Literature Network » Homer » The Odyssey » Summary Book II

Summary Book II

Book 2
On the next day, which occupies Bk. 2, Telemachus calls the first assembly of the Ithacans since the departure of Odysseus for Troy. Telemachus formally upbraids the suitors, demanding that they quit the palace and leave his mother to her grief. Antinous retorts that the suitors will remain until Penelope weds one of them and he denounces Penelope's ruse. (She had vowed to choose a husband when she completed a shroud she had been weaving for Laertes [Odysseus' father]. But each night she unraveled the portion she had woven during the day.) A pair of eagles is interpreted as a favorable omen by Halitherses, a seer, and Telemachus requests a ship for his voyage. After Telemachus dissolves the assembly, the goddess Athena, disguised as Mentor, a faithful lord, promises to procure a ship and crew. At the palace, after an exchange with Telemachus, the suitors grow worried about his plans. Telemachus enjoins Eurycleia, nurse of Odysseus, to prepare provisions in utter secrecy; he then departs at night and sails until dawn.

Literature Network » Homer » The Odyssey » Summary Book II



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