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Odyssey book 18 summary
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A concise summary of book 18 of the Odyssey
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Book 18 Summary Irus, a large vagrant, shouts at Odysseus to get off his porch or else he will physically
throw him off
Odysseus argues back that he is not hurting anyone and that if Irus angers him
anymore, he’ll come to physical blows
Irus loses his temper and challenges Odysseus to a fight
They fight in front of the palace and Antinous tells everyone to make a match of their
fight
Antinous then says that whichever man wins can have their pick of a goat for supper
Odysseus comes up with a clever plan and makes everyone vow to not side with Irus
Telemachus then announces that he has nothing to fear from any man here
When Odysseus tucked up his rags, everyone saw his thighs and how strong he was
The suitors mutter about how strong Odysseus is and how Irus will likely lose
These comments shook Irus and he began to shake with fear
Some servants noticed this and threw him into the ring, Antinous, delighting in Irus’
fear began to mock him
Odysseus wondered whether to knock him out with a heavy or a light blow. He chose
light so that no one would suspect who he really was
Odysseus dodged Irus’ blow and knocked him out with a swift punch to the neck
The crowd gathered laughed at the easy defeat
Odysseus dragged Irus from the porch, putting him against a wall and told him to
scare the pigs and dogs away
The suitors offer Odysseus his pick of the goat as promised
Amphinomus gave Odysseus more food and he drank to his health
Odysseus tells Amphinomus that he seems like an intelligent man and that he should
not live a lawless life, as he is currently doing as a suitor
After saying this, Odysseus drank his wine and toasted
Amphinomus left the hall with a heavy heart but he would not be spared, as Athene
had already decided his fate; to be killed by Telemachus’ spear
Athene had told Penelope to come before the suitors again to show her value in the
eyes of Odysseus and Telemachus and to tell her son that he should not be around
the suitors too much
Eurynome tells her that this is a good idea, but she should bathe first
Penelope does not agree to bathe as she believes that her looks were robbed from
her when Odysseus left
Athene made Penelope fall asleep after Eurynome left and then made her extremely
beautiful
Penelope then went downstairs, and the suitors became weak at the sight of her
beauty
She turns to Telemachus and tells him off for allowing a fight to occur at their doors,
to which Telemachus agrees but he also says that he is not a child anymore and that
no one is there to support him
Telemachus expresses his wish to Zeus, Athene and Apollo that the suitors will soon
all be killed
Penelope tells Telemachus of Odysseus’ words to marry again when there is a beard
on Telemachus if he has not yet returned
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