The Odyssey Chapter Summary & Analysis - Book 4 Summary

Book 4 Summary

Upon their arrival in Sparta, Menelaus and Helen welcome Telemachus and Pisistratus while they celebrate the marriages of both their son and daughter. They recognize Telemachus immediately as Odysseus's son. They fill Telemachus' head with tales of Odysseus's clever handling of many battles at Troy. Helen tells Telemachus of how Odysseus dressed as a beggar to get inside the city while Menelaus gives Odysseus the credit for the Trojan Horse that allowed the Greeks to infiltrate Troy. He then tells Telemachus of how, when stranded in Egypt, Menelaus captured the old man of the sea, Proteus. Proteus told him that Odysseus was still alive and being held by Calypso. Telemachus, encouraged by this story, returns with Pisistratus to Pylos and then sets sail for Ithaca.

While Telemachus is finding out that his father is still alive, the suitors plot to attack Telemachus upon his arrival back at the house in...
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