The Odyssey : Book 22 Flashcards
How does book 22 start
The massacre begins - Tearing off his beggar rags, Odysseus utters a prayer to Apollo, and fires an arrow straight through Antinous’ throat.
Why were the suitors in uproar against Odysseus
Because he ‘slain a man who was far the best of the youths in Ithaca’.
What does Eurymachus offer to repay Odysseus
He offers to repay all they ‘drunk and eaten’ with oxen, bronze and gold. Odysseus refuses. Eurymachus calls the suitors to fight but, with only swords and no armour.
What happens to Amphinomus
He rushes at Odysseus but Telemachus is ‘too quick’ for him; and thrusts a bronze-tipped spear into his back.
What did Telemachus forget to do
He forgot to close the door for the weapon storeroom which the suitors took advantage of.
How does Athena aid Odysseus in the fight against the suitors
She transformed into a swallow and flew to the beams of the hall. They hurled their spears but she directed them to hit walls and doors. She then held up her aegis from the roof and the ‘minds of the wooers were panic-stricken and they fled through the halls like a herd of kine’.
Who did Odysseus spare
Sparing Medon, the herald who warned Penelope about the plot to kill her son, and Phemius, who was forced to sing by the suitors.
What does Penelope do after seeing the slain suitors
She speaks ‘loud cries of joy’ but Odysseys warns her to refrain for it is ‘an unholy thing is it to boast over slain men’. He asks her which women were guilty and she replies twelve.
Who hung the maids
Telemachus hung the maids after they were made to clean the blood from the palace
Why is Odysseus’s leadership praised
It is because although his anger is obvious, he is completely under control. He kills the most aggressive suitor, Antinous, first to create surprise and chaos.
Who is Leiodes
He was a priest and when Odysseus was about to kill him he begged him for his life.
