Suitors of Penelope

Prior to the Trojan War, Odysseus was King of Ithaca, a Greek island known for its isolation and rugged terrain.

[1] When he departs from Ithaca to fight for the Greeks in the war, he leaves behind a newborn child, Telemachus, and his wife, Penelope.

Under the pretense of courting Penelope, these youths, called "the suitors", take up residence in Odysseus' home and vie for her hand in marriage.

She claims she will choose a husband after she has finished weaving a funeral shroud to present to Odysseus' father, Laertes.

[2] Once Odysseus returns home (after Athena initially disguises him as a beggar so he can plot his revenge in secret), his son Telemachus tells him that there are 108 suitors: 52 from Dulichium, 24 from Same, 20 Achaeans from Zacynthus, and 12 from Ithaca.

When Odysseus finally returns home, disguised as a beggar, Antinous does not show him hospitality, throwing a stool at beggar-Odysseus.

He is noted to be the most likely to win Penelope's hand because her father and brothers support the union and because he outdoes the other suitors in gift-giving.

While most of the suitors are not dealt with individually by Homer, some are mentioned by name and play more or less significant roles in the poem.