Bow of Eurytus- Greek ArtifactArtifact · Weapon"Guest-Gift of Iphitus"
Also known as: Bow of Odysseus
Titles & Epithets
Domains
Description
Eurytus of Oechalia learned to shoot from Apollo, and the bow outlived him. His son Iphitus gave it to the young Odysseus as a guest-gift. Twenty years later, Penelope hung it above a contest. None of the suitors could string it. Odysseus did, and shot through twelve axe-heads before turning it on them.
Mythology & Lore
The Master Archer's Weapon
The bow belonged to Eurytus, king of Oechalia, whose skill with it had been taught by Apollo. So confident was Eurytus that he challenged the god to a contest. Apollo struck him down for the presumption. The bow survived.
From Eurytus to Odysseus
After Eurytus's death, the bow passed to his son Iphitus. When Iphitus met the young Odysseus in Messene, the two exchanged guest-gifts: Odysseus gave a sharp sword and spear, while Iphitus gave his father's great bow. Iphitus was later murdered by Heracles in violation of sacred hospitality, but the bow survived. Odysseus kept it at home in Ithaca and never took it to Troy.
The Contest of the Bow
When the suitors besieged Penelope in Odysseus's absence, she devised a contest: whoever could string the bow and shoot an arrow through twelve aligned axe-heads would win her hand. Penelope herself retrieved the weapon from the storeroom, weeping as she took it down from the peg where it had hung for twenty years. The suitors tried one by one. None could bend it. Telemachus attempted three times and nearly succeeded on the fourth before his father secretly signaled him to stop.
The Slaughter of the Suitors
The disguised Odysseus asked to try. The loyal swineherd Eumaeus carried the weapon to him despite the suitors' protests. Odysseus strung the bow effortlessly, tested the string with a hum like a swallow's cry, and shot through all twelve axe-heads. Then he turned the weapon on the suitors. Antinous fell first, an arrow through the throat as he raised his cup.