The Odyssey 1732 Studios

Ancient Greek · The Homecoming

Ὀδυσσείας φ

Book 21. The Contest of the Bow

Penelope brings out the great bow. No suitor can string it. The beggar strings it without rising and shoots through the twelve axes.

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    Then the goddess bright-eyed Athena put it in her mind,

    Metre

    τῇin her (mind)ὁ · dative singular feminine pronounobject of ,
    δthenδέ · particlecoordinating word
    ἄρthenἄρα · particlesentence particle
    ἐπὶuponἐπί · prepositionpreposition
    φρεσὶmindφρήν · dative plural nounobject of ἐπὶ

    φρήν 'midriff/heart' as seat of thought; dative after ἐπί, 'upon her mind'

    θῆκεputτίθημι · aorist active indicative, 3rd singular verbmain verb

    θῆκε, aorist of τίθημι 'put/set', governs the infinitive θέμεν three lines below

    θεὰgoddessθεά · nominative singular feminine nounsubject
    γλαυκῶπιςbright-eyedγλαυκῶπις · nominative singular feminine nounmodifies θεὰ

    γλαυκῶπις, Athena's fixed epithet ('gleaming-eyed'), a recurring Homeric formula

    ἈθήνηAthenaἈθήνη · nominative singular feminine nounsubject
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    in the daughter of Icarius, wise Penelope,

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    to set out the bow for the suitors and the gray iron

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    in Odysseus' halls, as a contest and the beginning of slaughter.

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    She went up the high stairway of her house,

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    and took in her strong hand the well-curved key,

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    a fine one of bronze; and on it was a handle of ivory.

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    She made her way to the storeroom with her serving women,

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    the farthest one; there lay her lord's treasures,

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    bronze and gold and much-wrought iron.

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    There lay the back-bent bow and the quiver,

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    the arrow-holder, and many groaning shafts were within it,

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    gifts that a friend had given him when he met him in Lacedaemon,

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    Iphitus, son of Eurytus, a man like the immortals.

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    The two of them met one another in Messene,

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    in the house of warlike Ortilochus. Indeed Odysseus

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    had come to recover a debt that the whole people owed him;

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    for men of Messene had carried off sheep from Ithaca,

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    three hundred of them, in their many-benched ships, along with the herdsmen.

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    On their account Odysseus came on a long journey as an envoy,

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    while still a boy; for his father and the other elders sent him.

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    Iphitus in turn had come seeking horses that he had lost,

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    twelve mares, with hardy mule foals beneath them at the teat;

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    and these afterward proved his death and his doom,

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    when he came to the stout-hearted son of Zeus,

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    the man Heracles, who knew great deeds of violence,

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    who killed him, his guest though he was, in his own house—

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    reckless man, with no awe of the gods' eye nor of the table

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    he had set before him; then he slew him too,

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    and himself kept the strong-hoofed mares in his halls.

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    Seeking these, Iphitus fell in with Odysseus and gave him the bow,

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    which great Eurytus had carried before; but to his son

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    he left it when he died in his lofty halls.

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    To him Odysseus gave a sharp sword and a strong spear,

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    the beginning of a heartfelt guest-friendship; yet at the table

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    they never came to know each other, for first the son of Zeus killed

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    Iphitus, son of Eurytus, a man like the immortals,

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    who had given him the bow. But noble Odysseus never

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    took it with him to war on his black ships;

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    rather it lay at home, a keepsake of a dear friend,

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    and he carried it only in his own land.

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    But when she came to that storeroom, that woman among women,

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    and stepped onto the oaken threshold, which once a carpenter

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    had planed with skill and made straight to the line,

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    and fitted the doorposts in it, and set on the shining doors,

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    at once she swiftly loosed the strap from the handle,

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    put in the key, and shot back the bolts of the doors,

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    aiming straight; and they bellowed like a bull

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    grazing in a meadow; so loud bellowed the fair doors

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    struck by the key, and they swung swiftly open for her.

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    She stepped onto the high platform, where the chests

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    stood, and in them lay fragrant garments.

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    Reaching from there, she took the bow down from its peg,

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    together with the shining case that lay around it.

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    Sitting down right there, she laid it on her knees,

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    and wept shrill and loud, and drew her lord's bow from its case.

