Odysseus is disguised as a beggar and this fact is only known by Athene and Telemachus. Athene is helping Odysseus and Telemachus to hide and put away the suitors’ weapons Telemachus tells Eurycleia to “keep the women in their rooms” so that he can place his father’s “goodly armor” in the chamber because it smells like smoke. Odysseus tells him to say this so no one gets suspicious and the can hide all the weapons. After putting away “the helmets, bulging shields, and pointed spears”, Telemachus goes to rest (183). On his way to Penelope’s room, Odysseus gets insulted by her maid, Melantho. Penelope’s rebukes Melantho for being rude and because she needs to ask the beggar things about her husband. She asks, “Who are you? Of what people? Where is your town and kindred?” Odysseus says that he is “a man of sorrows”, so he can’t answer these questions. Penelope describes that she also has sorrows because she really doesn’t want to marry any of the suitors (185). Odysseus later …show more content…
He got this scar from a boar when he was hunting with his grandfather Autolycus. Odysseus grabs her by the throat and requests her to “Be quiet” (192). Although she is very excited, she agrees to not spill anything out. Penelope returns and asks the beggar to interpret her dream. In this dream, an eagle flies down and kills all her twenty geese. The beggar says that the Odysseus is the eagle that will come to kill all the “geese” or suitors and no one will “escape from death and doom” (193). Penelope still finds this hard to believe and decides to let Telemachus live a happy life with no worries by leaving him and marrying a suitor. She will hold a contest to and marry the suitor that will shoot an arrow through twelve iron axe heads. The beggar tells her that Odysseus “will be here before the suitors” and win the contest (193). Penelops is reluctant to believe this and cries herself to