Odyssey 16-20

          I've read the passage that described the meeting of Telemachus with his father. It was very emotional. Then Ulysses is turned back into an old withered man. Why keep Ulysses' identity a secret? Perhaps to spy on the suitor's behavior before he acts, to gain as much information as he can. He wants them to begone from his home of course, would the suitors leave if it was known that Ulysses has returned? I suppose the reaction when Ulysses is revealed in his home in the midst of all the suitors would be priceless for Ulysses, and the longer and more humble he is, the more surprising still the reveal would be. It takes a lot of fortitude in mind to withstand the insults to his character, and until then, and his friend Eumaeus had to endure such speech from Melanthias. Ulysses just takes the insult, knowing that soon he will have his vengeance, soon he will meet his wife, and so he tolerates the brazen Melanthias.
         The epic always writes each dinner as some sort of grand feast, it is written as if the feast is not lacking any of the vital viands a feast must have, liquor and meat. Its funny that nearly every dinner is so luxurious. The feast held at Ulysses' estate is no different. Then Irus shows up, there simply so that the reader knows that Ulysses has not changed, he is still combative and still powerful and that his disguise only affected his image, not his strength. It also shows that these suitors love sport and fighting, they are bored, after all, conflict, even conflict as petty as this one is entertainments they relish. Irus is one of those people who show up to parties uninvited and eat all the food. He sees Ulysses is his disguise and assumes he can pick on him because Ulysses can't defend himself. Irus never challenges people he thinks can put up a fight. He's a bully, and of course, the moment he realizes he could lose the fight, he becomes cowardly and tries to back out. The suitors will have none of it, they got out of their chairs and formed a ring, they went to all this trouble to see a fight, they aren't going to let this opportunity slip by. I laughed when Ulysses, in an attempt to hide his identity, hold back when he punches Irus, and even then, demolishes Irus's jaw. Its part of Ulysses's character to never back down from a challenge, this is another example of that.