The Odyssey - The Suitors

Mind map detailing the Suitors and key points about some of the Suitors in particular

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  • The Suitors
    • Usually referred to en masse
      • Similar to Odysseus' companions
      • Antinous
        • Leader of group
        • Name suggests that he is antagonistic
        • All speeches are direct, insulting and without disguise
        • Initiates plot to kill Telemachus
        • Insults Odysseus as a beggar and refuses to give him food
          • Throws a footstool at him
          • Rebuked be other Suitors - breaking code of xenia
      • Eurymachus
        • Tries to sooth Telemachus at the beginning
        • Stern with the soothsayer, does not blame Penelope, but puts lots of emphasis on Penelope going back to her father
        • Favoured choice of Penelope's father and brothers
        • Telemachus sends Theoclymenus (the murderer that he helps) to Eurymachus' house instead of his own
        • Tells Penelope that he will look after Telemachus, while "death for Telemachus was in his heart"
        • Mocks Odysseus as a beggar and only throws a footstool at him when he is provoked
        • Tries to shift the blame onto Antinous
      • Amphinomus
        • Penelope's favourite
        • Diverts the Suitors' thoughts away from further actions when the plan to kill Telemachus goes wrong
        • Greets the beggar at the feast and wishes him good fortune
        • Feels a lot of guilt after Odysseus' warning
        • Athene insists that he will face the same fate as the rest, and we are left to assume he did
    • Antinous' character is constant throughout the epic, Eurymachus' is introduced as the novel continues and Amphinomus' is shown only at the end
    • The Suitors are allowed a point of view
    • They show some justice when they blame Penelope for tricking them
    • Some are well behaved
      • Unhappy when Antinous refuses to give alms to Telemachus
      • Agelaus makes a speech full of good sense after Telemachus complains about their behavious towards the beggar

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