BOOK 21

• Penelope decides to hold the competition for who could string Odysseus’ bow and shoot it through the handles of 12 axes. She brings the weapons down. Telemakhos speaks about how he’d like to try the bow himself. He tries and cannot do it, and when he sees his father’s look he stops

• Leodis was the first to try the bow - he failed. Antinoos and Eurymakhos withheld from trying the bow.

• Odysseus decides to tell Eumaios and Philoteus his true identity. He then tells them the plan, telling Eumaios to give him the bow when the time comes and lock the women away so that even if they hear sounds, they will not leave.

• Eurymakhos tried the bow, but still could not string it, so Antinoos said to leave it and just resume their typical day and leave everything where it is because there won’t be any visitors. But then Odysseus speaks it out and says that he’d like to try it. Some of the suitors were scared that he’d actually be able to do it despite his form. Antinoos tries to stop him from trying but Penelope interrupts, saying that he’d only like to try it. She says that if he actually succeeds she’ll give him many supplies. Telemakhos tells her off and she goes back to bed.

• While Telemakhos finishes speaking Odysseus calls on Eurykleia and tells her to lock the women away. Odysseus picks up the bow and succeeds at the challenge.

BOOK 22

• Odysseus first shoots Antinoos, through the throat, killing him first.

• Eurymakhos speaks up, saying that they were all dragged into following Antinoos and that they had done nothing wrong. But Odysseus won’t accept it. Eurymakhos encourages all of the suitors to fight and they all launch into battle. Eurymakhos goes after Odysseus, but he is shot in the breast/liver and dies.

• Amphinomos goes after Odysseus next but is speared by Telemakhos just as he said previously. He then tells his father he’ll go get more weapons and armor for them. He gets them, comes back, and the four of them arm themselves.

• the suitors then see a window that someone can crawl through to get more weapons from the storeroom and Melanthios offers to go get them. He gets weapons and comes back and gives them to the suitors. Odysseus notices and Telemakhos admits that he made the mistake of not closing the doors (a sign of character development and an act of maturity). Odysseus orders Eumaois and Philoteus to go to the storeroom and take care of Melanthios. They go there while he’s getting more weapons for the suitors, and they are able to capture him and bind him by his legs and wrists, hanging down. They leave him there and go back to battle.

• Athena finally comes to join as Mentor, and Odysseus asks for her help in battle. She agrees to help but does not join in because she feels that it is Odysseus and Telemakhos's fight. She helps by redirecting any arrow that flies their way so that it doesn’t hit them. The suitors try to persuade Mentor to join their side but he refuses.

  • Odysseus kills Demoptolemos, Eurydamas, Agelaos

  • Telelmakhos killed Euryades, Amphimedon, and Leokritos (kidney to diaphragm)

  • Eumaios kills Elatos and Polybos

  • Philoteus kills Peisandros and Ktesippos.

  • Amphimedon is able to graze Telemakhos with his spear on his wrist

  • Ktesippos is able to graze Eumaios’ shoulder.

• Athena appeared before all of them and the suitors began to beg for mercy. Leodes begged Odysseus to spare his life because he was an innocent man and he had never done anything wrong. Leodes is a diviner. But Odysseus picked up a sword and decapitated him.

• Phemios was a singer who plead due to him never feasting or singing for the suitors. Telemakhos agreed and said he was innocent. He also mentioned Medon, the herald who took care of him when he was younger. Odysseus promised them that good things were coming their way due to their loyalty (nostos).

• Now that they were finished he called on Eurykleia and asked her to tell him who all of the unloyal maids were. She told him all 50 of them. These women would be responsible for cleaning the hall of all the mess made in the bloodshed. They hung those women after. Melanthios had his ears, nose, hands, feet, and genitals hacked off (disloyalty results in unfavorable punishment).

BOOK 23

• Eurykleia goes to fetch Penelope to tell her that Odysseus has returned home. Penelope doesn’t want to believe her. Eurykleia tells her that all the suitors are gone and she was able to recognize him by the scar.

• When she finally saw him she was unsure of how to react and Telemakhos got mad at her. She decides that she will test him to see if he is the real Odysseus using their two secret signs.

• Odysseus calls for a party to be thrown. He wants to mislead the citizens to believe Penelope finally got married so that no one will find out about the deaths of the suitors till he and Telelmakhos are safely out of range.

• Penelope talks to him, telling him that his bed had been moved. He got angry at this and told her that no one except for him could move the bed and that there was a secret sign built into the bed: an olive tree trunk with silvery leaves and branches. She finally believes him and they reunite officially. She asks him about the one trial he has left, the trial that Teresias ordered him to do and he tells her about it. He told her about the rest of his journey as well.

BOOK 24

• The suitors’ ghosts were taken by Hermes to the land of the dead. They met many heroes’ ghosts like Achilles and Patroclus etc. Achilles and Agamemnon have a talk about what happened after Achilles’ died and how Agamemnon himself died, including things they did to honor Achilles after death.

• Amphimedon runs into Agamemnon and tells him all about what happened in Odysseus’ hall. Agamemnon complements Penelope on her outstanding loyalty to Odysseus and compares her to his wife Clytemnestra.

• Odysseus and Telelmakhos go to Laertes’ home so he can reunite with his father again. Odysseus decides to test him. He told him a false story and Laertes was so upset that Odysseus pitied him and told him who he was. He then gave the proof of the scar and the ten apple trees, forty fig trees, and fifty rows of vines. Laertes believes him but fears that the suitors’ families will be after him now. Dolios comes in as well and meets Odysseus.

• The suitors’ families are angry and plan to avenge their family. But Medon and Halitherses tell them about Athena in the form of Mentor as well because they didn’t listen to their warnings before their family suffered the consequences. Eupeithes decides not to listen and urges them to go on.

• They come together to fight: Odysseus, Laertes Dolios and his sons, and Telemakhos against the suitors’ families. Athena gives power to Laertes and he is able to hit Eupeithes. However, Athena stops the battle before it progresses. Everyone flees, full of fear. She orders Odysseus to end the battle and he did.

THE END WE DID IT YAY :D