1 Odysseus and Penelope

CHAPTER 1 Odysseus and Penelope Picture a man sitting on the shore of a beautiful island. The sand is white. The water and endless sky are a brilliant blue. At his side is a beautiful goddess, named Calypso. She loves him and wants him to stay with her forever on this island. Some men would be happy with this, but not this one. This man stares out onto the water. His heart is troubled, and his mind is very far away. This man is Odysseus. He is dreaming of a land very far away: Ithaca. It is his home,

where his wife, Penelope, and his son, Telemachus, still live. He needs to find his way back to that place. He would do anything to be there again.

Penelope sat on her balcony at her beautiful home back in Ithaca. She stared out into the distance. It was a dark night. A vast ocean separated her from her husband, Odysseus. He had been gone for many years, fighting in the Trojan War. Even though the war had been over for ten years already, Odysseus still had not come home. Yet Penelope had hope that he was alive. She knew her husband was a great, strong man. He would return one day. He simply had to. In the meantime, Penelope had troubles of her own. It was true—Odysseus had been gone for a very long time. Many people in Ithaca thought he might be dead and that Penelope should find a new husband. Her trouble started slowly—at first just a couple of suitors arrived. Soon, though, her husband's house was full of suitors. Each man wanted Penelope to become his wife. These suitors were the sons of Ithaca's finest

men. They were educated, athletic, and clever. Each of them hoped that Penelope would choose him as her husband. But Penelope decided she could not yet move on. She would not choose another husband. Penelope loved Odysseus too much. And anyway, she had a feeling her husband was still alive. The suitors quickly grew impatient and nasty. While Penelope stayed in her rooms upstairs, the suitors lounged around all day throughout Odysseus's enormous house. They only went home late at night and returned early every morning. The men made themselves quite at home. They relaxed on fine couches and ordered the servants to bring them food and drink. But Penelope was clever, too. She began to work on a big needlework project. She was making a great tapestry to hang on her wall,

in honor of her husband. It contained threads of fancy gold and silver, deep blue and fiery red. Penelope sent word to the suitors. She would choose one of them to marry, she told them— as soon as she had sewn her last stitch. All day she sewed. This pleased the suitors and bought her more time. But at night she would sit by candlelight and secretly undo her stitches. On this night, Penelope sat on the balcony, taking out the stitches she had made that day. The winds that came off the ocean created a sad melody. She wept for Odysseus. She let her mind imagine what kind of beautiful tapestry she could make one day, and not have to undo, to honor her husband.