The Odyssey Hospitality Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Book.Line)

Quote #10

(Penelope:) 'But come, handmaidens, give him a wash and spread a couch for him here, with bedding and coverlets and with shining blankets, so that he can keep warm as he waits for dawn of the golden throne, and early tomorrow you shall give him a bath, anoint him, so that he can sit in the hall beside Telemachos and expect to dine there; and it will be the worse for any of those men who inflicts heart-wasting annoyance on him; he will accomplish nothing here for all his terrible spite […].' (19.317-325)

Penelope is a gracious hostess—but we're so sure her maids like having to give baths to all the beggars who show up with stories about Odysseus.