Chat:

• What do you think of the punishment of Melanthios?  What was his crime?  I don't want a description of his actions.  I want to know what crime those actions constituted.   Is it the worst crime committed in the ODY?  How is related to hospitality?  Is Melanthios comparable to Polyphemos?
• What do you think of PEN?  Her father is Ikarios.  Her grandfather Autolykos.  What does her genealogy suggest?  Could she -- or should she -- have done anything different in regard to the suitors?  When she recognizes OD as her husband, because he knows about the bed, she says (in effect) that they are two of a kind:

23.213  the gods . .. denied us
            life together in our prime
when we would have been physically matched.  What is the implication here?
• Compare OD's judgment on the diviner/prophet (man of God) & the muscian/poet.  Disregarding the tactical concern, did OD make the right decision?
• At the end of the ODY, Laertes, OD, & TEL have the chance to annihilate their enemies.  They are prevented from doing so by both Athena & Zeus.  Why do the Olympians stop this ultimate triumph?  Why is it important for OD to not annihilate his enemies?  Here is a hint.  Look ahead to Sophocles Antigone where Creon says:

"The city is the king's--that's the law!"
This makes sense.  Construe this as saying something like, "when the Supreme Court Justices render a decision, that is constitutional law.  There is no higher authority."  Nonetheless, Haemon, Creon's son tells his father:
"It's no city at all, [that is] owned by one man alone."
How does this apply to the ending of the ODY?

1. Autolykos is Antikleia's father & therefore the grandfather to OD.  His name means "lone wolf" & he is the man who named OD (trouble/odium).  Which Olympian is Autolykos dedicated to, apparently with great approval, for:

The god acted as his accomplice. (19.427)
2. In the test of the bow, one person has the power to string it:

A fourth try, & he had it all but strung--
when a stiffening in OD made him check [his effort]
Who is this?
3. Melanthios (the goat herd) defects to the "cause" or side of the suitors, supplying them arms that were hidden by TEL.  What happens to Melanthios?
4. When OD is dealing justice with his bow, 2 suppliants ask for mercy.  One is a diviner who acted as something like a chaplain to say grace & otherwise contribute at least the semblance of piety to the nightly parties conducted by the suitors.  The other is a musician who said he was forced to play for the suitors.  What happens?  Does OD execute both or spare both or what?
5. Who is "King Allwoes' only son.  My name is Quarrelman"?  Who is the speaker addressing when he makes this claim?