The Odyssey Antinous Quotes

Penelope weaving

"So high and mighty, Telemachus – such unbridled rage!
Well now, fling your accusations at us?
Think to pin the blame on us? You think again.
It’s not the suitors here who deserve the blame,
it’s your own dear mother, the matchless queen of cunning."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 2, lines 91-95. When Telemachus criticizes the suitors over their behavior in his home, Antinous speaks in defense of their actions. He singles out Telemachus’ mother Penelope for blame, accusing her of unmatched cunning.

"This was her latest masterpiece of guile:
she set up a great loom in the royal halls
and she began to weave, and the weaving finespun,
the yarns endless, and she would lead us on:"
‘Young men,
my suitors, now that King Odysseus is no more,
go slowly, keen as you are to marry me, until
I can finish off this web.’"

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 2, lines 104-107. We learn here from Antinous how Penelope uses a masterful trick to keep her suitors at bay. While they have been trying to seduce her into marriage, she remains faithful to her husband. Suitor Antinous reveals how Penelope promises them that she would choose a husband as soon as she finishes weaving a shroud for Laertes’ funeral. But Penelope has no intention of finishing it.
Penelope weaving

"So by day she’d weave at her great and growing web –
by night, by the light of torches set beside her,
she would unravel all she’d done. Three whole years
she deceived us blind, seduced us with this scheme."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 2, lines 115-118. Antinous tells Telemachus how Penelope tricks the suitors who are pressuring her to take a husband. She pretends to weave a shroud for Laertes for the day of his funeral, promising to remarry when it is finished. But each night she secretly unravels the work she does that day. For three years she manages to deceive the suitors, Antinous reveals.

"Then, when the wheeling seasons brought the fourth year on,
one of her women, in on the queen’s secret, told the truth
and we caught her in the act – unweaving her gorgeous web.
So she finished it off. Against her will. We forced her."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 2, lines 119-122. Antinous tells Telemachus how Penelope’s clever plan to fool the suitors is betrayed by one of her servants. The queen cleverly holds off remarriage by pretending to weave a shoud on her loom for the eventual funeral of her father-in-law. The deception goes on for three years, until the suitors learn from one of the disloyal women servants that Penelope is unweaving the shoud every night.

"So, we will devour your worldly goods and wealth
as long as she holds out, holds to that course
the gods have charted deep inside her heart.
Great renown she wins for herself, no doubt,
great loss for you in treasure. We’ll not go back
to our old estates or leave for other parts,
not till she weds the Argive man she fancies."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 2, lines 136-142. Antinous vows that the suitors will continue to devour the wealth and goods of Telemachus’ household until Penelope marries one of them. In this speech to the prince, Antinous shows what a shameless and nasty character he is.

"By god, what a fine piece of work he’s carried off!
Telemachus – what insolence – and we thought his little jaunt
would come to grief. But in spite of us all, look,
the young cub slips away, just like that –
picks the best crew in the land and off he sails.
And this is just the start of the trouble he can make."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 4, lines 746-751. Antinous, ablaze with anger, says this on learning that Telemachus has caught them unawares by going on a secret voyage to Pylos. Up to now the suitors were not fearful of Telemachus. But now they are nervous, on hearing that Telemachus sailed with a top crew to the land ruled by King Nestor, who fought with Odysseus in the Trojan War. It is rather ironic that one of the suitors should accuse Telemachus of insolence, when they have shown brazen disrespect and insolence towards Odysseus’ family.

"Zeus kill that brazen boy before he hits his prime!
Quick, fetch me a swift ship and twenty men –
I’ll waylay him from ambush, board him coming back
in the straits between Ithaca and rocky Same.
This gallant voyage of his to find his father
will find him wrecked at last."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 4, lines 752-757. When Penelope’s suitors learn that Telemachus has gone in search of his father, they hatch a plot to kill him. In this passage the chief conspirator Antinous comes up with the idea to send a ship to ambush Telemachus on his voyage home. He urges king of the gods Zeus to kill the boy before he gets to his prime.

"Strike first, I say, and kill him! –
clear of town, in the fields or on the road.
Then we’ll seize his estates and worldly goods,
carve them up between us, share and share alike.
But as for his palace, let his mother keep it,
she and the man she weds."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 16, lines 423-428. Antinous is unhappy that Telemachus is still alive and has escaped an assassination plot. He riles up the conspiring suitors to act swiftly and kill Odysseus’ son in secret. They should then take for themselves the family estates and all that they own, he says. This is yet another example of the suitors’ unbridled greed.

