Penelope
She believes that he knows who Odysseus is and where he might be.
What is the challenge? What is the reward?
The challenge is to wield Odysseus' bow and shoot it cleanly through twelve axes. The reward for doing so is Penelope's hand in marriage.
What is Penelope's test? Was it effective?
Penelope's test was to ask Eurycleia to move Odysseus' bed. Odysseus stops her by insisting this is impossible, declaring that he carved the bed out of an olive tree. This was extremely effective - at last, Penelope has found Odysseus.
How many maids were ordered to be hung by Odysseus?
12 (A Dozen)
How does Penelope stall the suitors from marrying her?
She claims she has to finish weaving before she chooses someone to marry. However, she undoes her work each night to make sure she never finishes.
Which Greek God or Goddess appeared shortly after Odysseus fires his bow?
Zeus
How does Penelope react to being reunited with Odysseus? How does Odysseus respond?
Penelope runs up to Odysseus, hugs him, and begins to cry. Odysseus weeps in response.
For what crime were the maids hung?
Prostitution
Odysseus (disguised as a beggar) deceives Penelope with a fake tale of meeting himself. However, Penelope believes this tale. What part of the story was critical to ensuring Odysseus' tale sounded believable?
The detailed descriptions of Odysseus' clothing.
All of the suitors failed the challenge, despite the fact they never shot an arrow. How is this possible?
They weren't capable of bending the bow.
Athena appears shortly before Penelope and Odysseus reunite. What was she doing?
Changing Odysseus' look from a beggar to a beauty, making him taller and giving him fresh hair (among other things).
How does Telemachus justify hanging the maids instead of stabbing them with his sword?
He argues that being slain by a sword is a clean and honorable death, which the maids don't deserve. He determines hanging to be a fitting death for their disrespect.
Penelope asks the beggar for information about his past; however, he declines her request. What was his justification for doing so?
The beggar argues that his past has brought nothing but pain and that it'd be rude to weep his tragedies when he's already invading in her house.
The beggar asks for a chance to participate in the challenge. The suitors protest, but he goes anyway. What do the suitors say about him as he attempts the challenge? What is the purpose of their remarks?
They suggest that he may have an unfair advantage in the challenge. Arguing he may be a lover or dealer of bows. They hope these remarks will disqualify the beggar from participating.
"...made him taller, and massive, too, with crisping hair in curls like petals of wild hyacinth but all red-golden."
What literary device is found in this quote? What is the device accomplishing?
The phrase 'in curls like petals of wild hyacinth' is a simile. It describes the beauty of Odysseus' hair in comparison to the hyacinth flower.
Odysseus demands another issue be taken care of before the hanging of the maids. What does he ask? What makes this particularly cruel?
He asks for the dead bodies of the suitors to be cleaned up. What makes this cruel is that he has the maids he plans on killing clean up these bodies.
"If he returned, if he were here to care for me, I might be happily renowned! But grief instead heaven sent me—years of pain. Sons of the noblest families on the islands, Dulichium, Same, wooded Zacynthus, with native Ithacans, are here to court me, against my wish; and they consume this house-"
Who said this and what is the context behind this quote?
Penelope speaks these lines. She discusses the hole in her heart created by Odysseus' tragic disappearance. She also expresses concerns about suitors who are trying to replace Odysseus. She speaks this to the beggar in order to make him feel comfortable talking to her about his past.
"Telemachus, the stranger you welcomed in your hall has not disgraced you. I did not miss neither did take all day stringing the bow. My hand and eye are sound, not so contemptible as the young men say. The hour has come to cook their lordships' mutton supper by daylight. Other amusements later, with song and harping that adorn a feast."
Who said this and what is the context behind this quote?
Odysseus (disguised as a beggar) speaks these lines. He declares that he's won the competition, despite the doubts of the many suitors who surrounded him. Now, he's ready to feast and celebrate his victory.
"No one ever matched your caution! Think what difficulty the gods gave: they denied us life together in our prime and flowering years, kept us from crossing into age together. Forgive me, don't be angry. I could not welcome you with love on sight! I armed myself long ago against the frauds of men. impostors who might come—and all those many whose underhanded ways bring evil on! ... "
Who said this and what is the context behind this quote?
Penelope speaks these lines. She apologizes to Odysseus for not immediately loving him when he appeared to her, stating that she has trust issues after the events of the last twenty years.
What is the likely intention behind comparing the maids to doves? Does this fit in line with the rest of the Odyssey?
The likely intention behind the dove comparison is to paint the hanging of the maids as a crude event against innocent people. This comparison insinuates that Odysseus and Telemachus are cruel in their choice to kill the disobedient maids.
This sticks out against the rest of the Odyssey. Stories such as The Cyclops paint Odysseus as brave and honorable.