Suitors of Penelope

Penelope and the Suitors by John William Waterhouse (1912).

The suitors of Penelope (also known as the Proci) are one of the main subjects of Homer's Odyssey.

Role in the Odyssey

In The Odyssey, Homer describes Odysseus' journey home from the Trojan War. Prior to the Trojan War, Odysseus was King of Ithaca, a Greek island known for its isolation and rugged terrain.^[1] When Odysseus departs from Ithaca to fight for the Greeks in the war, he leaves behind a newborn child, Telemachus, and his wife, Penelope. Although most surviving Greek soldiers return shortly after the end of the fighting, Odysseus does not return to Ithaca until 10 years after the end of the Trojan War.

During Odysseus' long absence, unmarried men start to suspect that Odysseus died in Troy or on the journey home. Under the pretense of courting Penelope, these unmarried men, called "the suitors", take up residence in Odysseus' home and vie for her hand in marriage. Rather than simply rejecting the suitors, Penelope devises a plan to delay their courtship. She claims she will choose a husband after she has finished weaving a funeral shroud to present to Odysseus' father, Laertes. For three years, Penelope weaves the shroud during the day and unravels it at night, awaiting her husband's return. The suitors learn of Penelope's delaying tactic when one of her maidservants, Melantho, reveals it to her lover Eurymachus. Upon finding out, the suitors demand that she choose a husband from among them.

The suitors behave badly in Odysseus' home, drinking his wine and eating his food. Odysseus' son, Telemachus, now a young man, is frustrated with the suitors. Telemachus laments to Athena (disguised as Mentes, one of Odysseus' guest-friends) about the suitors' behavior. In return, Athena urges Telemachus to stand up to the suitors and go search of his father.^[2]

Once Odysseus returns home (whom Athena initially disguises as a beggar so he can plot his revenge in secret), his son Telemachus tells him that there are 108 suitors: 52 from Dulichium, 24 from Same, 20 Achaeans from Zacynthus, and 12 from Ithaca.^[3] Together, Odysseus, Telemachus, Eumaeus and Philoetius kill the suitors and the disloyal maidservants.

Important suitors

Although there are many suitors, three are particularly important to the narrative of the epic.

Antinous

Antinous, son of Eupheithes, is the first of the suitors to speak in the epic and the first to die upon Odysseus' return^[4][5] Antinous is the most disrespectful of the suitors and is the one who devises a plan to murder Telemachus upon his return to Ithaca.^[6] Although his plan to murder Telemachus is vetoed by Amphinomus, Antinous continues to behave arrogantly. When Odysseus finally returns home, disguised as a beggar, Antinous does not show him hospitality and throws a stool at him.^[7]

Eurymachus

Eurymachus, son of Polybus, is the second of the suitors to appear in the epic. Eurymachus acts as a leader among the suitors because of his charisma. He is noted to be the most likely to win Penelope's hand because her father and brothers support the union and because he outdoes the other suitors in gift-giving.^[8] Although he is charismatic, Eurymachus is deceitful. Eurymachus discovers Penelope's plot because he is having an affair with one of Penelope's maidservants, Melantho.^[9] Further, when Odysseus reveals himself to the suitors, Eurymachus attempts to avoid punishment for the suitors' misdeeds by blaming them all on Antinous.^[5]

Amphinomus

Amphinomus, son of King Nisos, is the most sympathetic of the suitors. Amphinomus attempts twice to dissuade the suitors from murdering Telemachus. Odysseus recognizes this and attempts to warn Amphinomus to leave the home before the final battle. Despite this, Amphinomus stays and dies along with the other suitors.

List of suitors

Appearing in the Odyssey

Slaughter of the suitors by Odysseus and Telemachus, Campanian red-figure bell-krater, c. 330 BC, Louvre (CA 7124)

While most of the suitors are not dealt with individually by Homer, some are mentioned by name and play more or less significant roles in the poem. Among them are:

