They Odyssey Book XIV

Odysseus returns to Ithaca disguised as a weary old man. He is disguised because he doesn't want anybody to know his has returned. He goes to the house of Eumaeus. Eumaeus is the swine herder. Odysseus is the master of Eumaeus but Eumaeus doesn't realize that he is talking to his master. Eumaeus feeds Odysseus and tells him about his old master and how he is so sad that it is hard for him to talk about it. He tells Odysseus about the suitors and how they are so greedy and horrible to each other and people in the town. Eumaeus wonders who Odysseus is and where he came from. Odysseus goes into a false story of how he is from Crete and he fought with Odysseus in Troy. He says he made the trip from Troy home safely but he made a trip to Egypt and that was when he became a poor man. He says that when he went to Egypt he heard that Odysseus was still alive and would be returning to Ithaca quite soon. Eumaeus sees right through the lie and wonders why someone like him would tell such a lie. Eumaeus tells Odysseus that he stays at his own house unless Penelope calls and has been in such pain since his master did not come back. They ate a big meal that was prepared because of the arrival of Odysseus. Odysseus tells Eumaeus that if Odysseus does not come back soon his servants can through him out to sea. Odysseus then goes on to tell another false tale. Eumaeus sees through the lie again and tells Odysseus he will have to wear his rags again for telling the lie. At the end of the day Odysseus goes to sleep at Eunaeus's house.