Odysseus coming home.^[1]

A portrayal of Penelope and the suitors^[2]

Getting to know the suitors

The suitors of Penelope are one of the main enemies of Odysseus, and for good reason: they want to kill his son (Telemachus) and marry his wife (Penelope). In addition to these glaring issues, the suitors also ravage Odysseus's house, eating his best cows and pigs, drinking his best wine, and "enjoying" themselves with some of the women handmaids. The suitors are many in number; there are 108 that appear in Homer's Odyssey, but there are even more in Bibliotheca, a compilation of Greek myth and heroic legend (for a complete list, visit this site^[3]). Although there are a staggering number of them, there are a few obvious leaders of the group. The two that stand out the most are Antinous, son of Eupeithes, and Eurymachus, son of Polybus. These two essentially lead the actions of the suitors, such as plotting to kill Telemachus during his return from Sparta. While these men are all "noble" men and are technically at the top of the social hierarchy in Ithaca, they are constantly talked about like a disease throughout the Odyssey. Possibly Homer was trying to say something about the current situation in which he was living in? We may never know.

Looking at Antinous and Eurymachus (leaders of the suitors)

As previously stated, and as assumed in the title, Antinous and Eurymachus were the definitive leaders of the massive group of suitors. Taking a brief look at their history, we can see that both of these men came from very wealthy families, and held important societal statuses on Ithaca^[4]. In addition to being very wealthy, these men also show the most disregard for Xenia, the Greek tradition of hospitality. Eurymachus specifically is arrogant, disrespectful, and drinks Odysseus's wine without any regard. An interesting point on Antinous, he is the son of Eupeithes, which translates to "good at persuasion^[5]" and he is very good with words. Not necessarily on a level with Odysseus, but still very skilled.     

Why the suitors are important

Suitors as an enemy to be defeated

As previously stated, the suitors are main enemy of Odysseus and his comrades. From the very beginning of the book, the suitors are talked about in a very negative way, and are set up as a major obstacle in the way, particularly, of Telemachus's quest for manhood. It is clear that in order to "ascend" to manhood and be respected in Ithaca, he must get rid of the suitors in some way, shape or form. Although he realizes this, he is not sure what he should do. He knows that if he were to challenge them in a fight, he would surely lose, badly. Although most of his responses to Athena in Book I are said to be "keen and wise"^[6] he still lacks the precise cunning that his father Odysseus posses. This shows Telemachus's undeveloped character, still lacking some crucial skills to be the rightful heir to Odysseus's name and fame. Luckily, Telemachus is being guided and watched over by Athena, who directs him to go a journey to Pylos and Sparta to learn about his father, and whether or not he still lives. As he goes along his journey, he tells the story of the suitors to each of the leaders of the land (Nestor presides over Pylos, and Menelaus over Sparta). He receives advice and responses from both of these characters, but he receives a specially heated one from Menelaus who says, "How cowardly they are! So keen to occupy the bed of such a stalwart man."^[7] However, as Telemachus rallies support for his cause and finds out new information about his father, the suitors lie in wait, hoping to ambush Telemachus and his crew on his journey home. This plan was devised by none other than Antinous, saying with confidence "...give me a swift ship and a score of comrades; as he sails back to these shores, I'll wait along the strait that seperate this isle and rocky Samos. Yes he went to find his father-but he will find death"^[8] This shows the suitors unwavering ability to always come up with another obstacle that would kill and ruin the Odysseus household.

Building up of Telemachus's Character

Another example of the suitors (more specifically Eurymachus's) sly and deceitful ways is when Penelope confronts them directly about the safety of Telemachus after he has returned from his trip unscathed (thanks to Athena, again). In Book XVI, we see a new suitor, Amphinomus, suggest that the suitors consult the gods on whether or not they should kill Telemachus.^[9] With all the suitors being pleased with that plan, they set out to see the oracle. But before they could leave, Penelope confronts them about her son. To address her concerns, Eurymachus says, deceitfully, that Telemachus won't face death at the hands of the suitors, but that nobody can escape the death the gods prepare.^[10] While technically his words are "true", it is this twist in his words that covers up the true intentions the suitors have for Telemachus. All of these instances help build Telemachus's character up, from a naive kid to a man capable of standing proudly next to his father. Although he stills has some slip ups, such as when Odysseus and his team (Telemachus, Eumaeus, and Philoeteus) are slaughtering the suitors and Telemachus accidentally leaves the door to the armory open, letting Melanthius (another suitor) to supply the other suitors with arms and armor. Aside from this, the transition of Telemachus is both thanks to the appearance of the suitors and the return of his father.

The Slaughter of the Suitors

However crude the suitors actions were, it eventually caught up with them. Although it takes Odysseus 20 years to get back, he does return, and he doesn't take the suitor's actions lightly. Odysseus, being very wily, has Telemachus take all the armor and weapons from the main room, and put it in a separate storage room. From there the slaughter of the suitors begins, starting with one of the leaders, Antinous. He is shot through the neck with an arrow, and dies by choking on his on blood. Next to fall is the other leader, Eurymachus. After he attempts to rally the suitors, he is shot "below the nipple; and its sharp tip pierced straight to the liver"^[11]. Following this death, it only gets worse for the suitors from here. All end up dying by Odysseus's hands, or by his team's hands. The only people to have survived the onslaught are Phemius and Medon. The way that Homer goes into detail about the death of the suitors is really fascinating. Whether or not they were important in the story doesn't matter in the end, seeing as they all die, but each one of them gets his own spotlight for a bit. A commonalty between all of the suitor's deaths is that their legs kick out as they are dying. Although this is probably what happens as people die (thankfully I don't have too much experience with death), I feel as though it was important, especially because Homer seems to highlight it. This final kick that we see may represent how life can be smooth sailing for years and years, but it is very possible that it can come to a abrupt end at any point. This would seem to hold true for the suitors, as they all had care free lives up until Odysseus returned home.

A portrayal of Odysseus killing the suitors.^[12]