At daybreak, Telemakhos calls an assembly of the suitors and other islanders. He tells them of the suitors' disgraceful behavior and angrily tries to shame them into leaving. But Antinoos puts theblame on Penelope, who has been teasing and deceiving the suitors for years, as when she promised to marry after she wove a shroud for her dead husband's father, Laertes. The cunning Penelope unwove each day's progress at night for three years (her trick was eventually discovered, and she had to finish the shroud). Antinoos, one of the suitors, gives Telemakhos a choice: evict his mother, or make her marry one of them. Telemakhos rejects his offer, telling the suitors to leave and begging aid from Zeus.
Zeus quickly sends down two eagles to attack the suitors - an omen of death - but the suitors deny the sign and insist things will remain as they are; they have been waiting too long for the prize of Penelope. Telemakhos changes his tack, requesting a ship and crew for him to find news of his father at Pylos and Sparta; if he finds out he is dead, he will allow his mother to remarry. Before the assembly breaks, it is decreed that Odysseus' old friends, Mentor and Halitherses, will help him obtain the ship and crew.
Telemakhos calls upon the god who helped him yesterday. Athena returns to him in the form of Mentor, praises his abilities derived from his father, and assures him that his voyage will be successful. She promises to find him a ship and crew and help him sail, and tells him to get provisions ready at home. There, Antinoos tries to make amends and offers to help him get a ship and crew, but Telemakhos coldly rejects him. The suitors mock him while he readies himself for the trip, careful not to let his mother know about his plans.
Meanwhile, Athena walks around town disguised as Telemakhos, inviting men to meet up at nightfall at a ship she has borrowed. At night, Athena makes the suitors fall asleep and, in the form of Mentor, informs Telemakhos of the arrival of his crew. She leads him to his ship, his crew packs up their provisions, and they disembark with Athena on board. They drink to the gods, especially Athena.
Telemakhos and his crew arrive at Pylos, where a sacrifice to Poseidon of dozens of bulls is taking place. Athena encourages the shy Telemakhos to seek out old Nestor. He and his men are invited to feast and pay tribute to Poseidon. Athena prays to Poseidon for the success of their mission. After they eat, Telemakhos tells Nestor, who fought alongside and was a great friend to Odysseus during the Trojan War, that he is seeking information about his father. Nestor does not know what befell Odysseus; after Ilion (Troy) fell, Athena provoked a fight between the brothers Menelaos and Agamemnon and divided the Akhaians into two camps; those under command of the former left, while the latter stayed. Odysseus left, but he and his crew soon returned to please Agamemnon. Nestor and his crew made it back home, as did a few other groups, but many did not.
Telemakhos laments his situation with the suitors, and Nestor suggests Odysseus may return, or perhaps Athena will help him, as she used to do with his father. Telemakhos does not believe the gods will aid him, and even if they did it would be to no avail; Athena disagrees. Telemakhos asks Nestor how Aigisthos managed to kill Agamemnon. Nestor says that while Agamemnon and Menelaos were away fighting, Aigisthos eventually won over Agamemnon's queen, Klytaimnestra. He ruled over Agamemnon's kingdom as a tyrant for seven years before Orestes killed him and Klytaimnestra.
Nestor warns Telemakhos not to make the same mistake and stay away from home too long. He urges him to find Menelaos for more news, and offers to provide him with horses, a chariot, and his sons for company. Athena praises this idea, then disappears as a seahawk. The men are stunned, and the proof that the gods are on Telemakhos' side inspires Nestor, who pledges a sacrifice to Athena. In the morning, he and his sons make the sacrifice of a golden-horned heifer, and his son, Peisistratos, accompanies Telemakhos in a chariot. They arrive at Pherai at night, then Lakedaimon the next day, and continue to their final destination of Sparta.
Telemakhos and Peisistratos arrive at Menelaos' opulent mansion in Lakedaimon. Menelaos
welcomes them to the double wedding feast taking place for both his son and daughter. After the travelers are bathed and fed, Menelaos tells them of his grief for his mates who died at Troy -especially Odysseus. Helen, wife of Menelaos, emerges from her chamber and says their visitor must be Telemakhos. Peisistratos confirms this, and says that Nestor sent them for help from Menelaos. Menelaos gives a moving speech about his feelings for Odysseus, inspiring tears in them all; Peisistratos is particularly affected, remembering his brother Antilokhos who died at Troy. Helen puts a magical libation in the wine bowl that prevents the drinker from crying that day. She encourages everyone to cheer up, and tells a story about Odysseus' disguising himself as a beggar during the war. Menelaos recounts the famous anecdote of how Odysseus hid himself and his men inside a wooden horse to invade Troy. Everyone retires to bed.
