Topic: Death of the suitors
The bloody end of the suitors fulfills the frequently-mentioned prophecy of Odysseus. Through his might and wit, Odysseus took revenge against the young schemers in heroic fashion.
Main Idea:
The death of the suitors shed light on Odysseus’s character, no matter how God-like, is flawed and human after all. As a cunning hero, there were more optimal methods to drive the suitors out of his house; instead, Odysseus fixated on taking revenge for his wife and the embarrassment he received as a beggar. The bloodshed could have led to much more, as evidenced in Agamemnon’s story. Odysseus, destroyer of cities, used the death of suitors to win glory, much like he did with the Trojan War and Polyphemus.
Supporting Passages:
“But spare your people. We will pay you back
For all we have eaten and drunk in your house.
We will make a collection; each man will put in
The worth of twenty oxen; we will make restitution
In bronze and gold until your heart is soothed.
Until then no one could blame you for being angry.”
Odysseus fixed him with a stare and said:
“Eurymachus, not even if all of you
Gave me your entire family fortunes,
All that you have and ever will have,
Would I stay my hands from killing.
You courted my wife, and you will pay in full.
Your only choice now is to fight like men
Or run for it. Who knows, one or two of you
Might live to see another day. But I doubt it.”
(Lines 58 – 72, Book 22)
The suitor Eurymachus begs Odysseus to spare the rest of suitors, offering him plenty of restitution to put an end to the bloodshed. Here, Odysseus is clearly given an option to stop killing the very people that he presides over. Odysseus, however, did not even give it any thought and made it clear that he will kill all the suitors.
Less than half of them took his advice
And stayed in their seats. Most of them
Jumped up with a whoop and went with Eupeithes.
They rushed to get weapons, and when the mob
Had armed themselves in glowing bronze,
They put the city behind them, following Eupeithes
(Lines 481 – 486, Book 24)
Eupeithes, father of Antinous, rallied many Ithacans against the atrocities that Odysseus caused. Had Athena not intervene, Odysseus may have suffered a tragic ending, stemming from his decision to put all the suitors to death.
And the ghost of Agamemnon responded:
“Well done, Odysseus, Laertes’ wily son!
200You won a wife of great character
In Icarius’ daughter. What a mind she has,
A woman beyond reproach! How well Penelope
Kept in her heart her husband, Odysseus.
And so her virtue’s fame will never perish,
205And the gods will make among men on earth
A song of praise for steadfast Penelope.
But Tyndareus’ daughter was evil to the core,
Killing her own husband, and her song will be
A song of scorn, bringing ill-repute
210To all women, even the virtuous.”
(Lines 199 – 210, Book 24)
Agamemnon reacted to the story of the suitors’ death with praise to Odysseus and Penelope, for his glorious return and her loyalty, without lament for the suitors. Odysseus’s actions, therefore, further cemented his glorious legacy, as a cruel conqueror.
Hey, Chao! I think you propose an interesting topic. Odysseus is pretty flawed, despite his hero glamor, and he pulls some screwy moves. Like you mentioned, Athena’s intervention even gets him out of some punishments. However, I think stating that Odysseus is considered god-like, but actually flawed and human, can be put under a little more scrutinizing because the very fact that Athena, a goddess, is actively supporting Odysseus’ behavior kind of shows that she favors what he is doing. So even if he is flawed, he still might be god-like. Maybe the gods don’t consider what we would consider faults, as actual faults. That says a lot about the qualities of being “god-like.”
This is obviously just your rough draft pitch, but I think you can go in a lot of places with this.
Hi Chao,
It is interesting how Odysseus chose to kill the suitors with the help of Telemachus and Philoetius, while there were plenty of other options available to get them out of his home. As JoMaris mentioned, Odysseus is considered to be godlike. However, in killing the suitors he displayed a flawed and human need – the need for revenge. This may have also been Odysseus’ way of reestablishing himself, and his power as he returned home.
Your thesis leaves a lot of room for exploration of Odysseus’s character. I’m looking forward to seeing which direction you take with your essay!