Telemachus speaks with Penelope as she sits dejected by her loom. A partially woven cloth is on the loom--perhaps it is Laertes' shroud. In the Odyssey, Telemachus is not ever represented as visiting Penelope in her quarters. Why do you think that might be? To see an enlarged representation, click on the image. The other side of the same vase is shown as the illustration for February 21. (From Carpenter, Art and Myth in Ancient Greece [London and New York: Thames & Hudson, 1991], page 241, fig.347 A; see also Stanford and Luce, The Quest for Ulysses [New York: Praeger, 1974] figs. 118, 119)

• On page 79, lines 59ff., Athena complains to Zeus that Odysseus is prevented from returning home because the daughter of Atlas holds him captive. But on pages 83-4, lines 227ff., Athena disguised as Mentes tells Telemachus that Odysseus is held captive on an island by "hard men, savages." Why the discrepancy, and what do you think it means?
• On page 85, lines 285ff., Telemachus outlines his "other miseries" for Athena disguised as Mentes, and tells her that his mother "neither rejects a marriage she despises / nor can she bear to bring the courting to an end." In the course of Books 1 and 2 various solutions for this problem are proposed and some of them are rejected. What are these solutions and what are the grounds for rejecting some of them? What do these proposals tell us about the social situation of Penelope?
• In Book 2, lines 100-22, the suitor Antinous tells the assembly about Penelope's "masterpiece of guile." When did Penelope contrive this trick, and why do you think she did it? What do you think she wanted to achieve? Did she achieve it?

On this vase, Odysseus confronts Nausicaa and her handmaidens, and Athena stands before him protectively. Behind Odysseus, laundry has been hung on the tree to dry. To Athena's right, two young girls appear to flee in fear, and three other girls are occupied with the laundry: one is still wringing out a piece of it.
How does this representation differ from the first meeting between Odysseus and Nausicaa as it is presented in the Odyssey? What do the differences in details signify, if anything? Which of the girls is Nausicaa? What do you think is the basis on which I have identified one of them as Nausicaa? Which one do you think she is? (To see a different identification, follow this link to the description of the vase on Perseus.)
To see an enlarged representation, click on the image. To see both sides of the vase from which this transcript is drawn, follow this link.
To see a full-color representation of the vase on Perseus, follow these links for Side A and Side B. (From Carpenter, Art and Myth in Ancient Greece [London and New York: Thames & Hudson, 1991], #339; full vase from Margaret R. Scherer, The Legends of Troy in Art and Literature [London: Phaidon Press, 1963], #122, #123)

• Consider the female characters (mortal or in mortal guise) represented in Odyssey, Books 6, 7, and 8. What conclusions can we draw about their status, power, and the like? How does the situation of women on Phaeacia differ from that on Ithaca, if it does? What do you think accounts for the difference?
• Taking into account also what you have seen in Odyssey, Book 1, derive from the text of Books 6, 7, and 8 what you think is the proper and improper protocol for the reception of a stranger. How do women figure in this, if they do?
• In Odyssey, Book 8, just after the athletic contests, the bard Demodocus plays on his lyre the song, "The Love of Ares and Aphrodite Crowned with Flowers" (page 200, lines 300ff.). What is the meaning of this song at this particular place and time in the narrative? What relationship does it bear to the games that have just preceded it?

Odysseus' nurse recognizes his scar as she washes his foot, and Eumaeus offers him some bread. Odysseus is dressed as a traveler. How does this representation differ from the recognition scene in the Odyssey? What do you think are the implications of the difference? To see an enlarged representation, click on the image. The other side of this same vase is shown as the illustration for February 14. (From Carpenter, Art and Myth in Ancient Greece (London and New York: Thames & Hudson, 1991), page 241, fig.347 B; see also Stanford and Luce, The Quest for Ulysses [New York: Praeger, 1974] figs. 118, 119)

• In Book 16, at line 453 (page 351), Penelope decides to confront the suitors. What do you think makes her decide upon this course of action at this particular moment in the narrative? Take into consideration the fact that she already knows that Telemachus has returned home safely (pages 348-49, lines 359-77).
• In Book 18, at lines 181ff., Athena inspires Penelope "to display herself to her suitors." Why do you think Penelope takes this step at this particular moment in the narrative? Take into consideration the fact that, as explained in the Background Notes, Penelope had just learned from Eumaeus earlier that same day that Odysseus was reported to be nearby and on his way home.
• At the end of Book 19, Penelope indicates to the disguised Odysseus that she intends to announce a bow-contest as a trial for her suitors, and that she will marry the man who wins it. What makes her decide upon this course of action at this particular point in the narrative? Take into consideration everything Penelope has learned from the stranger in the course of their conversation, the advice he has given her, and his reaction to her announcement.

In the center of this composition, Penelope sits on a stool in a sorrowful pose, as she is approached by an emaciated (and only partially clothed) Odysseus, who reaches out to grasp her wrist. A wool basket is visible between the legs of the stool. Behind Penelope, the man seated on the ground is Eumaeus. The young man standing just behind her is probably Telemachus; and the man standing all the way to the left (whose hair is short and stringy) is probably Laertes. This is the earliest example in Greek art of a representation of the meeting between Penelope and Odysseus; it is dated to the first half of the 5th century bce. To see an enlarged representation, click on the image. What differences are there between this representation of the encounter between Penelope and Odysseus and the narration of their meeting in the Odyssey? What significance do you attach to these differences? (From The Odyssey and Ancient Art: An Epic in Word and Image [Annandale-on-Hudson, New York: Edith C. Blum Art Institute, 1992], Exhibition Catalogue, cover photo; Catalogue Entry #55.)

• At the beginning of Book 23, Eurycleia tells Penelope that Odysseus has returned and has slaughtered all the suitors. Penelope is doubtful--not unreasonably--but then Eurycleia offers the proof of the scar. This sign is the one that Odysseus himself offers to Eumaeus and Philoetius in Book 21 (page 432), and the one by which Eurycleia recognized him. Why do you think Penelope doesn't even respond when Eurycleia offers this same sign as proof to her? Why does Odysseus himself not mention it once she has come downstairs into the hall?
• Once Penelope has acknowledged Odysseus as her husband, she apologizes for having doubted him. In the course of her apology she explains her reserve instancing the case of Helen (page 462, lines 246-52). Commentators have been confused by this example. As one of them (Monro) says: "the lesson [of Helen] would seem to be that men [sic] do wrongly from their ignorance of the future, and because they are led astray by higher powers. But this is not applicable in any way to Penelope." What do you think is the meaning of Penelope's use of Helen as an example? What does she mean to convey by it? How does it explain her actions?
• In the Odyssey, there are two unusual beds, both "fixed" in particular ways: the bed of Odysseus in Book 23, and the bed of Hephaestus in Book 8 (see above, Study Questions for February 16). What do these beds and the episodes in which they figure have in common? What differentiates them? What does the theme of the cuckolded husband who takes revenge on his wife and male rival have to do with the larger themes of the Odyssey?