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For most of its history, the ancient Greek city-state of Sparta in the Peloponnese was ruled by kings. Sparta was unusual among the Greek city-states in that it maintained its kingship past the Archaic age. It was even more unusual in that it had two kings simultaneously, who were called the archagetai, [1] [n 1] coming from two separate lines.
Telemachus, the son of Odysseus and Penelope, who matures during his travels to Sparta and Pylos and then fights Penelope's suitors with Odysseus. [3] Eurycleia, Odysseus' former wet nurse, the first person to recognize him upon his return to Ithaca. Eumaeus, a loyal old friend and swineherd of Odysseus, who helps him retake his palace.
This is an accepted version of this page This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 11 February 2025. Legendary Greek king of Ithaca For other uses, see Odysseus (disambiguation). See also: Ulysses Fictional character Odysseus Head of Odysseus from a Roman period Hellenistic marble group representing Odysseus blinding Polyphemus, found at the villa of Tiberius at Sperlonga, Italy In ...
Penelope. Drawing after Attic pottery figure. Penelope encounters the returned Odysseus posing as a beggar. From a mural in the Macellum of Pompeii. Penelope (/ p ə ˈ n ɛ l ə p i / [1] pə-NEL-ə-pee; Ancient Greek: Πηνελόπεια, Pēnelópeia, or Πηνελόπη, Pēnelópē) [2] is a character in Homer's Odyssey.
The Homeric hero Odysseus used the pseudonym "Outis" when he was fighting the Cyclops Polyphemus and the monster demanded his name. Odysseus replied instead that the pronoun was his name in order to trick the monster. After Odysseus had put out the monster's eye, Polyphemus shouted in pain to the other Cyclopes of the island.
Assisted by King Tyndareus of Sparta, they drove Thyestes away, and Agamemnon took the throne for himself. When it was time for Tyndareus' stepdaughter Helen to marry, many kings and princes came to seek her hand. Among the contenders were Odysseus, Menestheus, Ajax the Great, Patroclus, and Idomeneus. Most offered opulent gifts.
It tells the 10-year journey story of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, as he travels home after the Trojan War. Along the way, he encounters multiple perils and discovers the death of his crewmates.
A characteristic of Homer's style is the use of epithets, as in "rosy-fingered" Dawn or "swift-footed" Achilles.Epithets are used because of the constraints of the dactylic hexameter (i.e., it is convenient to have a stockpile of metrically fitting phrases to add to a name) and because of the oral transmission of the poems; they are mnemonic aids to the singer and the audience alike.