The next morning, Telemakhos tells Menelaos about his problems with the suitors and asks if he has news of Odysseus. The king is indignant at the behavior of the suitors and hopes Odysseus can mete out their punishment. He tells of how, on his return from Troy, his men were stranded on an island without any wind. They managed to capture Proteus, the Ancient of the Sea. Proteus told them that if they made a sacrifice to the gods, they could continue home. He also told him about Agamemnon's murder, and that Odysseus is a prisoner on Kalypso's island.
Telemakhos and Peisistratos return to Pylos to sail for Ithaka. Meanwhile, in Ithaka, the suitors find out about Telemakhos' journey to Pylos and plan to ambush him on his way home. Penelope learns of their plans and Telemakhos' journey, and grieves. She calls for help from Athena, who visits her in a dream as Penelope's sister. She assures Penelope she will protect Telemakhos, though she cannot tell her anything about Odysseus.
After he waits for Nausikaa to go to her father's palace, Odysseus makes his way alone and encounters Athena in the form of a little girl. He asks her for directions to the palace, and she leads him there while shrouding him in mist so no one can see him. She tells him Alkinoos and his revered queen Arete are at supper. He enters the lush, ornate palace and finds the king and queen. He embraces Arete's knees and asks her for passage to his home. Alkinoos leads Odysseus to the table, where he is fed. Alkinoos says they will make a sacrifice in the morning, then think of how to send Odysseus home. He also wonders if Odysseus is a god; Odysseus assures him he is not, and that he has suffered great pains.
Later at night, alone with Alkinoos and Odysseus, Arete recognizes Odysseus' clothing as her own creation and asks him who he is and who gave him his clothing. He relates his story from Kalypso's island until Nausikaa's help earlier that day. Alkinoos says Nausikaa should have taken him home with her directly, but Odysseus says it was his idea to follow her separately. Taken with Odysseus, Alkinoos vows to help him get home.
In the morning, Athena, in the form of a crier, calls the townspeople to assemble to meet a stranger. The crowd gathers and sees Odysseus cast in a godly light by Athena. Alkinoos asks them to provide a ship and crew for their anonymous guest, and then prepare for a festival celebrating the stranger. His instructions are followed, and at a feast for Odysseus, the blind bard Demodokos sings a song about the battle between Odysseus and Akhilleus at Troy. Odysseus furtively cries at the memories it stirs, and Alkinoos notices, stops the music, and starts up the pentathlon trials.
Various games are played, and Prince Laodamas asks Odysseus to join. With so much on his mind, Odysseus is reluctant to play, and one of the athletes, Seareach, accuses Odysseus of having no athletic talent. Odysseus takes up the challenge and throws a discus farther than anyone else. Inspired by his throw and by the disguised Athena's praise of it, Odysseus dares anyone to best him in any athletic contest, especially archery. He silences the crowd, and Alkinoos praises his prowess and suggests a dance performance. Demodokos sings about a tryst between Ares and Aphrodite, which ended when the cuckolded Hephaistos forged chains and snared them when they went to bed together. He then invited the other gods to witness the adulterers caught in the act.
Odysseus enjoys the story, and is impressed by the following dance Alkinoos' sons perform. Alkinoos gives Odysseus a great bounty of clothing and gold, and Seareach, by way of apology, gives him a fine silver-and-ivory broadsword. On Alkinoos' orders, maids bathe him. When he returns to the main hall, Princess Nausikaa asks him to remember her; he tells her he owes her his life. During the feast, Odysseus praises Demodokos' song about the Akhaians, and asks him to sing about the wooden horse Odysseus used to invade Troy. He does, and Odysseus again weeps and only Alkinoos notices. Alkinoos stops the music, questions why the stranger has cried despite all the gifts he has received, and asks him for his name and his full story.
(Courtesy of GradeSaver)