The Odyssey- Book 16: Father and Son

Key Events

• Telemachus returns to Ithica and meets with the Swine Herder, Eumaeus. Telemachus is

greeted as both a king and a son by the pig herder. Here Telemachus meets Odysseus for

the first time

• Odysseus encounters Athena, who encourages him to reveal his identity to his son.

Odysseus notices his son’s weakness and is flustered by it.

• Telemachus can not even recognize his own father and at first does not even believe this

stranger truly is the heralded Odysseus. It is not until after Athena transforms Odysseus

into his younger self that he is recognized by his son as his father.

• Odysseus comes up with a plan to rid Ithica of the suitors. Telemachus is skeptical of the

plan but is then reassured by his father.

o The plan is to, after Athena’s signal, round up all the weapons the suitors possess

and hide them. After that task is completed Athena will confuse all the suitors

with her mighty wit which will allow Odysseus and Telemachus, father and son,

to kill all the suitors and restore the order of Ithica.

• The Suitors, led by Amphinomus, plot to kill Telemachus upon his arrival to the castle.

o The way Amphinomus justifies the murder is by suggesting that the Gods wish

Telemachus to be murdered
Key Ideas

• Loyalty in uncommon people: Eumaeus, a swineherder (symbol of the lowest of the low)

is also the most loyal to his Master, Odysseus, Telemachus, and the strangers he meets.

• Sacred Duty of the Host: Eumaeus, following the sacred duty of the host, which is to

feed, clothe, and shelter a stranger before asking his or her name, allows a stranger

(Odysseus) to come in and live in his home, while he sleeps out with the pigs.

• Honor the Gods: Odysseus gives all credit to Athena as well as the other many important

and powerful Gods.

• The need for a father: Telemachus admits his own weakness to his father and asks to be

helped into being made a strong man.

• Wit: Odysseus again shows off his cleverness in devising a plan to rid Ithica of the

suitors.

Summary

When Telemachus reaches Eumaeus's hut, he finds the swineherd talking with a stranger

(Odysseus in disguise). Eumaeus recounts Odysseus's story and suggests that the stranger stay

with Telemachus at the palace. But Telemachus is afraid of what the suitors might do to them.

Eumaeus thus goes to the palace alone to tell Penelope that her son has returned.

When father and son are alone in the hut, Athena appears to Odysseus and calls him outside.

When Odysseus reenters the hut, his old-man disguise is gone, and he stands in the pristine glory

of his heroic person. At first, Telemachus cannot believe his eyes, but then the two embrace and
weep. Odysseus recounts his trip with the Phaeacians and then begins plotting the overthrow of

the suitors. He formulates a plan to launch a surprise attack from within the palace: Odysseus

will enter disguised as a beggar and Telemachus will hide the palace's surplus arms where the

suitors cannot easily reach them. The two of them will then seize the arms and slaughter the

suitors.Before Eumaeus can give Penelope news of Telemachus's return, the messenger from the

ship arrives and informs the entire palace that Telemachus has returned. The suitors, dejected that

their plot has failed, huddle outside to plan their next move. Antinous recommends putting

Telemachus to death before he can call an assembly at which the suitors' dirty schemes can be

aired, but Amphinomus, one of the more thoughtful and well-behaved suitors, persuades the

others to wait for a sign from the gods before doing anything so rash. Penelope later finds

Antinous in the palace and denounces him for the plot against her son, the details of which

Medon had overheard and revealed to her in Book 4. Eurymachus succeeds in calming Penelope

down with his lies and false concern for the safety of Telemachus.