💡 This is a chapter from The Wanderings of Odysseus, by C. Witt & F. Younghusband ← Go there to read the full book free online; it is also available in paperback and Kindle editions.
While the suitors were feasting in the hall, Penelope had gone with two of her maidens to the upper chamber, where all the most valued possessions of the house of Odysseus were stored. Here were chests full of beautiful garments, and precious vessels in abundance, of gold and bronze, which had been received as presents from strangers, and were put by, ready to be given again in like manner. Here too was the great bow of Odysseus.
It had been given to him by a famous archer who himself inherited it from great men long since dead, and Odysseus had set great store by it and never took it with him when he went away to war, but only used it at home for performing feats of strength and skill in archery. It was kept in the upper chamber, in a wooden case which hung from a nail in the wall.
Penelope took down the case, and, seating herself, she opened it, and her tears fell as she looked at the bow, which reminded her of the happy time long ago when her husband was by her side. Presently, however, she checked herself and went down to the hall, carrying the bow and the quiver full of arrows, whilst her maidens followed with the twelve axes that belonged to it.
The suitors were astonished when they saw the queen standing in the doorway with the bow in her hand, and all were silent. She said to them, “Ye sue for me and will that I should choose one of you for my husband. Very well then, prove to me which is the best man among you. Whichever of you can the most easily stretch the string over this bow, which Odysseus loved to use, and shoot his arrow without fail through the handles of the twelve axes, him will I accept as my husband and will accompany to his house.”
She gave the bow and arrows, as she spoke, to Eumaeus, and told him to take them to the suitors. At the sight of the favorite bow of their master, both he and Philoetius were constrained to weep, but Antinous spoke roughly to them, saying, “Why do ye thus weep, making the heart of the queen heavier than it is already? Either cease to behave like women, or else leave the hall.” Then, turning to the suitors, he added, “We will all make trial of the bow, but it will be no easy matter to stretch the string across it. Not every man can do as Odysseus did.” But in his heart he hoped that he himself would succeed.
Which was the harder, to stretch the string over the bow or to shoot straight through all the twelve axe handles, it is difficult to say; both alike were feats only to be accomplished by a master hand. In those days it was customary, if a bow were not going to be used for some time, to unfasten one end of the string in order to save the strain upon it, and, when the bow was again needed, it was necessary to bend it down and at the same time stretch the string until the loop at the end had caught the hook at the extremity of the bow. The stronger the bow, the harder it was to bend, and the bow of Odysseus was of quite exceptional strength.
While the suitors were looking at the bow, Telemachus said, “I am astonished at myself. My dear mother proposes to leave the house, and yet this causes me no pain. But let me first myself make trial of the bow. If I am able to shoot even as my father, then can I also protect his house, and there is no occasion for my mother to leave it.”
As he spoke, he laid aside his sword and mantle and began to prepare the hall for the contest. In order that the axes might be placed correctly, he first drew a narrow straight line from the door to the opposite wall, and along this line dug a trench in which to set them. The floor of the hall was not of wood, but was simply made of earth well flattened down.
Telemachus placed the axes in the trench at equal distances and stamped down the earth around them, that they might stand securely. When he had finished, he took the bow and tried to string it. Three times he put forth his utmost strength, and each time he came a little nearer to success. The fourth time he might have done it, but his father beckoned to him to try no more, and Telemachus put down the bow, saying to the suitors that he was too weak to bend it. He asked if either of them would undertake to do better, and Antinous said that they should all try their luck, one by one, in the order in which the wine was passed around.
The first of the suitors who made the attempt quickly perceived that he would never be able to string the bow and said despondingly, “There is not one of us but will have to go elsewhere in search of a wife.”
But Antinous upbraided him and replied that, though he might be too weak, there were better men than he among the suitors, who would not fail to accomplish the task. He thought it well, nevertheless, to bid Melanthius kindle a fire and fetch a ball of lard, with which to grease the bow and make it more pliable. After this, one suitor after another made trial of the bow, putting forth his utmost strength, but all in vain.