Place in Homer’s Odyssey
Egypt
Rich detour of the homecomings
The river-land where Menelaus' five surviving ships were blown off course, and where he spent seven years gathering the wealth he shows Telemachus. Helen's grief-quieting drug was the gift of a woman of Egypt, and the beggar's tales send his invented Cretan there to make and lose a fortune.
Bonds
- Menelaus visits Egypt — five ships, seven years of gathering
- Helen visits Egypt — her calming drug comes from there
Appears in
- Book III Interview of Telemachus with Nestor
- Book IV Conference of Telemachus and Menelaus
- Book XIV Meeting of Odysseus and Eumaeus
- Book XVII Return of Odysseus to His Palace
Scenes
- The Full Tale of Murder — Book III. Nestor tells of Aegisthus, Menelaus’s voyage
- Menelaus Mourns Odysseus — Book IV. Menelaus mourns brother, grieves Odysseus
- Helen Recognizes Telemachus — Book IV. Helen enters, spots Odysseus’ likeness
- Helen’s Drug and Tales of Troy — Book IV. Helen’s drug, Menelaus recalls Troy
- Stranded on Pharos — Book IV. Windbound off Egypt, Eidothea finds Menelaus
- Snaring Proteus — Book IV. In sealskins, Menelaus seizes Proteus
- Proteus Demands Sacrifice — Book IV. Proteus demands hecatombs before sailing home
- Odysseus on Calypso’s Isle — Book IV. Odysseus weeps, Menelaus promised Elysium
- The Cretan’s Long Tale — Book XIV. Odysseus invents war, plunder, betrayal
- The Egyptian Tale — Book XVII. Odysseus invents a tale, Antinoüs jeers