Book 15 summary Flashcards
1
Q
What does Athena do at the start of this book?
A
- She flies to Lacedaemon and tells Telemachus to come back to Ithaca
- She warns him that some of the suitors will try to ambush and kill him on his way home, and tells him to avoid all the islands
2
Q
What happens the next day in Lacedaemon?
A
- Menelaus arranges for Telemachus to leave for home with Pisistratus
3
Q
What happens when Telemachus is making his goodbyes?
A
- When Telemachus mentions Odysseus, an eagle with a goose in its claws flies by- a good omen
4
Q
What does Telemachus do when he reaches Pylos?
A
- He loads his gifts into his ship and sails to Ithaca
- He takes along Theoclymenus, a prophet’s son who killed a man in Argos and begs for hospitality
5
Q
What does Odysseus decide to do in Ithaca?
A
To test Eumaeus one more time
6
Q
How does Odysseus test Eumaeus a final time?
A
- He tells him that he plans to leave the next morning and try his luck begging at the palace
- Eumaeus urges him to stay until Telemachus returns
7
Q
Where is Eumaeus from, and who is his family?
A
- His father was the lord of two cities on the island Syrie
8
Q
What happened during Eumaeus life?
A
- A Phoenician crew landed one day on the island, and one of the men seduced a Phoenician nurse from his father’s household.
- She left with them, and brought Eumaeus with her to sell as a slave
- Eventually the ship landed in Ithaca and Laertes brought the infant
9
Q
How does the book end?
A
- Telemachus arrives safely and secretly in Ithaca the next morning
- He directs the ship to continue on to the city whilst he goes to Eumaeus’ farm.
- As he leaves the ship, they all see a hawk with a dove in its claws
- Theoclymenus interprets this omen to mean good things for Odysseus and his descendents
