Book IV · Episode 3 of 7

Trapping the Old Man of the Sea

Menelaus snares Proteus for truth

Scenes

1. A Night’s Rest — Telemachus retires, Menelaus rises at dawn
   • His father’s fate sends him to bed
   • Maids spread couches in the portico
   • Menelaus buckles on his sword at dawn
   • He greets Telemachus by name
2. The Plea for Truth — Telemachus describes suitors, begs news
   • Menelaus asks if his errand is private
   • Suitors devour his father’s estate
   • He likens suitors to den raiders
   • He wishes Odysseus gave a bloody feast
   • He vows to share the Ancient’s words
3. Stranded on Pharos — Windbound off Egypt, Eidothea finds Menelaus
   • Men fish with hooks as supplies dwindle
   • Eidothea is Proteus’s daughter
   • She scolds him for careless lingering
   • He fears he has offended a god
   • He begs to learn the way home
4. Snaring Proteus — In sealskins, Menelaus seizes Proteus
   • Eidothea picks three trusted companions
   • He must hold Proteus through every change
   • Ambrosia masks the sealskins’ reek
   • Proteus shifts into lion, serpent, panther
   • He also becomes water and a tree
5. Proteus Demands Sacrifice — Proteus demands hecatombs before sailing home
   • Proteus asks who taught him this trick
   • Menelaus admits he is trapped, seeks passage
   • He skipped sacrifices to Zeus before sailing
   • News breaks Menelaus’s heart at the delay