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The Suitors In The Odyssey

665 Words3 Pages

In Book 2 of, The Odyssey, many suitors are vying for Penelope's hand in marriage. They plan to take over the throne and assume the role as king because they believe Odysseus will never return. Telemachus, Odysseus's son calls upon the assembly with the hopes that they can do something about the many suitors in his house. While everyone involved, including the suitors, the assembly, Telemachus, and Penelope share blame for this stalemate, ultimately, the suitors are the most to blame for the fact that they've been consuming Odysseus's wealth for almost four years.
One way in which the suitors contribute to the stalemate is the way in which they harass Penelope. The suitors are both challenging and reinforcing the role of Greek women in society …show more content…

Although he is young, Telemachus is technically the "man of the house" and by Greek gender standards has control over his mother. The suitors know this as they suggest that Telemachus is prolonging the situation by not "sending his mother away with orders to marry" (124). Somehow this is a credible argument to the suitors and they vow to "eat you [him] out of the house" (134) essentially squandering all their resources until Penelope decides to marry one of the suitors. Furthermore, they disrespect Telemachus by saying "your inheritance is going down the drain and will never be restored" (223) and "you've got some nerve laying the blame on us when the suitors aren't at fault it's your mother" (93-95). The suitors try to convince Telemachus that he has no right to be angry and that he's in this situation because of his mother. The suitors both disrespect Telemachus and his mother yet encourage him to do what they want at the same …show more content…

However, he is powerless to do anything about it. While he is the son of Odysseus and the would-be heir to the throne, there are limitations to his influence as he is very young and has lacked any father figure presence from birth. In the end, the suitors are the most to blame for the situation that everyone is in. They have exercised xenia far beyond acceptable hospitality agreements. They have overstayed their welcome, disrespected their hosts, and courted Penelope against her will. For these reasons, they are most to blame for this

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Odysseus was enraged at the condition of the palace and couldn’t stand the fact that his maids that he didn’t know and or weren’t even born when he left dare to sleep with and or befriend the suitors that destroyed his palace. I feel that he put all the blame on the women and wanted to get rid of anyone who had anything to do with what was lost. It was also almost as if he secretly didn’t care for Penelope and had a reason to kill her. I say this because Eurycleia paid no consequences for what occurred while Odysseus was gone. It was an obvious sign of favoritism and Penelope never got a chance to explain any of her strategies to Odysseus and her reasons for doing what she did.

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They drinking Odysseus’ wine, and feasting on his herds. This does not make Penelope happy, which makes her even less likely to pick a suitor. This is harmful to the suitors wants and wishes because one of them will not be chosen now. Finally, a beggar that runs errands and does things for the suitors named Irus takes after their disrespectful habits and presents Odysseus with very negative displays of hospitality. When Odysseus asks to share Irus’ begging turf, he refuses and threatens Odysseus.

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The true loyalty of the disloyal maids The suitors in the Odyssey had a pretty straightforward mindset that is prevalent for many wealthy and young people even today, which is, whatever they wanted, they got, regardless of the consequences. In the story they wanted to eat like gluttons all day and every day, and so they did. They wanted to drink themselves into buffoonery and so they did. But when it comes to marrying Penelope, something all of them wanted to do, they didn’t, and the thinking that follows is not that they were patiently waiting for Penelope’s decision, Telemochases approval, or Odysseus’ officially known death, but rather they were distracted by the “disloyal” maids who kept them company and / or distracted all that time.

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Homer opens with Penelope, Odysseus wife and their son, Telemachus showing hospitality to Penelope’s suitors. Despite this kindness, the suitors began overrunning their home, eating all their food, and drinking everything as if it was their own. This type of hospitality was expected, however. No one was turned away and beggars were considered to be from Zeus, sent to test the host. Telemachus finally admits his irritation with the suitors’ misuse of the hosts’ hospitality “But if you decide it is more profitable and better/ to go on, eating up one man’s livelihood, without payment,/ then spoil my house” (I. 376-382).

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