Similarities Between Eurycleia And The Maids

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Journal Book 22 : Eurycleia and the maids
Compare and Contrast : In The Odyssey, by Homer, Eurycleia is a nurse that takes care of Odysseus before he leaves to Troy. When Odysseus gets back home after 20 years, he find out that the suitors have taken over his palace, and are trying to take Penelope’s hand in marriage. He then murders all the suitors, then tells Telemachus, his son, “‘And when you have set in order all the house, lead forth these slave-maids out of the stately hall to a spot between the roundhouse and the neat court-year, and smite them with our swords till you take life from all’” (Homer 282). Odysseus makes the maids clean up the dead bodies, and makes them clean up, and then because they are not fully loyal to Odysseus, kills …show more content…

First of all, Odysseys believes that the maids helped the suitors in many ways, and they did not fully believe in Odysseus. One of the maids, Melantho, was rude to Odysseus when he was disguised as a beggar, calling him a pervert. This caused him to build up a rage towards the maids as he did with the suitors. I also believe that the maids had different viewpoints than Eurycleia. This is because Odysseus only kills the maids and not Eurycleia. Odysseus knows that Eurycleia is and always have been loyal to Odysseus, and so the maids weren’t.
Connection: Judith Beheading Holofernes by Artemisia Gentileschi
I believe that this image connects to this scene in The Odyssey. In this picture Judith, who was a spy, gets into Holofernes’ house, and kills him. The women that is a spy depicts Odysseus because he disguises as a beggar, and then kills all the suitors. The man that is getting killed connects to the maids and the servants because the spy (Odysseus) comes and kills them. The women behind the person killing the man can be said to be Telemachus, because he helped kill the suitors and the maids. The women is also using a sword, which is what Odysseus lets Telemachus to use to kill the maids (Homer …show more content…

Throughout the novel, Odysseus is on the constant race to get back to his family again. This is a sign of love and compassion, even though he doesn’t show that every time, like when he blinds Polyphemus. Odysseus wanted to know if his father was still well and alive, because he had been gone for 20 years now, and he has no clue what has happened to Laertes. I believe that there is a rollercoaster of emotions inside Odysseus at this point. On one hand, he had been wanting revenge on the suitors, and now that he has, he must feel accomplished. Then on the other hand, he is happy that he has gotten back to his family, and he shows concern for his father. I also infer that the reason that the parents of the suitors wants payback on Odysseus is because he had been gone for a long time, and he just showed up, and killed everyone. The parents didn’t even know for certain that Odysseus was back, they just knew that if someone had the strength to do it, it would be

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