But now Prince Telemachus dressed them down:
"Fools, you’re out of your minds! No hiding it,
food and wine have gone to your heads. Some god
has got your blood up. Come, now you’ve eaten well
go home to bed – when the spirit moves, that is.
I, for one, I’ll drive no guest away."
So he declared. And they all bit their lips,
amazed the prince could speak with so much daring.
– Homer
The Odyssey, Book 18, lines 457-464. The young Prince Telemachus is fed up with all the greedy suitors, who have indulged their fill of palace food and drink. He asserts his authority, scolds his mother’s suitors, and stands up for the beggar (his father in disguise). This is after the suitors abuse and mock the beggar, with one of the leading ones Eurymachus throwing a stool at him. Telemachus orders the suitors to leave and go home to bed, declaring that he will not drive the beggar away. The passage shows that Odysseus’ young son has grown into a mature and brave man, is not afraid of the suitors anymore, and follows the custom of offering hospitality to visitors. It is one of the first times we see him trying to get rid of the suitors, who after Telemachus’ scolding decide to leave the beggar Odysseus be and quit the house.