In the final book of The Odyssey, the families of the suitors blame Odysseus for his handling of the men in his home, the suitors who exploited the palace's hospitality and tried to force Penelope to choose a new husband from among them. "Rumor [...] ran swiftly through the town, reporting the suitors' awful death and doom; and those who heard gathered from every side, with moans and groans, before the palace of Odysseus." ...
In the final book of The Odyssey, the families of the suitors blame Odysseus for his handling of the men in his home, the suitors who exploited the palace's hospitality and tried to force Penelope to choose a new husband from among them. "Rumor [...] ran swiftly through the town, reporting the suitors' awful death and doom; and those who heard gathered from every side, with moans and groans, before the palace of Odysseus." The family of each suitor comes to claim their loved one's body so that the dead can be properly buried according to their customs. It isn't just that they are mourning their loved ones, but they seem to feel that cutting them down in the prime of their lives -- strong, healthy young men, most of them -- was a cruel and unnecessary act on Odysseus's part. Antinous's father, Eupeithes, is especially angry and upset. He addresses all of the families, saying that Odysseus has done a "'monstrous deed'" in killing their sons and brothers. Further, another man criticizes Odysseus by saying that he committed these murders "'without consent of the immortal gods,'" implying that he has done something ungodly and, therefore, unacceptable.
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