• Agelaus, son of Damastor. Killed by Odysseus.^[10]
• Amphimedon, son of Melaneus. Killed by Telemachus.^[11]
• Amphinomus. Shows courtesy towards the disguised Odysseus, who warns him against staying;^[12] the warning goes unheeded, though, and he is killed along with the other suitors, though by Telemachus and not Odysseus.
• Antinous, son of Eupeithes. One of the leaders of the suitors and the first to be killed by Odysseus, he helps instigate the plot to kill Telemachus as he returns from the mainland,^[13] and helps spur the fight between Odysseus (as the beggar) and Irus, a notorious beggar.^[12]
• Ctesippus of Same, son of Polytherses. A "ribald fellow" of great wealth who gives Odysseus, disguised as a beggar, a "present" by throwing a heifer's foot at him; Telemachus threatens him in response, and says that he would have killed him if he had not missed.^[14] After killing him, the stockman says that his death is a present in return for the one he gave to Odysseus.^[15]
• Demoptolemus, killed by Odysseus.^[16]
• Elatus, killed by Eumaeus.^[17]
• Euryades, killed by Telemachus.^[17]
• Eurydamas. Offered a pair of earrings as a gift to Penelope.^[18] Eventually killed by Odysseus.^[19]
• Eurymachus, son of Polybus. One of the leaders of the suitors, noted for being smooth and deceitful. He blames everything on Antinous after he is killed by Odysseus, saying that the suitors are sorry for what they have done and will repay Odysseus. His pleas do not persuade Odysseus, so he tells the suitors they will have to fight if they wish to live, and he is shot with an arrow while charging Odysseus.^[20]
• Eurynomus, son of Aegyptius. His brother Antiphus accompanied Odysseus to the Trojan War and was devoured by Polyphemus on the way back.^[21]
• Leiocritus, son of Evenor. Killed by Telemachus.^[22]
• Leodes, son of Oenops. The sacrificial priest to the suitors, he hates the evil deeds of the suitors and is indignant with the others.^[23] While Odysseus is killing the suitors, he begs for mercy, saying that he tried to stop the others and they were paying for not listening to him. Odysseus hears him out, but says that, as a priest, he must have prayed for Odysseus to not come home, so he kills him anyway.^[24]
• Peisander, son of Polyctor. Offered a necklace as a gift to Penelope.^[25] Killed by Philoeteus.^[17]
• Polybus, son of Polyctor and father of Eurymachus.

Appearing in the Bibliotheca

An extensive list of Penelope's suitors is given in the Bibliotheca.^[26] This source does not appear to fully respect the Homeric tradition, as the numbers are different and not all of those named in the Odyssey appear in the Bibliotheca. Due to the text being damaged, some of the names are repeated several times and the lists for Dulichium and Zacynthus actually contain fewer names than the given figures suggest.

57 suitors from Dulichium

23 from Same

44 from Zacynthus

12 from Ithaca

References

1. ↑ Homer. Homer's The Odyssey. Translated by Richard Lattimore. New York, New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc. pp. Book IX, 30–34. 
2. ↑ Homer (1967). Homer's The Odyssey. Translated by Richard Lattimore. New York, New York: Harper & Row Publishing Inc. Book I, 269-305. 
3. ↑ Homer (1967). Homer's The Odyssey. Translated by Richard Lattimore. New York, New York: Harper & Row Publishing, Inc. pp. Book XVI, 245–254. 
4. ↑ Homer's The Odyssey. Translated by Richard Lattimore. New York, New York: Harper & Row Publishing, Inc. 1967. pp. Book I, 383–387. 
5. 1 2 Homer's The Odyssey. New York, New York: Harper & Row Publishing, Inc. 1967. pp. Book XXII, 48–49. 
6. ↑ Homer's The Odyssey. Translated by Richard Lattimore. New York, New York: Harper & Row Publishing, Inc. 1967. pp. Book XVI, 372. 
7. ↑ Homer's The Odyssey. Translated by Richard Lattimore. New York, New York: Harper & Row Publishing, Inc. 1967. pp. Book XVII, 375–415. 
8. ↑ Homer's The Odyssey. Translated by Richard Lattimore. New York, New York: Harper & Row Publishing, Inc. 1967. pp. Book XV, 16–18. 
9. ↑ Homer's The Odyssey. Translated by Richard Lattimore. New York, New York: Harper & Row Publishing, Inc. 1967. pp. Book XVIII, 323–326. 
10. ↑ The Odyssey, 22. 241, 293
11. ↑ The Odyssey, 22. 284; 24. 103
12. 1 2 The Odyssey, Book XVIII
13. ↑ The Odyssey, Book IV
14. ↑ The Odyssey, 20. 288 ff
15. ↑ The Odyssey, 22. 286 ff
16. ↑ The Odyssey, 22. 226
17. 1 2 3 The Odyssey, 22. 267
18. ↑ The Odyssey, 18. 296
19. ↑ The Odyssey, 22. 283
20. ↑ The Odyssey, 22. 79
21. ↑ The Odyssey, 2. 15 - 22
22. ↑ The Odyssey, 2.242; 22.294
23. ↑ The Odyssey, 21. 144
24. ↑ The Odyssey, 22. 310
25. ↑ The Odyssey, 18. 299
26. ↑ Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca, Epitome of Book 4, 7. 26 - 7. 30