Reaching, tiptoe, lifting the bow down off its peg,
still secure in the burnished case that held it,
down she sank, laying the case across her knees,
and dissolved in tears with a high thin wail
as she drew her husband’s weapon from its sheath.
– Homer
The Odyssey, Book 21, lines 62-66. Penelope takes the case with her husband’s bow down from its peg in the hidden vault. As she removes her husband’s weapon, she cries and breaks into tears, remembering its connection to her husband. Odysseus’ bow plays a very important symbolic role in the epic poem, being a symbol of kingly strength and superiority. It commands a starring role in Book 20.