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    But when she had had her fill of tearful lament,

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    she made her way to the hall, among the lordly suitors,

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    holding in her hand the back-bent bow and the quiver,

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    the arrow-holder; and many groaning shafts were within it.

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    Along with her the maids carried a chest, where iron

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    lay in plenty, and bronze, the prizes of that lord.

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    And when she reached the suitors, that woman among women,

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    she stood beside the doorpost of the well-built roof,

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    holding her shining veil before her cheeks,

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    and a trusty handmaid stood on either side of her.

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    At once she addressed the suitors and spoke her word:

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    "Hear me, you lordly suitors, who have set upon this house

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    to eat and drink without ceasing, always,

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    while its master is long gone; and no other

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    pretext for your conduct could you make,

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    but only your wish to marry me and take me for your wife.

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    Come then, suitors, since this is shown to be your contest.

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    I will set out the great bow of godlike Odysseus;

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    and whoever most easily strings the bow in his hands

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    and shoots an arrow through all twelve axes,

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    him I will follow, leaving behind this house,

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    my wedded home, so fair, so full of livelihood,

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    which I think I shall remember even in my dreams."

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    So she spoke, and bade Eumaeus, the noble swineherd,

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    to set the bow and the gray iron before the suitors.

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    Weeping, Eumaeus took them and laid them down;

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    and the herdsman too wept apart, when he saw his lord's bow.

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    But Antinous rebuked them and spoke out, calling them by name:

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    "You foolish bumpkins, thinking only of the day,

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    ah, you wretches, why now do you let tears fall, and stir

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    the heart in the woman's breast? Her spirit even without this

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    lies sunk in grief, since she has lost her dear husband.

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    Sit and feast in silence, or go outside

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    to weep, and leave the bow here where it lies,

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    a contest the suitors cannot fail of; for I do not think

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    this polished bow will easily be strung.

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    For there is no such man among all of us here

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    as Odysseus was; and I myself saw him,

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    for I remember it, though I was still a little child."

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    So he spoke, but in his breast his heart was hoping

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    that he would string the bowstring and shoot through the iron.

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    Yet he was to be the first to taste of an arrow

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    from the hands of blameless Odysseus, whom he was then dishonoring,

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    sitting in the halls, and was urging on all his comrades.

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    Then among them spoke the hallowed strength of Telemachus:

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    "Well now, surely Zeus son of Cronos has made me witless;

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    my dear mother says—wise though she is—

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    that she will follow another and leave this house,

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    yet I laugh and take pleasure with a senseless heart.

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    But come, suitors, since this is shown to be your contest,

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    for a woman whose like there is not now in the land of Achaea,

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    neither in sacred Pylos nor in Argos nor in Mycenae,

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    nor in Ithaca itself nor on the dark mainland.

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    And you yourselves know this; what need have I to praise my mother?

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    But come, do not put it off with excuses, nor any longer

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    shrink back from the stringing of the bow, so that we may see.

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    And indeed I myself would make a trial of this bow.

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    If I should string it and shoot through the iron,

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    then my lady mother would not, to my grief, leave this house

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    going off with another, while I am left behind here,

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    already able to carry off my father's splendid prizes.

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    He spoke, and threw off from his shoulders his crimson cloak,

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    springing up straight, and took the sharp sword from his shoulders.

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    First he set up the axes, digging one long trench for them all,

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    and made them straight to the line, and stamped the earth firm around them.

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    Astonishment seized all who watched,

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    how orderly he set them up, though he had never seen it done before.

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    Then he went and stood on the threshold and made trial of the bow.

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    Three times he made it quiver, straining to draw it back,

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    and three times he gave up the effort, though still hoping in his heart

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    to string the bowstring and shoot through the iron.

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    And now at last he would have strung it, hauling it back by force the fourth time,

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    but Odysseus shook his head and held him back, eager as he was.

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    Then the hallowed strength of Telemachus spoke among them again:

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    "Well now! It seems I will always be a coward and weak,

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    or else I am too young, and do not yet trust my hands

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    to defend myself against a man, when someone first picks a quarrel.

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    But come, you who are mightier than I in strength,

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    make trial of the bow, and let us finish this contest."

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    So saying, he set the bow down from him on the ground,

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    leaning it against the joined and polished door-planks,

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    and there he leaned the swift arrow against the fine curved tip,

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    and sat back down again on the seat from which he had risen.

