Penelope still longing for her husband to come home, says that whomever can string this bow will be her next husband. All of the suitors try and give it a go, but no one can succeed. They all feel very inferior to Odysseus and continue to try. While this is going on, Odysseus reveals himself to Eumaeus and says that if he will fight with him, he will consider him one of Telemachus's brothers. Eumaeus decides to help so very willingly. Odyessus then goes inside and pulls out the bow and strings it quickly and starts shooting at the men. "Fear drained the colour from their cheeks and each man peered round to find some sanctuary from sudden death.." (Page 329) After the battle, Odysseus wins and kills all of them. But decides that it is more disrespectful to hang them.
http://www.santharia.com/weapons/bow.htm ; here is a link that describes a bit of what the bow is like and how it is used with terms and things. I think its interesting how complex in the making it was for something of that time period.
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2 comments:
I like this post, Amanda. The quote you used captures the emotions of the men, especially the fear that Odyessus puts in them. I can't view the link (stupid school filter) but I'm sure it would be interesting to see what kind of bow it was and how it advanced it looks for it's time.
It is interesting to see the seemingly confused feelings Penelope has about her husband. She misses him, but she deals with this by trying to replace him. I don't think it was necessary for Odysseus to kill all of the suitors. It seems to me that it is his fault they are trying to marry his wife, since he is the one who left her.
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