_Book I._ Homer's second great epic covers a period of forty-two days.
After the opening invocation he proceeds to relate the adventures of
Ulysses. Nearly ten years have elapsed since the taking of Troy, when
the gods looking down from Olympus behold him--sole survivor of his
troop--stranded on the Island of Calypso. After some mention of the
fate of the other Greeks, Jupiter decrees that Ulysses shall return to
Ithaca, where many suitors are besieging his wife Penelope. In
obedience with this decree, Pallas (Minerva) dons golden
sandals--which permit her to flit with equal ease over land and
sea--and visits Ithaca, where Ulysses' son, Telemachus, mournfully
views the squandering of his father's wealth. Here she is hospitably
received, and, after some conversation, urges Telemachus to visit the
courts of Nestor and Menelaus to inquire of these kings whether his
father is dead.

Telemachus has just promised to carry out this suggestion, when the
suitors' bard begins the recital of the woes which have befallen the
various Greek chiefs on their return from Troy. These sad strains
attract Penelope, who passionately beseeches the bard not to enhance
her sorrows by his songs!

Assuming a tone of authority for the first time, Telemachus bids his
mother retire and pray, then, addressing the suitors, vows that unless
they depart he will call down upon them the vengeance of the gods.
These words are resented by these men, who continue their revelry
until the night, when Telemachus retires, to dream of his projected
journey.