The Odyssey · Book 23

The Secret of the Olive Bed

Penelope tests the stranger with a secret known only to her husband: their bed is built around a living olive tree. Odysseus’s answer proves his identity, and the couple reunite after twenty years.

A glimpse of the Learner’s Edition

Eurycleia hurried upstairs and woke her mistress, who was still asleep.

Homer, Odyssey, Book 23, lines 1-9 (scene reference)

The nurse said the ragged stranger was really Odysseus, now home at last.

Homer, Odyssey, Book 23, lines 5-9 (scene reference)

At first Penelope did not believe what the old nurse told her.

Homer, Odyssey, Book 23, lines 10-24 (scene reference)

This Book belongs to the complete edition, which is not available to purchase in English yet.