Penelope

Plaque, Period Classical Greek ca.460/450 BC., terracotta 18.7x27.8 cm

Metropolitan Museum of Art,  Inv. 30.11.9

After years of trial and adventure -recounted in Homer’s Odyssey- Odysseus returned to his native Ithaka. He found his wife, Penelope, harassed by suitors who had taken over his palace and were consuming his wealth. Odysseus made his entrance looking like a beggar. Here he is shown approaching the disconsolate Penelope, as the faithful members of his household -his father, Laertes, his son, Telemachos, and the swineherd Eumaios- look on.