In 3 sentences: The Odyssey books 18-24 detail Odysseus finally revealing his identity to Penelope and killing the suitors who have been living in his house. After testing Penelope's loyalty, Odysseus strings his bow to begin fighting the suitors with his son Telemachus. They are able to kill all the suitors with the help of Athena. Odysseus then reunites with his father and they celebrate his return home to Ithaca.

1. The Odyssey Books 18-24 Summaries By Erin Salona

2. Book 18 Iros, a real beggar, orders Odysseus to leave the hall Iros challenges Odysseus to a fight Athena secretly helps Odysseus look bigger and scare Iros The suitors are impressed and offer Odysseus, the beggar, food Odysseus, the beggar, warns them Odysseus will return soon Melantho, the disloyal maid, insults Odysseus

3. Book NINETEENPenelope, the Beggar, and the Nurse Odysseus and Telemachus discuss their strategy to kill the suitors Odysseus wants to test the loyalty of Penelope and her maids The maids have not been loyal and have been helping the suitors

4. Book 19 Odysseus, the beggar, and Penelope sit and talk, and she tells him of her problems: how she misses her husband and how she doesn’t want to remarry Odysseus, the beggar, tells a story about his identity and how he met Odysseus and he praises him

5. Book NINETEENPenelope, the Beggar, and the Nurse Penelope cries upon hearing about her husband Odysseus decides that Penelope passed the loyalty test Odysseus, the beggar, tells her that Odysseus is sailing home Penelope is hopeful and asks Eurycleia to wash his feet

6. Book NINETEENPenelope, the Beggar, and the Nurse Eurycleia tells Odysseus, the beggar, that he is a lot like Odysseus Then Eurycleia sees the scar on his leg from a boar’s tusk injury on Mt. Parnassus. Eurycleia recognizes Odysseus. Odysseus swears Eurycleia to secrecy

7. Book Twenty Odysseus imagines killing the suitors as he tries to sleep The suitors are sleeping with maids in his home Athena assures Odysseus he will defeat the suitors; she will protect him

8. Book Twenty Penelope is so miserable she asks the goddess Artemis to make her die Odysseus hears Penelope crying and he prays to Zeus to give her a sign that he is home Zeus sends thunder The suitors still plot to kill Telemachus

9. Book Twenty The suitors continue to abuse Odysseus, the beggar Telemachus threatens them for bothering the beggar The suitors insist Penelope choose a suitor to marry Telemachus says he will not force his mother to marry Blood from animals they eat streams from their mouths– an omen of death

10. Book Twenty-ONEThe Test of the Great Bow Penelope tells the suitors that she will marry the one who can bend, string, and shoot Odysseus’s special hunting bow through 12 ax handles. This contest takes place on a festival day for Apollo, the god of archery

11. Book Twenty-One Nobody can work Odysseus’sbow. Odysseus asks the cowherd Philoetiusand the swineherd Eumaeus to help him Odysseus tells them that they were the only men who missed him

12. Book Twenty-ONEThe Test of the Great Bow Odysseus will give the cowherd and swineherd wives, cattle, and homes if they help him kill the suitors Odysseus shows them his scar to prove himself Odysseus tells them to lock himself and all the suitors in the room when he picks up the bow Penelope allows Odysseus, the beggar, to test the bow

13. Book Twenty-ONEThe Test of the Great Bow Telemachus has removed the suitors’ weapons from the hall Odysseus, the beggar, strings the bow and shoots it through the axe holes Telemachus straps on his armor The fighting with the suitors begins in the next book.

14. Book TWENTY-TWODeath at the Palace *This is the climax. Odysseus takes off his beggar rags. Odysseus must fight more than 100 suitors He attacks Antinous, the meanest, first, and shoots an arrow into his neck.

15. Book TWENTY-TWODeath at the Palace The suitors run around, looking for their weapons and cursing Odysseus. Odysseus accuses the suitors of such things as: “using” his maids and trying to marry his wife The suitors, of course, don’t believe he is Odysseus Eurymachus blames the suitors’ actions on Antinous’ commands

16. Book TWENTY-TWODeath at the Palace Eurymachus tells Odysseus that he and the suitors will give him gifts if he lets them go Odysseus replies, “There will be killing till the score is paid.” Telemachus, Eumaeus, and Philoetius help Odysseus kill the suitors Athena’s shield comes to life, and she, disguised as Mentor, helps kill the suitors All suitors are killed by the end of the battle.

17. Book TWENTY-TWODeath at the Palace The goatheardMelanthiuswho has insulted Odysseus, tries to bring the suitors’ weapons to the hall. Eumaeus & Philoetius string him up alive. Odysseus rounds up the disloyal maids, forces them to clean up the mess of dead bodies, and then Telemachus hangs them One suitor is even killed & fed to the dogs!

18. Book TWENTY-THREEOdysseus and Penelope Eurycleia announces Odysseus’s return to Penelope. Penelope suspects a trick from the gods and decides to test Odysseus Telemachus chides her for doubting Odysseus’s identity She tells Telemachus that she and Odysseus share secret signs Odysseus tells Telemachus & the servants to stage a fake wedding feast so that nobody suspects the massacre

19. Book TWENTY-THREEOdysseus and Penelope Odysseus is made handsome by Athena Odysseus tells Eurycleia to prepare a couch for him to sleep upon Penelope tells the nurse to carry their marriage bed out for him to sleep on—words meant to test her husband Odysseus becomes upset because the bed was built around an olive tree that serves as a bedpost– it can’t be moved unless another man had sawed the post from the trunk

20. Book TWENTY-THREEThe Marriage Bed

21. Book TWENTY-THREEOdysseus and Penelope Odysseus passes Penelope’s test and they embrace. Athena delays the sunrise so the couple can spend more time together Odysseus plans to travel to his father Laertes’ house and to seek revenge upon the suitors’ families.

22. Book TWENTY-FOUROdysseus and His Father The ghosts of the suitors drift to the Underworld with Hermes’ help. Odysseus goes to see his elderly father Laertes, but pretends to be a traveler who entertained Odysseus 5 years ago. When Laertes begins to cry, Odysseus reveals himself, knowing his father is loyal He proves his identity by showing his leg scar & discussing childhood memories.

23. Book TWENTY-FOUROdysseus and His Father Odysseus, Telemacus, Laertes, and other loyal men eat together. Athena makes Laertes look younger. A battle erupts between the suitors’ families and the Ithacans; the families are furious due to the loss of the suitors Laertes kills Antinous’ father Eupithes

24. Book Twenty-Four Athena, under Zeus’ command, makes Odysseus call off the battle, and everyone lived happily ever after.

25. The End