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    Then Antinous spoke among them, the son of Eupeithes:

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    "Rise up in order, all you companions, from left to right,

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    beginning from the place where the wine is poured."

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    So spoke Antinous, and his words pleased them.

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    Leiodes was the first to stand up, the son of Oenops,

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    who was their sacrificing priest, and beside the fine mixing-bowl

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    he always sat in the innermost corner. To him alone the reckless deeds

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    were hateful, and he was indignant at all the suitors.

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    He was the first then to take up the bow and the swift arrow.

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    He went and stood on the threshold and made trial of the bow,

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    but he could not string it; for first he wearied his hands with drawing it,

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    his soft, unworn hands. And he spoke among the suitors:

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    "Friends, I cannot string it; let another take it too.

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    For this bow will rob many of our best men

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    of breath and life, since it is far better

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    to die than to live on having failed of the very thing

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    for which we always gather here, waiting day after day.

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    Now there is many a man who hopes in his heart and longs

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    to marry Penelope, the wife of Odysseus.

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    But once he has made trial of the bow and seen the truth,

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    then let him court some other of the fair-robed Achaean women,

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    seeking her with bridal gifts; and she in turn

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    would marry whoever offers the most and comes as fated."

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    So he spoke, and set the bow down from him,

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    leaning it against the joined and polished door-planks,

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    and there he leaned the swift arrow against the fine curved tip,

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    and sat back down again on the seat from which he had risen.

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    But Antinous rebuked him and spoke out, calling him by name:

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    "Leiodes, what a word has escaped the barrier of your teeth,

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    a terrible and grievous one — I am indignant to hear it —

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    if indeed this bow is to rob our best men

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    of breath and life, just because you cannot string it.

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    For your lady mother did not bear you to be such a man

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    as to be a drawer of the bow and its arrows;

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    but the other proud suitors will soon string it."

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    So he spoke, and gave the order to Melanthius, the goatherd:

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    "Come now, kindle a fire in the hall, Melanthius,

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    and set beside it a great chair with a fleece upon it,

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    and bring out a great cake of fat that is inside,

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    so that we young men, warming the bow and rubbing it with grease,

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    may make trial of it and finish this contest."

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    So he spoke, and Melanthius at once kindled an unwearying fire,

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    and bringing a chair he set it down with a fleece upon it,

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    and brought out a great cake of fat that was inside.

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    With it the young men warmed the bow and made their trials; but they could not

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    string it, for they fell far short of the strength.

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    But Antinous still held back, and godlike Eurymachus too,

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    the leaders of the suitors; in worth they were the best by far.

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    Then the two went out of the house together, both at once,

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    the cowherd and the swineherd of godlike Odysseus;

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    and after them godlike Odysseus himself went out of the house.

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    But when they were outside the doors and the courtyard,

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    he called to them and addressed them with gentle words:

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    "Cowherd, and you, swineherd, shall I say a certain word,

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    or keep it to myself? My heart bids me speak it.

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    What sort of men would you be, to defend Odysseus, if he should come from somewhere

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    all of a sudden, and some god should bring him home?

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    Would you defend the suitors, or Odysseus?

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    Tell me as your heart and spirit bid you."

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    Then the cowherd, the keeper of the cattle, answered him:

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    "Father Zeus, would that you might bring this wish to pass —

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    that the man might come, and a god might bring him home!

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    Then you would know what my strength is, and how my hands follow it."

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    And in the same way Eumaeus prayed to all the gods

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    that wise Odysseus might return to his own home.

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    But when he had read the truth of their minds for certain,

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    again he answered them and spoke:

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    "Here I am, my very self, within — having suffered many evils

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    I have come in the twentieth year to my native land.

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    And I see that, of my servants, to you two alone my coming

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    is longed for; of the others I have heard none

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    praying that I should come back home again.

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    To you two I will tell the truth, just as it shall be.

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    If a god should subdue the proud suitors beneath my hand,

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    I will get wives for you both, and grant you possessions

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    and houses built near my own; and from then on

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    you shall be to me companions and brothers of Telemachus.

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    But come now, I will show you another plain sign as well,

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    so that you may know me well and trust me in your hearts:

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    the scar that once a boar dealt me with its white tusk,

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    when I had gone to Parnassus with the sons of Autolycus."

