Odyssey Auxiliary: The Ultimate Guide to Homer's The Odyssey

Summary

Iros learns of Odysseus’s presence in the palace and goes to try to make him leave*. Iros and Odysseus end up fighting brutally as the suitors cheer them on and Athena aids Odysseus with strength. Odysseus resists killing Iros and lets him go. The suitors then host a celebration in honor of his winning. During the celebration Odysseus realizes that one of the suitors, Amphinomos is not as bad as the others and tells him to leave before doom falls upon the castle but Athena won’t let him escape.

Athena makes Penelope want to see the suitors and then puts her to sleep. While Penelope sleeps, Athena makes her more attractive to impress the suitors. When Penelope wakes she goes with two maids to see the suitors. First, she talks to Telemakhos. Then, she informs the suitors on her plan to marry one of them. She says that before Odysseus left he told her to remarry if he hadn’t returned when Telemakhos became a man. She also comments on the lack of gifts she has received and all the suitors agree to bring gifts but refuse to leave the palace. The suitors bring her gifts of great value and she accepts them before returning to her chamber.

The suitors begin their nightly feast. Odysseus tells the maids to be with Penelope and they talk back. Odysseus insults and threatens them which makes them leave quickly. Odysseus is then insulted by Eurymakhos. Odysseus talks back to Eurymakhos as well and makes him extremely angry. Eurymakhos try to hit Odysseus with a stool but Odysseus hides behind Amphinomus so Eurymakhos misses and hits a waiter. Telemakhos breaks up the tension and tells the suitors to finish up and go home for the night. The book ends with all of the suitors retiring for the night.

*Remember throughout all of Book 18, Odysseus is disguised as a beggar so the suitors won’t learn of his identity.

Characters & Their Lessons
Character: Iros
Description: Iros, the local beggar, is a flat character, who is searching the palace for food. Although Odysseus looks like nothing more than a weak, vulnerable beggar he is still able to injure him significantly.
Lesson: He learns an important lesson after challenging Odysseus to a fight: do not have so much pride or be so controlling.

Character: Odysseus
Description: Odysseus fights with Iros and later comes into the story many times disguised as a beggar.
Lesson: Odysseus’s eyes are opened to the lack of respect people have for those who they believe are lower class. Odysseus learns the importance of having loyal servants. He finds Melantho on her way to see Eurymachus, and orders her to assist Penelope. Melantho insults him and earns herself a verbal attack. Odysseus also learns that with the gods helping him, anything is possible. He breaks Iros’ jaw in one punch, and he is old enough to be Iros’ father. This foreshadows that Odysseus and his small army (very, very small) will stand a chance against the suitors with Athena’s help.

Character: Athena
Description: Athena continues to interfere with the mortal world. Before the fight, she makes Odysseus’s muscles appear larger to intimidate Iros. Then, she keeps Amphinomos from leaving after Odysseus’s warning. After that, she gives Penelope the desire to talk with Telemakhos and the suitors and puts Penelope to sleep and makes her more beautiful while she sleeps before facing the suitors.

Character: Eurymakhos
Description: Eurymakhos is a main character in Book XVIII. When Penelope is giving her speech to the suitors he compliments her beauty and Penelope snaps at him saying that the gods took her beauty. This teaches him not to mess with Penelope. During the suitor’s feast, Eurymakhos taunts Odysseus, calling him a lazy beggar. Of course, Odysseus does not take this lying down and makes Eurymakhos mad with his smart response. He throws a stool at Odysseus to punish him for talking back, but misses and instead hits a waiter. Odysseus also learns of Penelope’s beauty which encourages him to fight the suitors and get her back.

Character:Penelope
Description: Penelope first comes in when Athena makes her want to talk to the suitors and puts her to sleep to restore her beauty. After that, she briefly talks to Telemakhos and then makes a speech to the suitors. In her speech they are informed of her plans to remarry and her disappointment at the lack of gifts she received. She also tries unsuccessfully to make the suitors go home.
Lesson: Penelope learns further of the suitors rudeness and stubbornness. Penelope learns that the weak, old beggar beat up another beggar without a problem. That may have raised some suspicion of who that “old beggar” really is.

Character: Amphinomos
Description: After Odysseus realizes how unlike the other suitors he is, he warns him of the doom to come to the palace when Odysseus returns. Unfortunately though, Athena has bound him to his destiny of death and he can not follow this warning.

Character: Melantho
Description: Odysseus scolds Melantho and the other maids for not being with Penelope at the feast. She says he is overly proud and shouldn’t let it get to his head. This response angers Odysseus and he calls her out on having affairs with the suitors and tells her that Telemakhos would be angry if he heard the way she was treating him. This causes her and the other maids to leave quickly and embarrassedly. Her role emphasizes Odysseus’s superiority. She is the sister of Melanthius.

Character: Melanthius
Description: A goatherd in Odysseus’ house who is on the suitors’ side.

Character: Telemachus
Description: He talks to his mother when she comes to face the suitors and then later he scolds the suitors for being so rude to his father.

Character: Antinoos
Description: Antinoos does not play a particularly large role. At the fight between Iros and Odysseus, he encourages the violent behavior for his own amusement. Later, he speaks for the suitors agreeing to bring Penelope all the gifts she wants.

