the bow competition. The one to finish it had to be Odysseus, winning the competition and

slaying their enemies.

Arguments suggesting Penelope's importance: 
- Odysseus explains in Book 9 that his motive for trying to return home is because nothing is sweeter than your own country and no other women has been able to move his heart. This  establishes Penelope's importance, which is confirmed by her weeping for her husband in Book 19 and 21.
- Although Odysseus remains unknown to her upon his return to the palace, she holds conversations with the beggar which reflect her wisdom and goodness. She tells him the trick to keep the Suitors at bay and offer the stranger xenia.
- Although, she is kept in the dark about the stranger, she is clever enough to suspect something is odd. She comes up with the test involving the axes; unwittingly she helps set up the Suitors for their destruction. 
- By obeying her son’s instruction to retire she acknowledges his growth to manhood as a good mother should. 
- Homer describes her in glowing terms, comparing her to Artemis and Aphrodite. 

Arguments suggesting a relative lack of importance:

- Book 9 and 10 focus on Odysseus; it is the skill of Odysseus (and his key relationship with Athena) that is important. Penelope may be the wife in waiting but in such a male-dominated society Telemachus is a more important goal for Odysseus to keep in mind
- Penelope is seen as the ‘prize’ sought by Odysseus and the Suitors.
- When Odysseus arrives in Ithaca no attempt is made by husband and son to involve her in the initial planning (or even to let her know her husband is alive); in the palace they keep her totally in the dark about the plot to kill the Suitors. When she attempts to involve herself in the contest to find her a husband she is abruptly dismissed to her room by Telemachus
- Although in a sense Penelope offers xenia to the Suitors, she is simply complying with a Greek custom. 
- the gods pay little heed to Penelope, mainly putting her to sleep to keep her away from the battle in the hall, and so she plays no part in the fight.  

2. Physical values (beauty, speed, strength 
3. Intellectual values (sharp mind, rhetorical skills, cleverness) 

4.. Wealth 

5.. Leadership 

6.. No constrictions 

7. Purpose (kleos, nostos, and immortality)

8. Invulnerability (although heroes still need weapons)

2. Honour

3. Gift

4. Kleos (glory) 

5. Friendship

2. Misjudgement 

3. Hubris (arrogance) 

4. Revenge (nemesis) 
5. Death

- Odysseus was obviously not made to feel welcome by the Laestrygonians as they attacked and killed of all Odysseus’ men except for Odysseus and the men on his ship. This brutal attack was almost immediate, and no form of xenia was shown to him and his men, thus supporting the statement that Odysseus was never made to feel welcome during his travels.
- Polyphemus did not adhere to the rule of xenia when Odysseus and his men entered his cave, but neither did Odysseus. He ate six of Odysseus’ men and was very rude to Odysseus and claimed that he was above the gods and their laws of hospitality. Polyphemus also displayed poor xenia to Odysseus when he showed that his idea of rewarding Odysseus for the gift of wine was to eat him last! Although it could be said that Odysseus deserved such treatment for eating the Cyclops’ food and eventually blinding him, Polyphemus also disregarded the laws of xenia when he threw boulders at Odysseus’ ship as it was leaving and called on Poseidon to stop him. It is nigh on impossible to argue that Polyphemus showed Odysseus any sort of proper welcome according to the laws of xenia or that he welcomed him during his visit, especially as Odysseus and his men were not staying willingly, but were trapped by the Cyclops.
- Aeolus is another individual who showed poor hospitality to Odysseus when Odysseus came to the island for the second time. Aeolus refused to help him and turned him away, saying that Odysseus must be hated by the gods. However, Aeolus did welcome Odysseus and show him good xenia during his first visit, providing for Odysseus and his crew for a month and finally providing him with the gift of a bag of winds and a westerly wind to help him get home to Ithaca. Therefore, this hospitality cannot be disregarded and so I cannot agree that Odysseus was shown poor xenia throughout his travels.
- At first, Circe showed Odysseus very poor xenia as she first attempted to turn him into a pig, and then attacked him with her wand. The only reason why she relented was because Odysseus had overpowered her using the advice and help from Hermes. However, her showing him great hospitality and care for a year, during which Odysseus and his men were content, overshadows this initial poor welcoming of Odysseus. She is also a good host when she provides Odysseus with instructions about how to get to the Underworld and seek the advice of Tiresias. Therefore, this is another occasion about which it is unfair to say that Odysseus was shown poor hospitality throughout his travels.

- In conclusion, although Odysseus is shown poor xenia by the Laestrygonians, Polyphemus and, to some extent, Aeolus and Circe, for the most part Odysseus is shown good hospitality by the Phaeacians and Aeolus for a month and Circe for a year. The bad hospitality shown to Odysseus mainly affected his crew and in time only lasted for a short time when compared to the periods of good hospitality and welcome that Odysseus actually enjoyed.

- The Suitors’ naivety is also stressed – each of them ‘imagined’, it ‘not realising that the net of fate had been thrown over them’
- By contrast, Odysseus is described as the ‘resourceful’;
the ‘glowered’ and the words ‘the net of fate’ all portend to the Suitors’ imminent deaths

- The repetition of ‘you’ is effective and adds emphasis to the long list of what the Suitors have done wrong - 'you dogs', 'you laid waste'
- The 'fear blanched their cheeks' perhaps foreshadows of their deaths

- Eumaeus and Philoetius (Book 21): provides Odysseus with essential allies for the battle with the Suitors.

Melanthius:
- dining with the Suitors;
- kicks the disguised Odysseus;
- provides the Suitors with weapons during the fight.

Melantho:
- sleeping with one of the Suitors
- betrays Penelope her mistress and the one who brought her up as her own by revealing the shroud trick
- rude to the disguised Odysseus.

However, there is plenty of evidence to counter this statement: 

Eumaeus:
- stays loyal to Odysseus over the years;
- is diligent in his care of Odysseus’ livestock
- fights alongside Odysseus
- Odysseus has high opinion of his servant and promises to reward him

Eurycleia:
- is conscientious in her care of Penelope
- keeps Odysseus’ identity a secret
- keeps the other women securely away from the final fight
- is prepared to identify the unfaithful maidservants

Philoetius: