She falls far short of you, your beauty, stature. In Homer's Odyssey, Odysseus is repeatedly referred to as "many-minded," Penelope as "prudent," and Telemachus as "sound-minded." Eustathius on Homers Odyssey 1.344; scholia on Homers Odyssey 4.797 (citing Didymus). Another reason this shows we can trust Penelope is because before this scene Odysseus went through all the trouble to find out if she was faithful or not and then she continues with the same thing that Odysseus had found out. In time, Penelope would become strongly associated with weaving and the loom, due to the memorable myth in which she delayed her unwanted suitors by promising to marry one of them only after she had finished weaving a shroud. She uses her cunning to fend off 108 other suitors who are vying for her hand on the assumption that Odysseus is either dead or is never going to return. She does very little but lie in bed and weep. London: Spottiswoode and Company, 1873. Odysseus is aware of all that a goddess could offer, Penelope has a very complex and interesting character. Its like a teacher waved a magic wand and did the work for me. Hesychius, s.v. Suitors in The Odyssey by Homer | List, Characters & Traits, The Odyssey by Homer: Book 21 | Summary, Quotes & Analysis, Nausicaa in the Odyssey | Princess, Greek Mythology & Significance, Calypso in the Odyssey | Character, Analysis & Role in Greek Mythology, Eumaeus in the Odyssey by Homer | Character Role & Description, The Odyssey by Homer: Book 22 | Summary, Quotes & Analysis. Robert S. P. Beekes, Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden: Brill, 2009), 1186; Pierre Chantraine, Dictionnaire tymologique de la langue grecque (Paris: Klincksieck, 1974), 3:897; cf. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". After the massacre, Odysseus revealed himself to Penelope. The etymology of the name Penelope (Greek , translit. Penelope. In A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Penelope Character Analysis Athena Odysseus 's wife and Telemachus 's mother. She worries that Odysseus prefers Helen to her. Tools of Characterization Character Analysis Epithets. 2022 Wasai LLC. For example her determination to wait and to mislead the suitors for so long shows that she had great intelligence and perseverance. Penelope also loves her son, Telemachus, but she knows that he is too young and nave to be able to help her fend off her suitors. [2] This etymology may be related to the myth that Penelope was thrown into the sea as a baby and saved by ducks. Penelope is married to the main character, the king of Ithaca, Odysseus (Ulysses in Roman mythology), and daughter of Icarius of Sparta and Periboea (or Polycaste ). During this time, suitors came from far and wide to seek Penelopes hand in marriage, but she remained unwaveringly loyal to her husband (at least in the familiar tradition). 4 West. Thus in the Odyssey books 1 - 4 you will find several epithets including "bright eyed Athena" "sensible" Telemachus, "rosy fingered dawn" and "wise" Penelope. Penelope is likewise unwilling to believe that Odysseus is dead, no matter how long she has to wait for him. The way, While Antinoos tells stories of Penelopes scheming he says Does she intend to keep us dangling forever? (II. [24] In other traditions, however, Odysseus was awarded Penelope as a bride after he helped her uncle Tyndareus safely arrange the marriage of his own daughter, Helen, to Menelaus.[25]. Were building the worlds most authoritative, online mythology resource, with engaging, accessible content that is both educational and compelling to read. Privacy Policy, http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e912970, https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DP%3Aentry+group%3D13%3Aentry%3Dpenelope-bio-1. Despite those great hero traits Odysseus embodies, he demonstrates great weaknesses humans have in commonpride, irresponsibility toward his crews, and revengeful heart, these flaws ultimately brought demise and trouble to his men and himself, which constantly reminds the audience that Homer represents Odysseus as another human, rather than a hero. However, that argument is challenged several times throughout the epic. Later in the poem, Penelope sets up an archery contest that she knows only Odysseus would be able to win. His longing for the reunion with them, which would allow him to regain his identity, is what motivates him to deny Kalypsos offer. He showed great bravery by going up against Hector in battle, but the epithets applied to him in The Iliad refer to him as dear to Zeus, great-hearted, and simply gentle. Once again, Odysseus was absent from Ithaca for many years, though he eventually returned. Penelope did not have any idea whether her husband was alive for most of the twenty-years he was gone. The suitors did not make things easy on Penelope. A preoccupation with "escape" is central to the novel, reflecting one of the essential themes of the epic and the specialty of its hero. