Book 2 Flashcards
What did Telemachus do when it was dawn?
- He got dressed and took a sharp sword and stout pair of sandals, and left his room ‘looking like a god’
- He gave orders for the Achaeans to be called to an Assembly
- Athene endowed him with supernatural grace so everyone looked on at him in admiration
Who was the first to speak?
Aegyptius, an old lord, rich in wisdom
Why did Aegyptius address the assembly?
- His own son Antihpus had sailed with Odysseus to Troy, but was killed by a Cyclops
- His grief pushed him to speak
What did Aegyptius say to the Assembly?
- No assembly has been called since Odysseus left Ithaca
- He asks who has called them together, and he declares his hopes that this man will be rewarded
What happened after Aegyptius spoke?
The herald Peisenor gave the speaker’s staff to Telemachus
What did Telemachus say in response to Aegyptius?
- He explains that it is him who called the Assembly, and that he is in great distress
- There is no army approaching, or matter of public concern, but rather his own private business- the affliction that has fallen on his house
What does Telemachus say the affliction that has fallen on his house is?
- He has lost his father
- The suitors are pestering Penelope with unwanted attention, and waste his wealth
- The men he has called to Assembly should resent this injustice to Telemachus, so he begs them to remove these men from his property
What happened after Telemachus made his speech regarding his affliction?
- His passion rose, and he burst into tears and flung the staff on the floor
- A wave of pity spread through the gathering
- No one spoke except for Antinous
What did Antinous say in reply to Telemachus?
- He accuses Telemachus of having a temper and putting the blame on the suitors when it should instead be placed on Penelope
- He calls Penelope an ‘incomparable schemer’ and explains her trick with weaving Odysseus’ shroud
What did Penelope say to the suitors to explain her weaving?
- She told them to not urge on her marriage until she had finished making a shroud for Odysseus
- She must have a shroud for him, otherwise, she will risk facing scandal among other women if such a rich man were to be without.
How long did Penelope’s trick go on for, and how was she found out?
- Her lie lasted for 4 years
- One of her slaves who knew about it gave her away
What does Antinous say that the suitor’s answer to Telemachus’ problems are?
- He wants Telemachus to send Penelope away, and to make her marry a man that her father chooses and whom she prefers
- She shouldn’t try the suitors patience too much, as she has misused her wits, and that by continuing on with this attitude, the suitors are sure to never leave
- The suitors will not return home until she marries one of them
What is Telemachus’ response to Antinous’ ‘solution’ for him?
- He says that it would be impossible to cast his mother out against her will, and that he’d suffer at the hands of his grandfather
- Penelope would call down the Furies on him
- He hopes that Zeus will bring a day of reckoning on the suitors
What gifts does Antinous say that Penelope possesses?
- Her skill in fine handicraft
- her excellent brain
- Her genius she has for getting her way
Who does Antinous say never possessed such wits as Penelope?
- Tyro
- Alcmene
- Mycene of the lovely diadem
