Wednesday, July 16, 2014

What omen appears after the exchange between Telemachus and Antinous?

In Book II of the Odyssey, lines 35-128, Telemachus and Antinous have a lengthy debate on the appropriateness of the actions of Penelope's many suitors.
Telemachus describes the constant drain of wealth and resources that the many suitors represent with their constant demands for food, drink, and entertainment. He blames them for imposing on his family's goodwill and for the implied threat of violence if they are denied.
Antinous replies by blaming Penelope, who had spent years claiming that she would accept a husband when her weaving was done, only to undo her work every evening and draw out the suitors' courtship indefinitely.
After this conversation, Zeus sends an omen to signify the Gods' opinion. A. S. Kline translates as follows:

So Telemachus spoke, and Far-Seeing Zeus sent out two eagles from a high mountain peak. They flew for a while with outspread wings, side by side in the currents of air, but when they were above the voice-filled assembly they swiftly slanted their wings, circling round, gazing down on the heads below, and death was in their gaze. Then they clawed at each other’s head and neck with their talons, and soared away eastward over the roofs of the town. 

The onlookers are mystified by the symbolism of this omen, but Halitherses, an old hero, is able to decipher the meaning: Odysseus will return, and soon, fulfilling a prophecy that he would come back on the twentieth year of his departure.
https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Greek/Odyssey2.php

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