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. Penelope didnt give up hope because she felt in heart that Odysseus would come. Her ploy failed only when one of her servants eventually betrayed her and told the suitors what was happening. Modern authors have sometimes tried to problematize this double standard: Atwoods Penelope, for example, expresses bitterness at being faithful to a fault for twenty years while her husband felt no obligation to do the same. The epithets applied to Dawn, Athena, Hermes, Zeus, Penelope, Telemachus, Odysseus, and the suitors repeat over and over in the original. When Odysseus and Penelope reunite, but before Penelope recognizes her husband, he says this to her as an acknowledgment of her suffering. Penelope, a Greek mythology character who would have been familiar to ancient audiences, was the daughter of Icarius of Sparta and a nymph named Perioboea. One important element of all Homeric works is the inclusion of epithets, which are repeated phrases used to describe characters. Penelope uses her intelligence and slyness again as she tells them whoever wins an archery contest using Odysseus bow, which only he could use, she would marry. Others have argued that Penelopes name came from the Greek word pnelops, which is a kind of duck. Just as when rose-fingered Dawn took Orion for herself. . 17.624 the patient man (Odysseus) 17.667 the canny prince (Telemachus) High School World History: Tutoring Solution, History of Ancient Greece: Tutoring Solution, Who is the Greek God Hephaestus? An epithet is a characterizing device used by the author; Homer chooses the one that fits the length and rhythm he needs in the poetic line. 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() Penelope's spirit is one of concentration" (108). Despite these offers, Odysseus never wavered in his desire to return to his wife and son. Without family, Odysseus life is incomplete and his identity is lost. The epithets used throughout the poem show how Penelope's strength and cleverness that allow her to manipulate the suitors and avoid marriage. At the beginning of Homers Odyssey, Odysseus has been absent from Ithaca for twenty years. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. The Odyssey ends when Odysseus proves his identity to all who are surrounding, slaughters the suitors, and reconquered his kingdom of Ithaca. A characteristic of Homer's style is the use of epithets, as in "rosy-fingered" Dawn or "swift-footed" Achilles.Epithets are used because of the constraints of the dactylic hexameter (i.e., it is convenient to have a stockpile of metrically fitting phrases to add to a name) and because of the oral transmission of the poems; they are mnemonic aids to the singer and the audience alike. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. Using epithets such as the "great Odysseus," "wise Odysseus" and "embattled Odysseus," Homer finds ways to embellish his Greek character. Eros, Night, Darkness, Brightness, Day, Cyclopes, Hecatoncheires, Titans. They can be broadly split into things said about Penelope and things that Penelope herself says. Her father Icarius challenged the men to a footrace and promised his daughter to the winner, who turned out to be Odysseus. Penelope is cast aside and dominated by her son and conforms to the patriarchal values, despite plotting schemes against some of the men. When Odysseus succeeds in shooting the arrow through the axes, she has one more test for him. In the beginning, Odysseus and Telemachus kill the maids, Penelope was mentioned to had slept through the mayhem because she had been given a drug by Eurycleia to keep her out of the action and stop her from interfering. Like The Odyssey itself, it is a . Homer, The Odyssey. What is an epithet? any word or phrase applied to a person or thing to describe and actual or attributed quality. Misfortunes befall him on numerous occasions, turning what should have been a journey of a few months into ten years. Telemakhos is the courageous son of Odysseus who goes on a quest in search for information about his fathers whereabouts. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1994. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. 110ca. Penelopes bright mind, even though she is mortal, is often represented by rhetorical questions that are posed by various characters throughout the story. Apollodorus (first century BCE or the first few centuries CE): The myths of Penelope (and their variants) are summarized in the Library and Epitome, representing a single mythological handbook incorrectly attributed to the scholar Apollodorus of Athens. Epithet or an Homeric epithet. 