Was It Right To Kill Suitors?
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Was It Right To Kill Suitors?
I honestly never understood the anger of Odysseus when he slaughtered all the suitors who tried to take his place in his absence. Yes, the suitors were unruly, but they were only doing what was custom of the time, which was to present themselves for Penelope to choose a new husband under the real possibility that her old husband wasn't going to return. She even waited until Telemachus had a beard like Odysseus wanted. I don't really see what the suitors did to warrant the death penalty. Does anyone else feel this way or am I all alone?
AgathonZante- God Member
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Age : 39
Re: Was It Right To Kill Suitors?
AgathonZante wrote:I honestly never understood the anger of Odysseus when he slaughtered all the suitors who tried to take his place in his absence. Yes, the suitors were unruly, but they were only doing what was custom of the time, which was to present themselves for Penelope to choose a new husband under the real possibility that her old husband wasn't going to return. She even waited until Telemachus had a beard like Odysseus wanted. I don't really see what the suitors did to warrant the death penalty. Does anyone else feel this way or am I all alone?
Among classicists a common reading is that the crime of the suitors was large-scale violation of the principles of xenia, the cultural code of hospitality.
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