Book 21 - The Great Bow Flashcards
1
Q
Book 21
How does the book start
A
- Penelope gets Odysseus’s bow out of the storeroom
- & announces that she will marry the suitor who can string it and then shoot an arrow through a line of twelve axes
2
Q
Book 21
Describe Telemachus’ stringing of the bow
A
- Telemachus sets up the axes and then tries his own hand at the bow, but fails 3 times in his attempt to string it
- He is about to succeed on his fourth try when Odysseus privately signals him to back off
3
Q
Book 21
Describe the suitors stringing of the bow
A
The suitors warm and grease the bow to make it supple, ironically preparing it for when Odysseus will inevitably kill them, but one by one they all try and fail
4
Q
Book 21
What does Odysseus do whilst the suitors try to string the bow
A
- Odysseus follows Eumaeus and Philoetius outside
- He assures himself of their loyalty and then reveals his identity to them by means of the scar on his foot
- He promises to treat them as Telemachus’s brothers, providing them with land & a wife each if they fight by his side against the suitors, enlisting their support in his plan
5
Q
Book 21
What happens when Odysseus returns with the suitors stringing the bow
A
- When Odysseus returns, Eurymachus has the bow
- He feels disgraced that he cannot string it, because he knows that this failure proves his inferiority to Odysseus
- Antinous suggests that they try again tomorrow, when they can sacrifice to Apollo, the archer god, before trying again
6
Q
Book 21
What happens when Odysseus, still disguised, then asks for the bow
A
- Penelope strongly supports this
- All of the suitors complain, fearing that he will succeed
- Antinous ridicules Odysseus, saying that the wine has gone to his head and that he will bring disaster upon himself, just like the legendary drunken centaur Eurytion
- Telemachus takes control and orders Eumaeus to give Odysseus the bow
7
Q
Book 21
How does the book end
A
- Odysseus easily strings the weapon and fires an arrow straight through the all twelve axes;
- then he and Telemachus stand together to face the suitors
