Books XIII to XX
Odysseus has finished his story. The Phaiakians under king Alkinoos thank Odysseus for his story
and put him on a boat for home. Exhausted, he falls asleep as they near his home, Ithaca. The
sailors place the sleeping Odysseus and all the gold and gifts they gave him on the coast of
Ithaca and leave. When Odysseus awakes, it is foggy and he thinks they have abandoned him on
some strange island instead of bringing him home to Ithaca. As the fog clears, he realizes he is
home.
Athena appears to Odysseus, but she disguises herself as a shepherd and asks who he is.
Odysseus doesn’t trust this strange shepherd and doesn’t know the current situation on Ithaca,
so he does not admit to being Odysseus. This impresses Athena, and she reveals herself. She
disguises Odysseus as an old man who must beg for a living so none will recognize him. She then
takes this “old man” (Odysseus) to stay with a shepherd named Eumaeus. Eumaeus is a kind old
shepherd who knew Odysseus and has remained loyal to him all these years. Eumaeus was
purchased as a slave boy by Odysseus’s mother years ago, and he grew up as part of the family.
Meanwhile, Athena appears to Telemakhos and tells him it is time to stop looking for his father
and return home. She warns him of the suitors plan to ambush him and helps him avoid the
suitors ambush. She then sends him to Eumaeus hut.
Odysseus, disguised still as the old man, tells Eumaeus that he would like to work for the suitors
in the house of king Odysseus. Eumaeus says he should not do this because the suitors are
abusive. Telemakhos arrives, and the “old man” offers to give up his seat to the prince.
Telemakhos refuses to take his seat, thus showing hospitality. Eumaeus leaves to tell Penelope,
Odysseus’s wife, that Telemakhos is home. While he is gone, Athena removes Odysseus’s
disguise and he and Telemakhos have their reunion and decided to kill the suitors who have
been trying to marry Penelope.
Meanwhile, Penelope can no longer stall the suitors. She had promised to marry one when she
finished knitting a burial blanket for when Odysseus’s father, Laertes, eventually died. They had
agreed to wait, but then each night she unknit part of the blanket so that she could never finish.
One of her maids, who is too friendly with the suitors, tells them about Penelope’s plans and
they confront her. Penelope agrees to marry the suitor who can fire an arrow through a row of
rings on axe handles. When they say no one could do this, she says that her husband Odysseus
used to do this all the time, and the suitors agree to the challenge.
Odysseus arrives as an old beggar, and an old serving woman named Eurykleia washes his feet
and recognizes him by a scar on his leg. She agrees to keep his secret for now. The suitors, led by
Antinoos and Eurymakhos, treat this old beggar (Odysseus) horribly. They insult him and throw
things at him. Telemakhos tells the suitors to stop and threatens to kill them, and they all laugh
at him. Everything is set for the challenge of the bow.