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    So saying, he drew his rags aside from the great scar.

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    And when the two had looked at it and marked each detail well,

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    they wept, and threw their arms around wise Odysseus,

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    and welcoming him fondly they kissed his head and shoulders;

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    and in the same way Odysseus kissed their heads and hands.

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    And now the light of the sun would have gone down on their weeping,

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    had not Odysseus himself checked them and spoken out:

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    "Stop your weeping and lament, lest someone come out

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    from the hall and see us, and tell of it inside as well.

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    Instead go in one at a time, not all together,

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    I first, and you after; and let this be the agreed sign:

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    all the rest, every one of the proud suitors,

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    will not allow the bow and quiver to be given to me;

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    but you, noble Eumaeus, as you carry the bow through the house,

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    place it in my hands, and tell the women

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    to lock the close-fitted doors of the hall,

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    and if any of them hears groaning or the din of men

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    within our walls, let her not come out the door,

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    but stay right there in silence at her work.

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    And to you, noble Philoetius, I give this charge: the courtyard gates

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    to lock with the bar, and quickly throw the lashing over them."

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    So saying, he went into the well-built house,

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    and sat down then on the stool he had come from, where he had risen;

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    and the two servants of godlike Odysseus went in as well.

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    Eurymachus by now was handling the bow in his hands,

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    warming it this way and that in the firelight; but even so

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    he could not string it, and his proud heart groaned aloud.

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    In vexation he spoke, and said aloud, naming his grief:

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    "Oh no — grief for myself indeed, and grief for us all.

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    It is not so much for the marriage that I grieve, grieved though I am;

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    there are many other Achaean women, some in

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    sea-girt Ithaca itself, and some in the other cities;

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    but if we fall so far short in strength

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    of godlike Odysseus, that we cannot string

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    his bow — that is a disgrace for men to come to hear of."

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    Then Antinous, son of Eupeithes, answered him:

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    "Eurymachus, it will not be so, and you know it yourself.

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    For today there is a holy feast of the god

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    throughout the land; who would be bending bows? Set it down

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    quietly; and as for the axes, even if we let them all

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    stand there — no one, I think, will carry them off,

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    coming into the hall of Odysseus, son of Laertes.

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    Come now, let the wine-pourer begin the rounds with the cups,

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    so that, having poured libations, we may set aside the curved bows;

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    and at dawn bid Melanthius, the goatherd,

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    bring goats, the very best in all the flocks,

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    so that, laying the thigh-pieces before Apollo famed for the bow,

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    we may make trial of the bow and bring the contest to an end."

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    So spoke Antinous, and the saying pleased them.

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    Then the heralds poured water over their hands,

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    and the young men filled the mixing-bowls brimful with drink,

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    and served it round to all, with first-drops poured into the cups.

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    And when they had poured libation and drunk as much as their hearts desired,

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    the resourceful Odysseus, with cunning intent, spoke among them:

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    "Listen to me, suitors of the glorious queen,

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    that I may say what the heart in my breast commands:

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    above all Eurymachus and godlike Antinous

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    I beg, since he too spoke this word rightly —

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    for now leave off the bow, and entrust the matter to the gods;

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    at dawn a god will give the victory to whomever he wishes.

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    But come, give me the polished bow, so that among you

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    I may test my hands and strength — whether I still have

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    the force that was once in my supple limbs,

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    or whether by now my wandering and want of care have wasted it."

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    So he spoke, and they were all exceedingly indignant,

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    fearing that he might string the polished bow.

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    Antinous rebuked him, and spoke aloud, naming him:

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    "Wretched stranger, you have not the least bit of sense.

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    Are you not content to dine in peace among us proud men,

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    and to lack no share of the feast, but to listen

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    to our talk and speech? No other beggar or stranger

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    gets to listen to our talk.

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    The honey-sweet wine is wounding you — wine that harms others too,

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    whoever gulps it greedily and does not drink within measure.

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    It was wine that ruined the Centaur, glorious Eurytion,

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    in the hall of great-hearted Peirithous,

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    when he came among the Lapiths; and once he had crazed his wits with wine,

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    in his madness he did evil throughout the house of Peirithous.

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    Grief seized the heroes, and out through the porch and the door

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    they sprang up and dragged him, and with pitiless bronze his ears

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    and nose they sheared off; and he, deranged in his wits,

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    went his way, bearing his ruin in his witless heart.

