Odysseus and Eumaeus woke up early. They prepared breakfast for themselves and began to strengthen their strength with food. Suddenly Eumaeus’s dogs rushed with a cheerful bark towards the approaching Telemachus and began to caress him. Odysseus heard footsteps, and Telemachus himself immediately appeared at the entrance to Eumaeus’s dwelling. The swineherd Eumaeus jumped up to meet him. He hugged Telemachus as he entered and, shedding tears of joy, began to kiss him. Eumaeus was so happy about the return of Telemachus, just as a father is happy about the return of his only son after a long separation. Odysseus stood up; he wanted to give up his place to his son who had entered. Telemachus turned to him affectionately and said:
- Sit down, wanderer! Don’t worry, Eumaeus will prepare a place for me to sit.
Eumaeus hastily prepared a seat for Telemachus and served him food and wine. During the meal, Telemachus asked Eumaeus where this wanderer was from and who brought him to Ithaca. Eumaeus told him the fictitious story that he himself had heard from Odysseus, and asked him to accept the wanderer into his home. But Telemachus could not promise to do this. How could he, still so young, cope with a riotous crowd of suitors? He could only promise to send the wanderer new clothes and a sword as a gift and help him return to his homeland. Odysseus took pity on Telemachus and began, as if knowing nothing, to question him about the riot of the suitors and ask whether the people of Ithaca and his relatives were hostile to him.
“It’s better to be killed in your home, trying to forcefully expel the violent suitors, than to endure insults and see the plunder of your property,” Odysseus ended his questions with these words.
But what Telemachus could answer to this, he could only say how difficult it was for him, the only son, to fight a violent crowd of suitors who were also plotting to kill him. Telemachus was afraid to even tell Penelope about his return. He sent Eumaeus to the city and told him to secretly tell his mother that he had returned so that the suitors would not find out. Penelope was supposed to notify the elder Laertes, who was also terribly worried about the fate of his grandson, by sending one of her faithful slaves to him.
Eumaeus hastily left to carry out Telemachus’s instructions. As soon as he left, the goddess Pallas Athena, invisible to Telemachus, appeared before Odysseus; She called Odysseus out of the hut and there, at the fence of the courtyard, she returned him to his former image, touching him with a staff, and ordered him to reveal himself to Telemachus.
When Odysseus returned to the hut, Telemachus looked at him in surprise; he thought that one of the immortal gods had appeared to him, so beautiful and majestic was Odysseus.
- Oh, wanderer! - Telemachus exclaimed, - you appear to me in a different form now! You are one of the immortal gods! Have mercy on us! We will make great sacrifices for you.
- No, I’m not a god! - Odysseus answered, “I am your father Odysseus, for whose sake you suffered insults from violent suitors.”
Odysseus lovingly hugged his son and kissed him with tears. But Telemachus could not immediately believe that his father had finally returned to his homeland. After all, he had just seen him in the form of an old, unfortunate wanderer. How could he change like that, how can a mortal perform such miracles? Telemachus was overcome by doubt. Odysseus dispelled this doubt, saying that the goddess Athena turned him into a wanderer, and she also returned to him his real image. Telemachus then believed that his father was standing before him. He hugged his father. Tears of joy flowed from their eyes. Finally, when the first joy of the meeting had passed, Telemachus asked his father how he returned to his homeland, who brought him to Ithaca on a fast ship. Odysseus told his son how the Phaeacians brought him, how he hid the gifts of the Phaeacians in a deep cave, and how the goddess Athena met him and sent him to Eumaeus. Odysseus began to ask Telemachus about the suitors. He burned with indignation and wanted to take revenge on them for all the insults. Is this possible? After all, there are many suitors. They gathered from all sides. There are one hundred and sixteen of them. How can two people - Odysseus and Telemachus - engage such a crowd in open battle? But Odysseus has powerful helpers with whom mortals cannot fight, no matter how many there are, these helpers are the thunderer Zeus and his daughter Athena-Pallas.
Hoping for their help, Odysseus decided to act this way: Telemachus was supposed to go to the city to the suitors, and he himself would come after him, under the guise of a beggar-wanderer, with Eumaeus, as if to collect alms. No matter how much his suitors insult him, Odysseus will endure everything. Then, according to this sign, Telemachus must take out the weapon, leaving only the weapon for himself and for his father. The main thing is to keep the return of Odysseus a deep secret, so that no one knows about it, not even Penelope, since not all male and female slaves remained faithful to Odysseus. Odysseus and Telemachus conferred for a long time.
At this time, Telemachus’s ship also arrived in the city. His companions immediately sent a messenger to Penelope to inform her of the return of her son. Eumaeus met with this messenger near the palace of Odysseus. Together they went to Penelope. The messenger loudly announced to Penelope the return of her son. Eumaeus, leaning towards her, quietly conveyed everything that Telemachus had entrusted to him. Penelope was glad that her son was with her again.
The news of Telemachus's return quickly reached the suitors. They were scared. All the suitors gathered in the square and began to discuss what to do. Intinoi began to advise killing Telemachus, since he was their only obstacle. But Amfinom did not agree to this. He was afraid of angering Zeus and advised asking the gods first. If the gods gave a favorable sign, then he was ready to kill Telemachus himself, but if not, then Amphinos did not advise others to raise their hands against Telemachus. The suitors agreed with Amfinom and went to the palace of Odysseus.
The herald Medont told Penelope what the suitors were planning. She came out to them and bitterly reproached them for their treachery. Penelope especially reproached Antinous, whose father Odysseus had once saved from the wrath of the people. Eurymachus began to calm Penelope. He said that the suitors would never raise their hands against Telemachus. But even though Eurymachus said this, he himself was only thinking about how to destroy Telemachus.
Meanwhile, Eumaeus returned to his hut. The goddess Athena again turned Odysseus into a wanderer so that Eumaeus would not recognize him. The swineherd told him what he had seen in the city and began to cook dinner for everyone. Having had their fill, everyone went to bed.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru