Mortal · Character in Homer’s Odyssey
Phemius
Ithaca's bard, singing unwilling
Sang for the suitors under duress, and lives because he can prove it.
The bard of Odysseus' own hall, who sang for the suitors through the whole occupation because they made him. His song of the Greeks' bitter homecomings is what draws Penelope weeping down the stairs in the first book. In the slaughter he lays his lyre down and clasps Odysseus' knees; Telemachus vouches that he sang under compulsion, and he is spared.
Bonds
- Phemius servant of Odysseus — sings in the hall under duress
- Phemius dwells in Ithaca — the island’s own bard
Appears in
- Book I Visit of Athena to Telemachus
- Book XVII Return of Odysseus to His Palace
- Book XXII Death of the Suitors
Scenes
- Guest welcomed at feast — Book I. Telemachus seats guest, Phemius sings
- Penelope silences the bard — Book I. Penelope asks Phemius for different song
- Approaching the Hall — Book XVII. Odysseus marvels at palace, plans entry
- The Bard’s Plea — Book XXII. Phemius begs mercy, Telemachus intercedes