Antinous of Ithaca

One of two prominent suitors of Penelope vying for her hand in marriage,[1] the other being Eurymachus, Antinous was presented as a violent, mean-spirited, and over-confident character who wilfully defiles Odysseus' home while the hero is lost at sea.

[2] In an attempt to kill Telemachus, the son of Odysseus and Penelope, Antinous sends out a small band of suitors in the strait between Ithaca and rugged Same where there is a rocky isle called Asteris, to intercept the young prince on his journey back to Ithaca from the hall of Menelaus.

Antinous is a prime example of disregard for the custom of xenia (guest-friend hospitality); rather than reciprocating food and drink with stories and respect, he and his fellow suitors simply devour Odysseus' livestock.

He also shows no respect for the lower-classed citizenry, as is exemplified when he assaults a beggar, who is actually Odysseus in disguise, with a chair, which even the other suitors disapprove of.

Drinking in the Great Hall, he is slain by an arrow to the throat shot by Odysseus.