Book IV · Episode 7 of 7

A Dream of Reassurance

Suitors sail as Athena sends a dream

Scenes

1. Suitors Set Sail — Antinoüs silences suitors, ship departs
   • Athena hears Penelope’s prayer
   • Suitors boast she readies for remarriage
   • Loose talk, Antinoüs warns, could betray them
   • Twenty men rig mast and sail
   • They anchor, waiting for the evening star
2. A Troubled Sleep — Penelope sleeps, Athena sends phantom
   • Fasting and fear finally bring her sleep
   • The phantom resembles her sister Iphthime
   • It slips through the door-bolt silently
   • It promises her son will return safely
3. The Dream Speaks — Phantom says Athena guides her son
   • Her son worries her more than husband
   • Athena accompanies him out of pity
   • Penelope asks if Odysseus still lives
   • The spirit refuses to speak of him
4. Penelope Wakes; Ambush Set — Penelope wakes as ship waits at Asteris
   • The phantom vanishes into the wind
   • Its plain words comfort her waking heart
   • Suitors still intend murder at sea
   • Asteris offers a harbor with two entrances