Book 2 - The Debate in Ithaca Flashcards
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Who speaks first at the assembly
Aegyptius
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What does Aegyptius point out
That the group has not met in session since King Odysseus left for the Trojan War some 20 years before
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What does Aegyptius say
- He praises Telemachus for stepping into his father’s shoes, who was bold enough to call for the meeting
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What does Telemachus say in his passionate speech
- he laments the loss of both his father and Ithaca to the suitors
- Telemachus effectively makes his case against the Suitors for consuming his father’s oxen and sheep
- as they constantly pursue Penelope
- when any decent man would simply go to her father, Icarius, and ask him for her hand in marriage.
- Silence falls across the gathering as most of the men seem moved by the prince’s plea.
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How does Antinuous reply to Telemachus’ speech
- Insolently, Antinous, the leading suitor, denies responsibility and puts the blame on Penelope
- He reminds the suitors of a shawl for the eventual funeral of Odysseus’ father, Laertes, inwhich she cannot marry until itis finished
- If Penelope can make no decision, Antinous declares, then she should be sent back to Icarius so that he can choose a new husband for her
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What is the situation with Penelope & her shawl
- Penelope maintained that she would choose a husband as soon as she finished weaving a burial shroud for her elderly father-in-law, Laertes.
- But each night, she carefully undid the knitting that she had completed during the day, so that the shroud would never be finished
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How does Telemachus respond to Penelope being dissed by the Suitors
The dutiful Telemachus refuses to throw his mother out and calls upon the gods to punish the suitors.
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What happens when Telemachus calls upon the gods to punish the suitors
- Dueling eagles suddenly swoop near the assembly,
- which the seer Halitherses interprets their struggle as a portent of Odysseus’s imminent return
- and warns the suitors that they will face a massacre if they don’t leave
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What do the suitors say in response to Halitherses
- Eurymachus, the other leading suitor, rudely interrupts the aging prophet
- and threatens Telemachus, laughing at such foolishness,
- ending the meeting in deadlock
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What does Athena say, disguised as Mentor, to Telemachus as he begins to set off for Pylos
- She encourages him and predicts that his journey will be fruitful.
- She then sets out to town and, assuming the disguise of Telemachus himself, collects a loyal crew to man his ship.
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How does Telemachus discretely leave for Pylos & Sparta
- Telemachus himself tells none of the household servants of his trip for fear that his departure will upset his mother.
- He tells only Eurycleia, his wise and aged nurse.
- She pleads with him not to take to the open sea as his father did, but he puts her fears to rest by saying that he knows that a god is at his side.
