Odysseus and Penelope's marriage endured twenty years of separation. Their son Telemachus grew up without his father and later aided Odysseus in slaying the suitors, while Poliporthes was born after the hero's return.
⚠ Homer's Odyssey names only Telemachus as their child. The Telegony adds Poliporthes as a son born after Odysseus's return, while Hesiod fr. 221 MW attributes Ptoliporthes to Telemachus instead.
Icarius of Sparta and Periboea of Sparta were the parents of Penelope. When Penelope chose to leave with Odysseus, Icarius begged her to stay, but she silently covered her face with her veil, choosing her husband.
⚠ Apollodorus names the mother as the Naiad Periboea, while Strabo records the name Polycaste.
Penelope bore Pan after the fall of Troy, according to Herodotus, who recorded this as a Peloponnesian tradition linking the goat-god to the house of Odysseus.
⚠ This genealogy was rejected by most ancient authorities. The dominant tradition names Hermes as Pan's father by a nymph. Some variants claim all the suitors collectively fathered Pan, a folk etymology linking 'Pan' to 'all.'
After Telegonus accidentally slew Odysseus with a stingray-barbed spear, Circe granted Penelope immortality and Telegonus took her as his wife on the island of Aeaea.
Antinous, the most violent of the suitors, plotted the murder of Penelope's son Telemachus and terrorized Odysseus's household, while Penelope cursed him and prayed for his destruction.
The Suitors of Penelope occupied Odysseus's palace for years, devouring his wealth and pressing Penelope to choose a new husband, while she held them at bay with the shroud stratagem and other deceits until Odysseus returned to slaughter them all.
Penelope governed Ithaca during Odysseus's twenty-year absence, preserving his household and kingdom through cunning despite the suitors' siege of the palace.
After Telegonus accidentally killed Odysseus, Circe brought Penelope and Telemachus to her island of Aeaea and made them both immortal.
Anticlea died of grief during Odysseus's long absence, and when her shade met Odysseus in the Underworld, she told him that Penelope remained faithful on Ithaca but was wasting away with sorrow.
Athena protected Penelope during Odysseus's twenty-year absence, sending her comforting dreams and guiding her stratagems against the suitors besieging the palace.
Penelope devised the final test for the suitors, declaring she would marry whoever could string the great Bow of Eurytus and shoot an arrow through twelve axe-heads — a feat only Odysseus could accomplish.
Zeus commanded Calypso to release Odysseus so he could return to Penelope. Calypso bitterly contrasted mortal Penelope with herself, arguing she surpassed the queen in beauty and could offer immortality.
Penelope wove a burial shroud for her father-in-law Laertes as her famous stratagem, weaving by day and unraveling by night for three years to delay choosing a new husband.
Penelope held off the suitors for years through stratagems and tested Odysseus's identity with the secret of their marriage bed before accepting his return after twenty years apart.
We use cookies to understand how you use our site and improve your experience. Learn more