Odysseus Has Returned?

Back here in beautiful sunny Ithaca 20 years after our hero Odysseus left for war we are awaiting to see who the new husband of Penelope will be. She has brought out the one and only bow of Odysseus to see if anyone can string and shoot the bow. Who ever does so gets to claim Penelope as wife. What’s this? It seems as though Telemachus, son of Odysseus, is about to step up to string the bow. Telemachus, tell me what you think about this happening today. “Amazing! Zeus up there has robbed me of my wits. My own dear mother, sensible as she is, says she’ll marry again, forsake our house, and look at me- laughing for all I’m worth, giggling like some fool. Set up, my friends!”(427). It’s been about four attempts to string the bow and it looks like he’s finally about to get it when he gives up for some strange reason. He hands over the bow to Leodes to give it a try. It looks like the beggar wants to give it a try. Let’s not get our hopes up for this one. All the women are going inside now I’m not sure what’s going on. The suitors are getting a bit angry here and insulting the poor beggar. What have I just seen here?! The beggar, in one fluid motion, has stringed the bow and fired through all 12 axe heads! He’s begun to shoot the suitors! I think this may be Odysseus! First an arrow to the throat of Antinous. There is going to be a slaughter house here if this is in fact Odysseus! Next he takes out Eurymachos with an arrow to the heart. The suitors are scrambling to look for weapons. Somehow they have managed to find some. The beggar with Telemachus by his side take out many suitors! It is the great Odysseus himself! And the gods are on his side! The suitors see the shield of Athena in the sky and panic and begin to beg for mercy, but the ruthless Odysseus, gone for twenty years, spares no one but Phemios and Medon. It seems as though things are going to change around here with Odysseus back here in our beautiful sunny Ithaca.

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