Homer · tr. Bryant, 1871

Book XX · Episode 4 of 5

Feast turns to insult

Telemachus seats Odysseus, Ctesippus attacks

Scenes

  1. Telemachus seats Odysseus — Telemachus seats Odysseus, warns suitors
    • Promises to shield him from insults
    • Declares the house belongs to his father
    • Warns suitors to check tongues and hands
    • Suitors bite their lips, astonished
    • Antinoüs mutters of silencing his tongue
  2. Hecatomb and banquet — Heralds lead hecatomb, suitors feast
    • Telemachus pays Antinoüs no heed
    • Procession heads to Phoebus’s shady grove
    • Long-haired crowds gather for the sacrifice
    • Meat is roasted, drawn, and carved
    • Odysseus gets a portion equal to all
  3. Ctesippus’s insult — Ctesippus flings foot, Odysseus dodges it
    • Athena stirs the suitors’ taunts
    • Ctesippus trusts his father’s riches
    • Mocks the stranger’s equal share
    • Offers a mocking gift of hospitality
    • Foot strikes the wall harmlessly
  4. Telemachus rebukes Ctesippus — Telemachus warns he’d have speared Ctesippus
    • Says his father would plan a funeral
    • No longer a child unable to judge
    • Endures suitors eating his flocks, wine
    • Won’t tolerate women dragged about
    • Would rather die than watch such shame