Mortal · Character in Homer’s Odyssey

Eumaeus

Swineherd who never gave up

Steadfast beyond reason; feeds any stranger, believes no word of his master.

A king's son sold into slavery as a child, he now keeps Odysseus' pigs on a hillside above the harbour and feeds a ragged stranger without knowing him. He hands his master the bow, bars the door, and fights beside him.

Bonds

• Eumaeus servant of Odysseus — tends his swine for years unpaid
• Eumaeus loyal to Odysseus — learns the truth, delivers the bow
• Eumaeus aids Odysseus — fights beside him, guards the door
• Odysseus guest of Eumaeus — stays on, testing his hospitality
• Odysseus deceives Eumaeus — spins a false Cretan history
• Eumaeus dwells in Eumaeus's lodge — the steading he built himself
• Eumaeus captor of Melanthius — hoists him to the roof-beam

Appears in

• Book XIV Meeting of Odysseus and Eumaeus
• Book XV Return of Telemachus
• Book XVI Odysseus Discovering Himself to Telemachus
• Book XVII Return of Odysseus to His Palace
• Book XX The Last Banquet of the Suitors
• Book XXI The Bending of the Bow of Odysseus
• Book XXII Death of the Suitors
• Book XXIII Odysseus and Penelope After the Slaughter

Scenes

1. Dogs at the Lodge — Book XIV. Dogs attack Odysseus, Eumaeus intervenes
2. Seated by the Hearth — Book XIV. Eumaeus believes his master died at Troy
3. The Swineherd’s Meal — Book XIV. Eumaeus roasts pork, rails at suitors
4. Wary of Wanderers — Book XIV. Eumaeus trusts no beggar’s tale
5. An Oath and a Story — Book XIV. Odysseus swears return, Eumaeus won’t wager
6. Eumaeus Stays Doubtful — Book XIV. Eumaeus rejects oath, spares him from rock
7. Sacrifice of the Boar — Book XIV. Herdsmen pen swine as Eumaeus prays
8. Sharing the Feast — Book XIV. Mesaulius serves bread and pork
9. A Bed by the Fire — Book XIV. Eumaeus beds guest, guards the swine
10. Odysseus Tests Eumaeus — Book XV. Odysseus proposes begging, Eumaeus refuses
11. News of Laertes — Book XV. Laertes grieves, Anticleia dead
12. Sold to Laertes — Book XV. Plot succeeds, Laertes buys Eumaeus
13. Telemachus Arrives — Book XVI. Eumaeus, disguised Odysseus greet Telemachus
14. News of Penelope — Book XVI. Eumaeus says Penelope waits faithfully
15. The Stranger’s Welcome — Book XVI. Telemachus clothes stranger, sends Eumaeus
16. Disguise Restored — Book XVI. Athena disguises Odysseus, Eumaeus returns
17. On the Road — Book XVII. Eumaeus, Odysseus set out, meet Melanthius
18. Approaching the Hall — Book XVII. Odysseus marvels at palace, plans entry
19. Antinoüs Rebukes Eumaeus — Book XVII. Antinoüs scolds Eumaeus over the beggar
20. Eumaeus’s Report — Book XVII. Penelope asks Eumaeus about stranger’s news
21. Penelope Agrees to Wait — Book XVII. Eumaeus reports, Penelope agrees to see him
22. Eumaeus Departs — Book XVII. Eumaeus warns Telemachus, returns to swine
23. Household prepares the hall — Book XX. Eurycleia cleans hall, Eumaeus greets him
24. Betrayal Discovered — Book XXII. Odysseus orders Melanthius trapped

Eumaeus is named in 47 of the poem’s scenes; these are the twenty-four that carry the most of the name.

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