Character: Eurynome
Description: Eurynome is the maid who Penelope asks to fetch the other maids.

Literary Devices
Epithet
The “Grey-eyed Goddess” is a literary device which is talking about the Goddess Athena.

Metaphor
“Whiter than Carved Ivory” is a literary device portraying Penelope’s perfection.

Symbolism
Celebration
The main symbol in Book XVIII is celebration. After Odysseus wins his fight with Iros, the suitors toast to him and have a feast. In mythology celebrations and feasts typically symbolize congratulations, hospitality, and welcoming.

Wisdom
One motif that is used all throughout Book 18 is the concept of wisdom. Athena is the goddess of wisdom, and Penelope symbolizes wisdom when she tricks the suitors into giving her gifts.

Boxing
Odysseus boxing with Iros is a symbol of a choice made because of starvation. Odysseus risked blowing his cover by fighting, but the prize of a feast was too tempting for a beggar to pass up.

Appearance
Another concept the appears all over the Odyssey is that of appearance. Athena alters the appearances of Odysseus and Penelope to either disguise them or make them more impressive. Athena could be the goddess of plastic surgery. She changes Odysseus into an old beggar to hoodwink the suitors, and then bulks him up for boxing. Penelope becomes more beautiful, thanks to Athena, and earns gifts from the suitors.

Hospitality
Telemakhos allows the suitors to stay which symbolizes hospitality.

Connections
Superman
The Greek epic of Odysseus is linked to some American mythologies such as Superman. The characteristics and challenges of Superman and Odysseus are remarkably similar. They both have trouble getting back to their home after they left for a different area. Superman’s home planet exploded shortly after he left for Earth, and Odysseus has trouble getting home from Troy because of Poseidon. Another similarity is the fact that they both have a weakness or flaw. Odysseus’ mouth often gets him into trouble, and Superman loses his powers whenever he is near Kryptonite. They both are superhuman; Odysseus is strong and super-smart, and Superman is strong, can see through walls, and can fly. Both of them have uglier, more evil, and smarter enemies than an average person. Odysseus fights a Cyclops, Skylla, and other mythical creatures. Superman fights Lex Luther (brilliant scientist), Bizzaro (an ugly clone of Superman), and Mongul (an alien). Both Odysseus and Superman are working for the good of their people. Odysseus is just trying to return to Ithaka and get his country back in order. Superman fights crime for the good of the planet. These reasons above are requirements for a dynamic character to be an epic hero in mythology. Superman and Odysseus meet these requirements, so you could say that Superman is a modern-day Odysseus, and American superheroes are linked to Greek mythology. There is even a book that has been published that supports this idea of superheroes representing mythology.

Celebration
A particularly important celebratory feast in Greek culture and mythology is known as symposium. Symposium is a traditional Greek feast still practiced today. During ancient times these celebrations were frequently held with gaming events, such as the Olympics. Although there is no longer a symposium after the Olympics, there is still the tradition of celebrating at the closing ceremonies. Festivities involving food are still just as common today though. Think of it this way, say you win your sports game and you and your family want to celebrate your accomplishment. So, what do you do? One common way to celebrate a success such as this is to go out to dinner.

Quotes and What They Mean

“I had been young and blind” is a literary device showing how naive childhood can be.
“He shines. He shines around the noggin, like a flashing light having no hair at all to dim his luster”. This quote is symbolic and is a literary device. It is talking about how wonderful Odysseus is and that nothing (no hair) can take away from how wonderful he is. The phrase “dim his luster” is a literary device which creates a mood/attitude about him.
The sentence “she let clear drops of slumber fall” which means that she slept peacefully.
The quote, “her limbs unstrung in her long chair” means that she lay limply on the chair with her arms falling down. This would also be a literary device.
The quote “Clear out, grandfather, or else be hauled out by the ankle bone!” which is said to Odysseus by Iros, symbolically means get out old man, or we will kick you out.
“I could knock him out, and there wouldn’t be a tooth left in his mouth, the same as an old sow caught in the corn” is a what Iros says and this means that if he hit Odysseus he would be totally lost and disoriented like a pig would be if he was surrounded by corn to eat.
The narrator: says “… And the tall full-blooded suitor, Antinoos…” to me this means that Antinoos is a cruel man, who thinks highly of himself.
When Odysseus says, “I could be whipped that way” he means that he could lose that way.
The narrator says “while the young suitors watched with narrowed eyes”. This means the young suitors watched curiously.
“But you need to wash yourself and put shine upon your cheeks.” Symbolically, this means Odysseus needs to suck it up, and fake a smile on his face instead of moping around.
Penelope says “no, no, the gods forever took my sheen away when my lord sailed for Troy in the decked ships.” This means the Gods created trouble and Odysseus got on a ship and sailed away to Troy. When he sailed away to fight in the Trojan War he took her happiness away with him. Penelope’s heart broke when her loved one went to fight in the war.
The narrator says “And while she slept the goddess endowed her with immortal grace to hold the eyes of the Akhaians.” – This means while Penelope slept Athena put a spell on her to make her beautiful. This spell was put on Penelope to catch the Akhaians attention.

Links & References
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This Section By: Kyle P., Grace V., Haley R.