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Book 21 Odyssey summary
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A concise summary of Homer’s Odyssey, book 21
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Odyssey Book 21 summary: The Great Bow Athene gave the idea to Penelope to confront the suitors and tell them about the
great bow competition
She unlocked the cupboard that held Odysseus bow and quiver with a well-made
bronze key with an ivory handle
Penelope slid the large bolt to the side with an accurate thrust and opened the doors
to the storage room with a roar like a bull (the doors, not Penelope)
The bow had been given to him by Iphitus when he visited Lacedaemon to recover a
debt when he was just a boy
Iphitus had come to Lacedaemon to retrieve 12 mares that he had lost
In return, Odysseus gave Iphitus a sharp sword and a spear but soon after Hercules
killed Iphitus and kept his horses
Odysseus did not take this bow to Troy
Penelope retrieved the bow from the storage cupboard, crying as she did so
She set out for the hall that held the suitors with the bow in hand and her ladies
follow behind her with a box of axes that Odysseus had won as prizes
When she arrived at the suitors Penelope drew back her veil and issued the
challenge to them
The challenge was that whoever could string the bow most easily and shoot an
arrow through all 12 axe heads would win Penelope’s hand
Penelope then told Eumaeus to hand over the bow and the axes to the suitors
Eumaeus and the cowman began to sob when he saw Odysseus’ bow
Antinous got tired of the crying and shouted at the cowman and Eumaeus that they
were upsetting Penelope and to either be quiet or go outside but leave the bow
inside
Antinous then commented that the challenge would not be easy to do, despite his
wish that he should be the one to win the challenge
Telemachus then introduced Penelope as the prize, saying you wouldn’t find a better
woman in all of Greece and then told the suitors that the competition would now
begin
Telemachus then took his sword and dug a trench with it for the axes and put them
in place
Telemachus was the first to try and string the bow and almost succeeded on the
fourth try but Odysseus shook his head and told him to stop
Telemachus cursed but gave up and Antinous called out to the suitors to come
around one by one and try
Leodes went first, he hated the other suitors, but he failed to string the bow
Antinous mocked Leodes for not being able to string the bow, saying his mother
didn’t raise him to string bows and shoot arrows
He then ordered Melanthius to light a fire and bring tallow so that the suitors could
warm and grease the bow before attempting to string it so as to decide the match
sooner
Melanthius did so and set down a pelt before the fire
Many suitors tried to string the bow, this time with grease and heat but all failed
Antinous and Eurymachus held back for now
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