The next morning, Telemachus rose early and headed off into town. Before he left, he said to the swineherd to take the beggar into town so that he could beg for his dinner. Odysseus agreed to this proposition and asked the swineherd to take him into town when the sun had risen a bit more as well as the temperature.
Telemachus set off for the town thinking of the fight that would happen that night. When he finally reached the palace, he greeted his mother, she asked what news he had heard of Odysseus's return. Telemachus didn't want to talk about it then, and suggested to his mother that she should take a bath and then pray to Zeus while he retrieved the beggar he had brought home from Pylos. Telemachus went out into the town. The suitors saw him and crowded around him, welcoming him home, but Telemachus could see their hatred for him. Telemachus moved on and met the sailor with whom he had entrusted his treasures from King Menelaus and the beggar. Telemachus asked the sailor to keep the treasures for a little while longer, but he took the beggar back to the palace.
When Telemachus returned again, Penelope said ratted Telemachus out for not telling her the news he had learned about his father. Telemachus told her everything that Menelaus had said. WHen Telemachus had finished relaying this information, the beggar, who was the prophet Theoclymenos, declared that at that very moment Odysseus was in Ithaca somewhere, planning his revenge on the suitors. During this, the suitors were entertaining themselves in the courtyard as usual, when one of the servants called to dinner with Penelope, Telemachus, and the prophet.
At the same time, Odysseus and the swineherd set out for the town. Not far from the city, they met the goatherd (Melanthios), who was one of the suitors. As he passed, Melanthios made fun of the two, calling the man who he did not know was Odysseus a dirty-pig, and berating him for not being able to do anything but live off of the sympathy of others. As he said this, Melanthios tried to kick
Odysseus in the hip, but the blow did not move him at all. The swineherd prayed to Zeus and the nymphs that Melanthios would be punished for what he had said. To this, Melanthios threatened to kidnap the swineherd one day and sell him as a slave, and added that he wished Telemachus was dead. With that, Melanthios left, heading for dinner at Odysseus's house.
Soon, Odysseus and the swineherd had reached the palace. The beggar said that surely this must be the house of Odysseus. Eumaios answered that it was indeed the house of Odysseus, and then turned to the plan of entering the building. As they approached the house, a hound that was sitting in front of the house saw them and lifted its head. This hound was Argos, who Odysseus had trained before he went to war. Now, he was lying in front of the hose, abandoned. Odysseus asked the swineherd about the dog, to which Eumaios replied that he was a very fast dog, and a good tracker too, but now he was just waiting for his master to return home. The two walked on towards the house, but Argos died of happiness at seeing his master one last time.
The swineherd entered the palace and Telemachus let him sit at one of the tables and eat bread and meat. Quickly behind him, Odysseus entered his home once again and sat down at the doorway. Telemachus saw him and gave Eumaios a piece of bread to give to Odysseus. Odysseus thanked Telemachus for the bread, and then asked all of the suitors for something to eat. They felt sorry for him, and gave him food, but also wondered who he was and whee he had come from. The goatherd said that he had seen Eumaios bringing the beggar into town. When Antioos heard this, he was mad at the swineherd for bringing another beggar into the city. Eumaios said that he didn't care what Antinoos said, as long as his masters were alive. Telemachus quieted him, and then praised Antinoos on being a father-like figure for him, and at the same time suggested that he liked to eat more than he did to share.
When Odysseus had made his way around the table to Antinoos, he said that Anitnoos did not seem like a common man, but one descended from royalty. Odysseus began telling his fabricated story again, but this time to the suitors, not just Eumaios. When Odysseus had finished, Antinoos yelled at him to go away and stop living off of everyone else. Odysseus said that his heart was not like his looks, and that he wouldn't even give to his own servants. Antinoos was offended by this comment, and threw his footstool at Odysseus as he walked away. The impact did not move Odysseus, but he simply remained quiet, planning his revenge. Odysseus announced to the rest of the suitors that if there was a god of beggars, Antinoos will be dead before he can marry. Antinoos ordered Odysseus to quietly eat, or to go somewhere else.
When Penelope heard what the commotion that was going on in the hall, she cursed Antinoos's black heart for being so mean to a defensless beggar. She sent one of her maids to bring Eumaios to her. When he had come, Penelope asked him to bring the beggar to her so she could ask him if he had heard any word of Odysseus. Eumaios went to Odysseus and asked him to come see Penelope, but he replied, saying that he was afraid of the suitors, and said that it would be best if Penelope waited until sunset to hear what he had to say.
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