"You, Antinous! Violent, vicious, scheming –
you, they say, are the best man your age in Ithaca,
best for eloquence, counsel. You’re nothing of the sort!
Madman, why do you weave destruction for Telemachus?
…Stop, I tell you,
stop all this, and make the rest stop too."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 16, lines 463-466, 479-480. A furious Penelope has been warned by the herald Medon that the suitors plan to kill her son Telemachus. She is particularly angry at Antinous, because Odysseus saved his father’s life when a mob was out to destroy him. She demands that Antinous stop the murder plot and make the rest of the conspirators stop as well. She brands him a vicious and violent madman. Penelope shows a lot of bravery in the way she confronts Antinous over his scheming.

"Don’t you know how your father fled here once?
A fugitive, terrified of the people, up in arms
against him because he’d joined some Taphian pirates
out to attack Thesprotians, sworn allies of ours.
The mobs were set to destroy him, rip his life out,
devour his vast wealth to their heart’s content,
but Odysseus held them back, he kept their fury down.
And this is the man whose house you waste, scot-free,
whose wife you court, whose son you mean to kill –
you make my life an agony! Stop, I tell you,
stop all this, and make the rest stop too!"

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 16, lines 470-480. An angry Penelope reminds Antinous how Odysseus helped Antinous’ father. She tells him that the mobs were set to rip his father’s life out and devour his wealth, but Odysseus held them back and saved his life. Yet Antinous was now laying waste to Odysseus’ house, courting his wife and planning to kill his son. Penelope demands that Antinous halt the plot to murder Telemachus. She demonstrates great courage by refusing to give into the suitors, standing up to the violent Antinous and shaming him for his leading role in the murder scheme. This passage highlights Penelope’s fierce loyalty to her missing husband and to her son. At the same time it shows the disloyalty of the treacherous Antinous towards a family that did so much to help his family.

"Your highness, swineherd – why drag this to town?
Haven’t we got our share of vagabonds to deal with,
disgusting beggars who lick the feasters’ plates?
Isn’t it quite enough, these swarming crowds
consuming your master’s bounty –
must you invite this rascal in the bargain?"

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 17, lines 411-416. Suitor Antinous’ sarcastic remarks to Eumaeus and the beggar when they enter the banquet hall contain three kinds of irony. There is dramatic irony because the "beggar" that Antinous says licks the feasters’ plates is not a beggar but Odysseus, owner of the house where Antious continues to stay and consume Odysseus’ food. Antinous addressing Eumaeus as "your highness" is verbal irony, since he means the opposite and is being mocking. There is also situational irony, because Odysseus will stay in the palace for the night as a guest.

"Give me a morsel, friend. You’re hardly the worst
Achaean here, it seems. The noblest one, in fact.
You look like a king to me!
So you should give a bigger crust than the rest
and I will sing your praises all across the earth.
I too once lived in a lofty house that men admired;
rolling in wealth, I’d often give to a vagabond like myself,
whoever he was, whatever need had brought him to my door."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 17, lines 458-465. Keeping up his old beggar pretence, Odysseus begs for food from the suitor Antinous. He is being ironic in his flattery of Antinous. Appearing to compliment Antinous by telling him that he looks like a king and should give a bigger crust than the others, Odysseus is being sarcastic.

"Good god almighty!" Antinous cut the beggar short.
"What spirit brought this pest to plague our feast?
Back off! Into the open, clear of my table, or you,
you’ll soon land in an Egypt, Cyprus, to break your heart!
What a brazen, shameless beggar! Scrounging food
from each man in turn, and look at their handouts,
reckless, never a qualm, no holding back, not
when making free with the next man’s goods
each one’s got plenty here."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 17, lines 492-500. This passage is an example of dramatic irony, since Antinous has no idea that he is addressing Odysseus in the guise of a beggar, but the reader knows. There is further irony in the fact that Antinous criticizes Odysseus for begging for food, while he is one of the parasitic suitors leeching off Odysseus’ palace food.

but the rest were outraged, even those brash suitors.
One would say to another, "Look, Antinous
That was a crime, to strike the luckless beggar!"
"Your fate is sealed if he’s some god from the blue."
"And the gods do take on the look of strangers
dropping in from abroad – "
"Disguised in every way
as they roam and haunt our cities, watching over us – "
"All our foul play, all our fair play too!"
So they warned but Antinous paid no heed.
And the anguish welled up in Telemachus’s breast,
for the blow his father took, yet he let no tears
go rolling down his face – he just shook his head,
silent, his mind churning with thoughts of bloody work."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 17, lines 531-543. The arrogant and prideful Antinous defiantly shrugs off the warnings of the other suitors over hitting the beggar. They tell him that if the beggar is some god in disguise checking on the crimes of mortals, then his fate is sealed. There is dramatic irony here, because none of the suitors realizes that the old beggar is Odysseus in disguise, but the reader knows. The talk of divine retribution foreshadows that Antinous will pay a price for his crimes. This is reflected too in Telemachus’ reaction to the attack on his father, which has him thinking "bloody" thoughts. A metaphor compares the mind of Telemachus to a cauldron "churning" with these violent thoughts.