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    From that came the quarrel between Centaurs and men,

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    but he was the first to bring evil on himself by his drunkenness.

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    Just so I foretell great trouble for you too, if you string

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    this bow; for you will meet with no kindness

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    in our land, but at once in a black ship

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    to King Echetus, the maimer of all mortals,

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    we will send you; and from there you will not save yourself. So drink

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    in peace, and do not quarrel with men younger than you."

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    Then wise Penelope answered him:

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    "Antinous, it is neither right nor just

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    to mistreat the guests of Telemachus, whoever comes to this house.

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    Do you suppose that, if the stranger should string the great bow

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    of Odysseus, trusting in his hands and his strength,

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    he would lead me home and make me his wife?

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    Not even he himself, I think, has any such hope in his breast;

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    so let none of you, grieving in his heart over this,

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    feast here in distress — since it would not be fitting at all."

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    Then Eurymachus, son of Polybus, answered her in turn:

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    "Daughter of Icarius, wise Penelope,

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    we do not suppose that this man will lead you off — it would not be fitting —

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    but we shrink from the talk of men and of women,

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    lest some baser man among the Achaeans ever say:

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    'Truly far lesser men are wooing the wife of a flawless man,

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    and they cannot string his polished bow;

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    but another, a beggar man, wandering and come from nowhere,

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    strung the bow easily, and shot an arrow clean through the iron.'

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    So they will say, and it would become a reproach to us."

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    Then wise Penelope answered him again:

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    "Eurymachus, there is no way for men to keep a good name throughout the land

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    who dishonor the house of a noble man and devour his substance.

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    Why then do you reckon this a disgrace?

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    This stranger is very large and well-built,

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    and he claims by birth to be the son of a good father.

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    Come then, give him the well-polished bow, so that we may see.

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    For I will tell you plainly, and this thing shall be brought to pass:

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    if he strings it, and Apollo grants him the glory,

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    I will clothe him in a cloak and tunic, fine garments,

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    and I will give him a sharp javelin, a defense against dogs and men,

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    and a two-edged sword. I will give him sandals for his feet,

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    and send him wherever his heart and spirit bid him go."

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    Then wise Telemachus answered her in turn:

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    "My mother, as for the bow, no one of the Achaeans has more right than I

  345. 345

    to give it or to refuse it to whomever I wish,

  346. 346

    neither of those who hold sway over rugged Ithaca,

  347. 347

    nor of those in the islands toward horse-pasturing Elis.

  348. 348

    Not one of them shall force me against my will, if I choose

  349. 349

    to give this bow outright to the stranger to carry off.

  350. 350

    But go into the house and see to your own work,

  351. 351

    the loom and the distaff, and bid your handmaids

  352. 352

    go about their tasks. The bow shall be the men's concern,

  353. 353

    the men's, and mine above all, for mine is the authority in this house."

  354. 354

    Then she, amazed, went back into the house,

  355. 355

    for she took her son's wise word to heart.

  356. 356

    Going up to her upper chamber with her handmaids

  357. 357

    she then wept for Odysseus, her dear husband, until upon her eyelids

  358. 358

    bright-eyed Athena cast sweet sleep.

  359. 359

    But the noble swineherd took up the curved bow and bore it on;

  360. 360

    and all the suitors began shouting at him throughout the halls,

  361. 361

    and thus would one of the arrogant young men speak:

  362. 362

    "Where are you carrying the curved bow, you wretched swineherd,

  363. 363

    you fool? Soon your own swift dogs, out among the swine,

  364. 364

    will devour you, far from men, the dogs you raised yourself, if Apollo

  365. 365

    and the other immortal gods are gracious to us."

  366. 366

    So they spoke, and he set the bow down there on the spot,

  367. 367

    afraid, because so many were shouting throughout the halls.

  368. 368

    But Telemachus from the other side called out threateningly:

  369. 369

    "Old friend, carry the bow forward. You will not do well to obey them all.

  370. 370

    Take care I do not drive you off into the country with stones,

  371. 371

    younger though I am, for I am the stronger in might.

  372. 372

    Would that I were as much stronger, in hands and in might,

  373. 373

    than all the suitors who are in our house;

  374. 374

    then I would soon send some of them off, packing wretchedly,

  375. 375

    from our house, since they are plotting evil deeds."

