Homer's Odyssey, Book 23

“Come, Eurycleia, move the sturdy bedstead out of our bridal chamber — that room the master built with his own hands. Take it out now, sturdy bed that it is, and spread it deep with fleece, blankets and lustrous throws to keep him warm.”

Art: N.C. Wyeth, Odysseus and Penelope Reunited (1929).

The suitors are dead. Now, it’s time for Odysseus to return to the arms of his wife, Penelope. But this reunion is not as simple as a kiss or embrace: it’s a test of truth and trust. Like her husband, Penelope is wise and cautious. She has lived through many years of uncertainty and endless false claims. So she submits Odysseus to the ultimate, intimate test. And he proves his identity in a way that only the true Odysseus can. Their bond of love and shared memories is the ultimate proof. And in this moment, Odysseus is restored on a deeply personal level. The scene was one of the late Bob Fagles’ favorites. Only Odysseus could know that their marriage bed couldn’t be moved. Only Odysseus could know that it was carved, right there in place, from the trunk of a massive tree. A symbol of the bedrock of their relationship upon which the future of Ithaca is solidly anchored. Their relationship, like the roots of the great tree, has withstood the passage and testing of time. A new era for Ithaca now begins. In a world rife with treachery and betrayal, husband and wife are united by a shared journey of trials, their commitment to truth, and the deeper bond that holds them together. If loyalty is forged in the fire of hardship, love endures in the deepest, most private and cherished vaults of the heart and soul. And so the final reunion plays out far from public eye, in the most private space of the home they built together.