The Odyssey

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In Book XVI of Homer's “The Odyssey” the audience learns the characteristics of the suitors Eurymachus, Antinous, and Amphinomus through Homer’s rhetorical strategies. Homer has the suitors make these speeches to show the audience the opinions of the suitors on Telemachus safely making it home to Ithaca. In the first suitor Eurymachus speech, the audience learns that he “cares” about how Telemachus returns just so he can get sympathy from Penelope. In Antinous’s speech the audience gains the knowledge that Eurymachus is not a good man, because he just wanted Telemachos dead. In the third suitors speech, the audience learns that Amphinomus likes to take the safe approach, by only doing what the gods permit him to do. In Homer’s epic “The Odyssey”, Book XVI shows the audience the differences between the three suitors Eurymachus, Antinous, and Amphinomus.
In Book XVI, lines 382-387 Eurymachus recites his speech to all the other suitors in the room and says, “ Friends, what a fine piece of work he’s carried off!/ Telemachus--what insolence--and we thought his little jaunt/ would come to grief! Up now, launch a black ship,/the best we can find--muster a crew of oarsmen,/ row the news to our friends in ambush, fast,/ bring them back at once.” Through telling this speech Eurymachus uses this speech to get sympathy from Penelope, trying to make her believe that he likes Telemachus and wants him to come home. In this speech he also starts to plan a “voyage” to get Telemachus safely home. Lines 384-387 he tells the audience about his plan, what he needs, what he wants, and what he will do to get Telemachus home. Through Homer’s use of a rhetorical strategy he makes Eurymachus try to convince Penelope that he is a good suitor and she sho...

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... has returned to Ithaca. Homer uses rhetorical strategies through these speeches to persuade their audience to take either of the three suitors idea. Eurymachus planned to get Telemachus home as fast as he could right after he heard that Telemachus was back in Ithaca. The audience learned that Antinous wanted Telemachus dead since the beginning. And that Amphinomus wants to take the safe approach by only doing what the gods permit him to do. And throughout these speeches the audience learns about the suitors, what type of people they are and if they are good for Penelope. Homer sends a message to the audience by showing them how different every single one of the suitors are. The three speeches in book XVI in Homer’s “The Odyssey” help the reader to better understand what each suitor is like and how each suitor thinks about Telemachus returning unharmed to Ithaca.

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