Book XIX of twenty-four · A Stranger in His Hall

Odysseus Recognized by Eurycleia

Odysseus moves Penelope, scar reveals him

Odysseus and Telemachus hide the suitors’ weapons by Athena’s light. Disguised as a beggar, Odysseus talks with Penelope, moving her with a false Cretan tale and precise details of her husband’s garments. While washing his feet, old Eurycleia recognizes him by a boyhood scar and is sworn to silence. Penelope, unaware, tells of a doom-dream for the suitors and sets an archery contest for the morrow.

Argument, 1871 Removal of the weapons from the hall by Odysseus and his son —Interview of Penelope and Odysseus, who tells her that he has seen her husband in Crete, describes his person and dress, and affirms that within a month he will be in Ithaca —The bath administered to Odysseus by Eurycleia, who recognizes him by a scar on his leg —Narrative of the manner in which the scar was caused.

Episodes of Book XIX

1. Hiding the Weapons — By night, father and son clear the hall
   • Hiding the Weapons
   • Nurse and Torchlight
   • A Radiant Warning
2. Penelope Confronts the Maid — Penelope seats the beggar to question him
   • Melantho’s Taunt
   • Penelope Rebukes Her
3. The Stranger’s False Tale — Odysseus spins tale, moves Penelope
   • The Endless Web
   • The Cretan Tale
4. Tokens of Trust — Odysseus recalls the king’s own garb
   • Testing With Tokens
   • Ordering the Bath
5. The Scar Revealed — Eurycleia finds the boar-scar, swears silence
   • Eurycleia’s Sorrow
   • The Scar’s Origin
   • The Old Nurse Knows
   • A Sworn Silence
6. The Queen’s Dream and the Contest — Penelope shares grief, sets a contest
   • Penelope’s Nightly Grief
   • The Eagle Dream
   • Reading the Omen
   • Night Falls on Ithaca