"You, you clumsy ox, you’re better off dead
or never born at all, if you cringe at him,
paralyzed with fear of an old, broken hulk,
ground down by the pains that hound his steps.
Mark my word – so help me I’ll make it good –
if that old relic whips you and wins the day,
I’ll toss you into a black ship and sail you off
to Echetus, the mainland king who wrecks all men alive!

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 18, lines 91-98. Antinous makes this threat to Irus if he fails to win the fight with Odysseus. He rounds on Irus, after the "Beggar King" visibly quakes with terror as the sight of Odysseus’ muscular chest, thighs and arms.

So he declared. And they all bit their lips,
amazed the prince could speak with so much daring
Only Eupithes’ son Antinous ventured,
"Fighting words, but do let’s knuckle under –
to our prince. Such abuse, such naked threats!
But clearly Zeus has foiled us. Or long before
we would have shut his mouth for him in the halls,
fluent and flowing as he is."
So he mocked.

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 20, lines 297-304. The suitors are amazed and bite their lips at Telemachus’ admonishment that they had better behave in his father’s palace and that he is in charge there. They all remain silent, with the exception of Antinous. The leading suitor belittles Telemachus in his own home and speaks sarcastically of his fighting talk and threats. He doesn’t believe that Telemachus could have spoken like that on his own, but had the help of the gods. He acknowledges that the suitors’ schemes against Telemachus have been foiled by Zeus, but continues to mock the prince – against the will of the gods! Antinous puts his hubris on full display here.

"Today is a feast-day up and down the island
in honor of the Archer God. Who flexes bows today?
Set it aside. Rest easy now. And all the axes,
let’s just leave them planted where they are.
Trust me, no one’s about to crash the gates
of Laertes’ son and carry off these trophies."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 21, lines 288-293. After suitor Eurymachus fails to even bend Odysseus’ great bow, Antinous comes up with an excuse to postpone the archery contest. As it is the feast day of god of archery Apollo when nobody uses a bow, he suggests that they try again the following day and leave the axes in place. He says confidently that no one is going to attack the place and carry off the axes. This is ironic, because Odysseus is already in the palace with a plan in place to attack the suitors.

"Not a shred of sense in your head, you filthy drifter!
Not content to feast at your ease with us, the island’s pride?
Never denied your full share of the banquet, never,
you can listen in on our secrets. No one else
can eavesdrop on our talk, no tramp, no beggar.
The wine has overpowered you, heady wine –
the ruin of many another man, whoever
gulps it down and drinks beyond his limit."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 21, lines 322-329. When Odysseus proposes to use his own bow and take part in the games to win the hand of his wife Penelope, the suitors fly into a rage. Antinous leads the attack on him, saying that Odysseus is getting too big for his boots after feasting with the "pride" of Ithaca. He ironically suggests that the suitors are being kind to allow Odysseus to share in the palace banquet and effectively eat his own food!

With that he trained a stabbing arrow on Antinous…
just lifting a gorgeous golden loving-cup in his hands,
just tilting the two-handled goblet back to his lips,
about to drain the wine – and slaughter the last thing
on the suitor’s mind: who could dream that one foe
in that crowd of feasters, however great his power,
would bring down death on himself, and black doom?
But Odysseus aimed and shot Antinous square in the throat
and the point went stabbing clean through the soft neck and out –
and off to the side he pitched, the cup dropped from his grasp
as the shaft sank home, and the man’s life-blood came spurting
from his nostrils.

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 22, lines 8-19. Antinous becomes the first of the suitors to die, as Odysseus shoots him in the throat with an arrow from his great bow. For Odysseus this is justice, Antinous being one of the most arrogant and disrespectful of the suitors, who riled up the others against Odysseus and Telemachus. This passage with its vivid imagery communicates the intensity of Odysseus’ battle with the suitors and the level of violence involved with no holds barred. It seems appropriate that Antinous dies as he drinks Odysseus’ wine and feasts on his food.
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