The Odyssey Eurymachus Quotes

"Stop, old man!"
Eurymachus, Polybus’ son, rose up to take him on.
"Go home and babble your omens to your children –
save them from some catastrophe coming soon.
I’m a better hand than you at reading portents.
Flocks of birds go fluttering under the sun’s rays,
not all are fraught with meaning."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 2, lines 198-204. The suitor Eurymachus rubbishes Halitherses’ prophecies and his ability to interpret omens and read bird signs. Eurymachus is disrespectful to the elderly prophet.

"Here’s my prophecy, bound to come to pass.
If you, you old codger, wise as the ages,
talk him round, incite the boy to riot,
he’ll be the first to suffer, let me tell you."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 2, lines 210-213. Suitor Eurymachus warns Halitherses not to incite Telemachus, after the prophet predicts the return of a vengeful Odysseus. Eurymachus comes up with a prophecy of his own, that the young prince will be the first to be hurt. Using a simile, he mockingly refers to the old prophet as being as "wise as the ages."

"Who’s there to fear? I ask you.
Surely not Telemachus, with all his tiresome threats.
Nor do we balk, old man, at the prophecies you mouth –
they’ll come to grief, they’ll make us hate you more.
The prince’s wealth will be devoured as always,
mercilessly – no reparations, ever…not
while the queen drags out our hopes to wed her."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 2, lines 221-227. Eurymachus makes clear that the suitors have no fear of Telemachus and his threats. Nor are they concerned about Halitherses’ prophecies. They will carry on consuming Telemachus’ wealth until his mother agrees to marry one of them, he vows. This demonstrates the reckless and shameless greed of the suitors. Greed is a theme that is apparent throughout the epic poem.

"Friends, what a fine piece of work he’s carried off!
Telemachus – what insolence – and we thought his little jaunt
would come to grief! Up now, launch a black ship,
the best we can find – muster a crew of oarsmen,
row the news to our friends in ambush, fast,
bring them back at once."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 16, lines 382-387. Eurymachus makes this speech on learning that Telemachus has twarted the murderous suitors and made it safely home to Ithaca. Telemachus has succeeded in avoiding the ambush set up by the suitors and this has surprised and shaken them. Eurymachus issues a call to bring back the plotters who are waiting to ambush Telemachus. This is an example of situational irony, because what happens is the opposite of what people expected.

"Wise Penelope, daughter of Icarius, courage!
Disabuse yourself of all these worries now.
That man is not alive –
he never will be, he never can be born –
who’ll lift a hand against Telemachus, your son,
not while I walk the land and I can see the light."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 16, lines 482-487. When Penelope hears of the suitors’ plan to kill Telemachus and confronts them, Eurymachus lies to her in a bid to calm her. His assurances that Telemachus’ life is not in any danger are false. Only moments before Eurymachus and the other suitors were discussing the murder of Telemachus.

"Stranger, how would you like to work for me
if I took you on – I’d give you decent wages –
picking the stones to lay a tight dry wall
or planting tall trees on the edge of my estate?
I’d give you rations to last you year-round,
clothes for your body, sandals for your feet.
Oh no! You’ve learned your lazy ways too well,
you’ve got no itch to stick to good hard work,
you’d rather go scrounging round the countryside,
begging for crusts to stuff your greedy gut!"

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 18, lines 404-413. The suitor Eurymachus asks Odysseus to become a laborer on his farm, and to add insult to injury, accuses him of being lazy and afraid of hard work. He takes Odysseus to task for scrounging off people to fill his greedy stomach. The irony is that it is Eurymachus and his fellow suitors who are the greedy ones scrounging off Odysseus’ estate. Eurymachus’ insults are inspired by goddess Athena, who wants to make Odysseus even more angry at the suitors.

"You’re sick with pride, you brutal fool.
No doubt you count yourself a great, powerful man
because you sport with a puny crowd, ill-bred to boot.
If only Odysseus came back home and stood right here,
in a flash you’d find those doors – broad as they are –
too cramped for your race to safety through the porch!"

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 18, lines 431-436. When Eurymachus makes fun of and insults Odysseus, asking if he wants to work for him, the disguised king accuses Eurymachus of being sick with pride. Odysseus-the-beggar sounds an ominous warning that there will be no safe escape for the suitors when Odysseus returns. Foreshadowed here is Odysseus’ deadly and final battle with the suitors.

That made Eurymachus’ fury seethe and burst –
he gave the beggar a dark look and let fly, "You,
you odious – I’ll make you pay for your ugly rant!
Bold as brass in the face of all these lords?
No fear in your heart? Wine’s got to your wits? –
or do you always play the fool and babble nonsense?
Lost your head, have you, because you drubbed that hobo Irus?"
As he shouted out he seized a stool, but Odysseus,
fearing the blow, crouched at Amphinomus’ knees
as Eurymachus hurled and hit the wine-steward.