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However, Penelope is not a pasteboard figure. And in the Trojan myths in general, Odysseus (1) tries to avoid going to war, (2) exposes Achilles so that he has to go to war, (3) and frames Palamedes for treason to get back at him for making sure that he went to war. [28] In public, Penelope remained steadfast in her resolve, regularly meeting with the suitors but never agreeing to marry; privately, she would mourn, fast, pray, and weep. His character is deeply contradictory: he is both a cunning champion and a plaything of the gods, a wise commander and a vainglorious braggart. The Pandareids and the Festival of Apollo. All Rights Reserved. Kapach, Avi. She has been teaching English in Canada and Taiwan for seven years. When Penelope tells her story to the "beggar" (Odysseus in disguise), she cannot help boasting a little about her ability to deceive the suitors. Furthermore, an additional element can be added to Simonides presentation of the myth of Idas and Marpessa on the basis of the, , At that time in their house her father and her lady mother, When Penelope laments and prays to Artemis on the day of Apollos festival and when she mentions abduction by the snatching winds, a fall into Okeanos, death by an arrow of Artemis, separation from Odysseus, and the daughters of Pandareos, it seems that she does much more than simply re-enact her role as a bride. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. For Penelope, weaving becomes a form of resistance: every day, she weaves the shroud, and every night she undoes her weaving. Beginning of the Dialogue: Setting up the Third Cretan Lie, 16. He always used this phrase to describe Dawn, and the way she would cast light upon the world. In the beginning of the story, Penelope's most prominent qualities are passivity, loyalty, and patience (along with beauty and skill at the loom) - the age-old feminine virtues. The Odyssey, Book 19, lines 99-104. Telegony frag. Back in Sparta, Penelopes cousin Helen had left her husband Menelaus for the Trojan prince Paris. swift-footed ; godlike ; shepherd of the people ; son of Peleus ; leader of men. 2 vols. b. Penelope summons the "beggar" Odysseus and questions him. While a modern use of epithets can be derogatory, classic literary epithets are an important element of literature. Throughout 'The Odyssey', the greed and folly of men play a huge part in increasing the difficulty and severity of Odysseus's situations and ultimately change his fate and the directions of his journey. 100; Herodotus, Histories 2.145; Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods 3.56; Apollodorus, Epitome 7.38; Hyginus, Fabulae 224; Servius on Virgils Aeneid 2.44; John Tzetzes on Lycophrons Alexandra 772. In Homer's Odyssey, Odysseus is repeatedly referred to as "many-minded," Penelope as "prudent," and Telemachus as "sound-minded." 17.122 strong, enduring Odysseus [Telemachus] 17.177 reserved Penelope. Thus in the Odyssey books 1 4 you will find several epithets including bright eyed Athena sensible Telemachus, rosy fingered dawn and wise Penelope. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. Odysseus revealed his identity to his son Telemachus and a few trusted servants, but not to Penelope. Odysseus's twenty-year absence has finally resulted in the palace being overrun by 108 suitors for. What are two epithets for Odysseus? Penelope is a very well portrayed character and she is needed in the story to be someone Odysseus could always be someone to come back, But now since you have given me accurate proof describing our bed, which no other mortal man beside has ever seen, but only you and I so you persuade my heart, though it has been very stubborn (Homers Odyssey, book 23. lines 225-230). It not only includes an insight on the adventures and return of Odysseus, but it also includes the stories of Telemakhos and Penelope. In this passage it is clear that Odysseus still loves and cares for his beloved Penelope. Homer, The Odyssey. So far I have argued that Penelope's myths, above all the Pandareid myths, have special affinity to their poetic environment in the Odyssey, namely a crisis and a turning point from dissolution to "light and life," which in the Odyssey is marked by the festival of Apollo. Indeed, Odysseus return journey had been fraught with peril and setbacks: he spent ten years wandering the seas, losing all of his ships and men in the process. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. The Return of Ulysses: A Cultural History of Homers Odyssey. Enrolling in a course lets you earn progress by passing quizzes and exams.