Bk. 21
How will Penélopê be picking which suitor to marry?
Through the test of the bow
During the battle in the great hall, who kills Antínoös?
Odysseus
Why is Penélopê hesitant to believe that Odysseus has returned even after Telémakhos and Eurykleia tell her that he has returned?
She believes that the gods are trying to trick them
Who leads the dead suitors to the underworld?
What best describes the test of the bow?
Whoever can string Odysseus’s bow and shoot an arrow through 12 axe heads will be the one to marry Penélopê
What do the swindherd and the cowherd do to Melánthios when they see him in the storeroom with the stashed weapons?
They string him up and hoist him into the air and leave him there until after the fight, eventually killing him
After agreeing to meet with Odysseus, what finally convinces Penélopê that Odysseus really is who he says he is?
His description of his bed
Who does Odysseus visit at the end of the poem?
His father, Laërtês
Who is the first to try to string Odysseus’s bow?
Telémakhos
How does Athena help Odysseus in the battle in the great hall?
She appears Mentor to fight with him
Why does Odysseus's description of their bed convince Penélopê that Odysseus is who he says he is?
Because he is able to describe the bed using details that only Odysseus would know—it was a secret between the two of them
The suitors’ families are upset at Odysseus for killing the suitors, although some say that it was deserved. What did the suitors’ families try to start at the end of the poem?
Another fight against Odysseus
What does Odysseus do while the suitors are trying to complete the test of the bow?
He finds the swineheard (Eumaios) and cowherd (Philoítos) and reveals himself to them
Who is a person that Odysseus spares from death during the battle in the great hall?
Phêmios, the minstrel, or Medon, the harold (at Telémakhos’s request)
What was Penélopê’s reason for being cautious about believing Odysseus had returned?
She didn’t want to be like Helen of Argos, and she had armed herself “long ago against the frauds of men, imposters who might come—and all those many whose underhanded ways bring evil on”
Who kills Antinoos's father?
Laertes
What happens when Odysseus is able to string the bow?
Zeus made it thunder
What did Odysseus do with the disloyal maid servants?
He had them clean up after the battle in the great hall and then he hung them
After finally reuniting with each other, how do Odysseus and Penélopê spend their time together?
Tell each other stories from the past 20 years
Who facilitated the peace between Odysseus and the rest of the Ithakans?
Athena