Eurymachus
fell by the next brass-tipped shaft, and for every arrow in the quiver a
suitor lay dead until the quiver was empty. Then Telemachus, Philoetius,
and Eumaeus, provided with weapons and armor, stood forth with Ulysses,
and withstood the suitors until all were slain, save Medon the herald and
Phemius the minstrel, for both of whom Telemachus pleaded, since they had
been coerced by the others. Giving the destruction of the false
serving-maids to his three assistants, Ulysses ordered the hall to be
cleansed, and after greeting his faithful servants and weeping with them,
sent Eurycleia up to the bower to tell Penelope that her master had at
last arrived.
Penelope was too fearful of deceit to believe instantly that the beggar
sitting beside the lofty column was her husband, though as she looked at
him wonderingly, she sometimes fancied that she saw Ulysses, and again
could not believe that it was he. So long was she silent that Telemachus
reproached her for her hardness of heart; but Ulysses, better guessing the
difficulty, ordered that all should take the bath and array themselves in
fresh garments while the harper played gay melodies, that those passing
should not guess the slaughter that had occurred, but should fancy that a
wedding was being celebrated. When Ulysses again appeared, refreshed and
handsomely attired, Penelope, still uncertain, determined to test his
knowledge of her chamber.
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