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 18, lines 437-446. Eurymachus’ pride is hurt when Odysseus stands up to his insults and calls him ill-bred and part of a "puny crowd." He erupts with fury and hurls a stool at Odysseus, but misses and it hits a servant instead. The arrogant Eurymachus is later cut down by a arrow from Odysseus’ bow.

"Wise Penelope, daughter of Icarius, do we really
expect the man to wed you? Unthinkable, I know.
But we do recoil at the talk of men and women.
One of the island’s meaner sort will mutter,
‘Look at the riffraff courting a king’s wife.
Weaklings, look, they can’t even string his bow.
But along came this beggar, drifting out of the blue
strung his bow with ease and shot through all the axes!’
Gossip will fly. We’ll hang our heads in shame."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 21, lines 360-368. Eurymachus protests at Penelope’s call to allow Odysseus-the-beggar use Odysseus’ bow in the suitors’ contest to win Penelope’s hand. There is unintended irony here when Eurymachus says that if the beggar succeeds when they cannot even string the bow it will provoke gossip and bring shame to the suitors. For they are already the object of gossip and shame by invading Odysseus’ house and devouring his food and wine.

"If you,
you’re truly Odysseus of Ithaca, home at last,
you’re right to accuse these men of what they’ve done –
so much reckless outrage here in your palace,
so much on your lands. But here he lies,
quite dead, and he incited it all – Antinous –
look, the man who drove us all to crime!
Not that he needed marriage, craved it so;
he’d bigger game in mind – though Zeus barred his way –
he’d lord it over Ithaca’s handsome country, king himself,
once he’d lain in wait for your son and cut him down!
But now he’s received the death that he deserved.
So spare your own people! Later we’ll recoup
your costs with a tax laid down upon the land,
covering all we ate and drank inside your halls,
and each of us here will pay full measure too –
twenty oxen in value, bronze and gold we’ll give
until we melt your heart. Before we’ve settled,
who on earth could blame you for your rage?"

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 22, lines 45-63. Eurymachus pleads with Odysseus to end the revenge killings of the suitors, since ringleader Antinous has been killed. Passing the buck, he places the entire responsibilty for the suitors’ outrages on Antinous. He reveals that Antinous had ambitions to be king after he ambushed and killed Telemachus, but he was stopped by Zeus. An offer of compensation from the suitors to Odysseus is made by Eurymachus, who cynically adds that extra taxes will be levied on the people to pay for this.

"No, Eurymachus! Not if you paid me all your father’s wealth –
all you possess now, and all that could pour in from the world’s end –
no, not even then would I stay my hands from slaughter
till all you suitors had paid for all your crimes!
Now life or death – your choice – fight me or flee
if you hope to escape your sudden bloody doom!
I doubt one man in the lot will save his skin!"

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 22, lines 65-71. Odysseus flatly refuses Eurymachus’ offer of compensation in exchange for the lives of the suitors. He vows that every last one of them will pay with their lives for their crimes.

"Friends!
This man will never restrain his hands, invincible hands –
now that he’s seized that polished bow and quiver, look,
he’ll shoot from the sill until he’s killed us all!
So fight – call up the joy of battle! Swords out!
Tables lifted – block his arrows winging death!
Charge him, charge in a pack –
try to rout the man from the sill, the doors,
race through town and sound an alarm at once –
our friend would soon see he’s shot his bolt!"

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 22, lines 73-82. With Odysseus making clear that peace is not an option, Eurymachus summons his fellow suitors to arms. He knows that they must fight or die now that Odysseus has taken up his fabled bow. So he calls on the suitors to charge Odysseus.

Brave talk –
he drew his two-edged sword, bronze, honed for the kill
and hurled himself at the king with a raw savage cry
in the same breath that Odysseus loosed an arrow
ripping his breast beside the nipple so hard
it lodged in the man’s liver.

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 22, lines 82-87. The manipulative and two-faced Eurymachus, one of the two leading suitors along with Antinous, proves no match for Odysseus. When he attacks Odysseus with his sword, Odysseus strikes him in the liver with an arrow from his bow.

out of his grasp the sword dropped to the ground –
over his table, head over heels he tumbled, doubled up,
flinging his food and his two-handled cup across the floor –
he smashed the ground with his forehead, writhing in pain,
both feet flailing out, and his high seat tottered –
the mist of death came swirling down his eyes.

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 22, lines 88-93. Eurymachus falls down dying and Odysseus’ revenge on another of the leading suitors is complete. Homer uses a metaphor to compare Eurymachus’ death to a swirling mist coming down over his eyes.
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