  376. 376

    So he spoke, and they all laughed merrily at him,

  377. 377

    the suitors, and they let go their harsh anger

  378. 378

    against Telemachus. The swineherd carried the bow through the hall

  379. 379

    and, standing beside him, set it in the hands of wise Odysseus.

  380. 380

    Then he called out the nurse Eurycleia and spoke to her:

  381. 381

    "Eurycleia, wise woman, Telemachus bids you

  382. 382

    to close the well-fitted doors of the hall.

  383. 383

    And if anyone hears groaning or the din within,

  384. 384

    the din of men inside our walls, let no one

  385. 385

    come out the doors, but stay there in silence at her work."

  386. 386

    So he spoke, and to her the word had no wings,

  387. 387

    and she closed the doors of the well-built hall.

  388. 388

    Silently Philoetius slipped out of the house through the door,

  389. 389

    and then closed the gates of the well-fenced courtyard.

  390. 390

    There lay under the portico a cable of a curved ship,

  391. 391

    made of papyrus; with it he bound the gates, and went back in.

  392. 392

    Then he sat down on the seat from which he had risen,

  393. 393

    gazing at Odysseus. And he was already handling the bow,

  394. 394

    turning it every way, testing it this side and that,

  395. 395

    lest worms had eaten the horn while its lord was away.

  396. 396

    And thus would one speak, glancing at his neighbor:

  397. 397

    "This man is surely some connoisseur and crafty handler of bows.

  398. 398

    Perhaps he has just such a one lying at home himself,

  399. 399

    or he is keen to make one, the way he turns it

  400. 400

    this way and that in his hands, this vagabond skilled in mischief."

  401. 401

    And another of the arrogant young men would say:

  402. 402

    "May he meet with as much good fortune

  403. 403

    as he will ever have power to string this bow."

  404. 404

    So spoke the suitors. But Odysseus of many counsels,

  405. 405

    as soon as he had lifted the great bow and looked it over all around,

  406. 406

    just as a man skilled in the lyre and in song

  407. 407

    easily stretches the string around a new peg,

  408. 408

    fastening at both ends the well-twisted sheep-gut,

  409. 409

    so without effort did Odysseus string the great bow.

  410. 410

    Then taking it in his right hand he tested the string,

  411. 411

    and it sang sweetly beneath his touch, like a swallow in voice.

  412. 412

    Great grief came over the suitors, and the color of all of them

  413. 413

    changed; and Zeus thundered loudly, showing his signs.

  414. 414

    And then much-enduring noble Odysseus rejoiced,

  415. 415

    because the son of crooked-counseling Kronos had sent him a portent.

  416. 416

    He took up a swift arrow that lay beside him on the table,

  417. 417

    bare; the others were inside the hollow quiver,

  418. 418

    lying there, which the Achaeans were soon to taste.

  419. 419

    Laying it on the bridge of the bow, he drew the string and the notched arrow,

  420. 420

    from where he sat right there on his seat, and let the arrow fly,

  421. 421

    taking aim straight ahead, and he did not miss a single one of the axes,

  422. 422

    from the first socket onward, and the bronze-weighted arrow

  423. 423

    passed clean through and out the other side. Then he said to Telemachus:

  424. 424

    "Telemachus, the stranger sitting in your halls does not

  425. 425

    shame you. I did not miss the mark, nor did I labor long

  426. 426

    stringing the bow. My strength is still unbroken,

  427. 427

    not as the suitors taunt me in their contempt.

  428. 428

    But now it is time to prepare supper for the Achaeans,

  429. 429

    while there is still daylight, and afterward to take other delight

  430. 430

    in song and the lyre, for these are the ornaments of a feast."

  431. 431

    He spoke, and gave a sign with his brows; and Telemachus slung on his sharp sword,

  432. 432

    Telemachus, dear son of noble Odysseus,

  433. 433

    and closed his hand around his spear, and near him,

  434. 434

    beside his seat, he stood, armed in gleaming bronze.

The particulars

The text
Ὀδύσσεια, Homer. The Homecoming.
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Public-domain Greek (Homer, ancient; text via the Perseus Digital Library). English translation © 2026 1732 Studios, LLC.
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Two whoopie pies and a pine. An inside joke.