The Odyssey – Book 22 The Battle in the Hall (Context)
Summary
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First up, Antinous. Odysseus strikes him with an
arrow to the throat while he's drinking wine.
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Realizing that their weapons are gone, the Suitors
scatter.
·
Eurymachus begs for Odysseus to have mercy on
the rest of the Suitors, now that he's killed the worst of them (that would be
Antinous). Odysseys does not agree.
·
So, Eurymachus tries to rally the Suitors to
fight Odysseus, who responds by promptly killing Eurymachus with an arrow to
the heart.
·
As Amphinomus rushes Odysseus, Telemachus stops
him with a spear to the heart.
·
Telemachus then runs to the storage room,
grabbing more weapons, and arming the four allies (Odysseus, himself, Eumaeus,
and Philoetius).
·
Melanthius sees Telemachus go to the storage
room and arms the Suitors.
·
Odysseus is none too happy to see that the Suitors
suddenly have weapons.
·
Telemachus knows it's his fault for leaving the
storage room door open and confesses it to Odysseus, who orders the two
herdsmen to follow Melanthius, tie him up, and lock him in the storage room so
he can do no more harm. They obey.
·
Athene arrives, disguised as Mentor. Odysseus
recognizes her for who she is and calls help.
·
The Suitors beg Mentor not to help Odysseus,
threatening him with death if he does.
·
She turns to Odysseus and tells him to show his
skills.
·
But she holds back. Odysseus and Telemachus have
yet to prove themselves worthy of her assistance. She watches her two little
pet mortals from the roof and passively protects them while they pick off Suitors
one by one.
·
At last, Athene's sign—the aegis or "great
shield"—shines in the air in the hall and the Suitors realize that
Odysseus has godly help, and the Suitors beg for mercy.
·
Odysseus spares only Phemius the singer and
Medon, because Telemachus swears they're loyal. Finally all the Suitors are
dead.
·
Odysseus calls for Eurycleia to bring all the
unfaithful maids to him.
·
Of the fifty maids in the household, twelve have
proved disloyal. Odysseus forces them to drag the corpses of the Suitors
outside and clean the hall.
·
He orders his son to then hack the disgraceful
women to pieces outside, but Telemachus thinks this is too noble a death for
these "sluts." Instead, he hangs them, which is apparently worse than
being hacked to pieces.
·
Then the good guys torture and kill Melanthius.
·
Odysseus orders Eurycleia to bring brimstone, a
brazier, and medicinal herbs so he can purify the great hall.
·
Apparently, so does Eurycleia, since she tries
to get him to clean up first. He refuses.
·
Odysseus purifies the hall, and all the maids
and servants who remain with many hugs and tears.
A succession of people beg for mercy. Odysseus has to decide, with
Telemachus’ help, how to respond to each request.
·
Leodes (who
acted as the Suitors’ priest) claims that he tried to restrain the behaviour of
the other Suitors – Odysseus answers that if Leodes Acted as their priest then
each day he must have prayed that Odysseus wouldn’t return and that Penelope
must “bear your children”. His punishment is to be instantly beheaded: “his
head fell in the dust even before he had stopped speaking”.
·
Phemius (the
bard) clasps Odysseus by the knees (as a suppliant) and tells him that he will
regret killing a bard, who has received his gift from the gods; he says that he
was compelled to sing for the Suitors through brute force and sheer numbers.
Telemachus tells Odysseus that Phemius is innocent, and he is spared.
·
Medon (the
herald): Telemachus asks Odysseus to spare Medon, who is found cowering under a
chair, wrapped up in an ox-hide. Odysseus agrees to spare him (he has also been
mentioned as a loyal servant in Books 4, 16 & 17).