except Odysseus. She has the beggar shoot an arrow through 12 axes but then Odysseus was the only one who completed it. Then she became aware that the beggar could be Odysseus
Every day, Penelope would undo her work in order to not have to marry anyone other than Odysseus. When Penelope realizes that the beggar is actually Odysseus himself, she comes up with an idea. Whoever can string Odysseus’ bow and shoot through twelve arrows will be her new husband. She also raised Odysseus’ son as a single mother and tends to her kingdom at the same
Even when Odysseus was away from home, she still was devoted to him and long awaited for him to return back to Ithaca. Throughout the Odyssey, Penelope is seen wishing for Odysseus to come home. Penelope asks Telemachus if he has heard any news about Odysseus and Telemachus tells her about his trip to Menelaus. Penelope states that when Odysseus left, her beauty was lost and if he came home her reputation would be greater than it was. When Odysseus returns home in disguise and tells Penelope that he has returned, Penelope offers gifts if he actually comes home.
It’s possible that the beggar just looked like he could be Odysseus’s age. However, Odysseus had gone through many stressful trials and probably looked a lot older than he would have had he made it to Ithaca right after Troy. Penelope seems to consider this saying “men age quickly when life is hard.” Even so Penelope had to have had at least a very strong hunch at this point that the beggar was Odysseus.
Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, is a man that is looked at as a celebrity by humans because of his skillful fighting, and by the gods because of his intelligence and wits. The king went through numerous tasks and obstacles to get back to his homeland. One task in particular proves his power and the love he has for his loyal and wise wife, Penelope. Looking at lines four hundred fifty-one through four hundred seventy-one, the moment Odysseus, while disguised by the God Athena, proves to the suitors and workers that he is the rightful husband, king, and lord by stringing his own bow and shooting it through twelve axes; the task was quick and perfect for Odysseus.
When they saw each other, Penelope didn’t recognize him since it has been years since they’ve seen each other. Odysseus showed that he had the guts to Odysseus aged a little bit more and his hair was grey and he had a long beard
The Odyssey by Homer is an exemplary story that teaches life lessons to those going on a journey for themselves. It illustrates how the challenges and obstacles one may face can help someone become a better leader. The Odyssey highlights one man, Odysseus, a man filled with excessive pride, experiencing the wrath of the god Poseidon. He expects to arrive at his home, Ithaca, safely to reunite with his wife, Penelope, but unfortunately faces many temptations and setbacks. Due to the challenges he faces, it prevents him from arriving home as early as he thought he would.
Because in the beginning he was impulsive and arrogant, he set himself up for a journey of miseries, and in this quote he asks the gods to release him from those miseries. He has never asked that before and always thought he was better than the gods themselves. After being humbled, put in rags, and put through many hardships, Odysseus finds that he is not the most important being and becomes more humble because of this. When the suitors are trying to win Penelope’s heart they are tasked to string Odysseus’s bow and shoot it through axes. Odysseus waits for most of the suitors to attempt to string
In this book, Odysseus has been disguised by Athena as a beggar who has traveled the world. He has been dropped back on Ithaca by the Phaeacians. On his journey back to Ithaca Odysseus has changed greatly. As the prophecy has said he has returned home in a stranger 's ship, without his crew, and as a broken man. After Athena disguises him, Odysseus goes to his loyal swine herder, Eumaeus.
It comes to show that the suitors were going too far with their plan to marry Penelope. Even when two of the suitors were begging for their plea to live, Odysseus was kind enough to let them go as stated in the text “Don’t worry he’s saved you. Now you know and you can tell the world, how much better good deeds are than evil. Go outside now you and the singer and sit in the yard.” That shows that even when
After Telemachus and his father share a reunion, he leads his father to his house. Upon arrival, Odysseus disguises himself as a beggar and finds that the house has been taken over by sires trying to court his wife as a result of his actions. After completing Athena’s task, Odysseus reveals himself to his wife. However, Odysseus finds it very difficult to convince his wife that he has truly come back. When Odysseus reveals something no one else knows, Penelope runs to him and throws her arms around him.
When Odysseus finally returns home, he has Athena disguise him so he can look at how his home has been going without him. Everyone besides his wife, son, and two other of his men have been disloyal to him and there is a group of suitors there who have overstayed their visit trying to get Penelope to be their wife. Odysseus locks the suitors all in one room where the
Although King of Ithaca eventually reaches his home, one can argue the monomyth ends once he learns humility. The change in character is apparent when Odysseus arrives in Ithaca dressed as a beggar. Before his arrival to/in Ithaca, Athena, goddess of wisdom, dresses the king to resemble a beggar. She disguises him to protect him from the suitors, who will kill the hero on sight. To camouflage himself within the crowd, Odysseus must live a mendicant lifestyle, facing problems they commonly encounter.