Antioch on the journey to Jerusalem is where the tale of Melisso and Giosefo brings Solomon’s puzzling counsel into the household. After the two men seek advice in Jerusalem and travel homeward together, Giosefo hosts Melisso in Antioch; a dispute over supper then gives Giosefo occasion to act on what he has taken from their journey.

Setting and Route

Melisso and Giosefo meet while traveling to Jerusalem to seek counsel from Solomon. Melisso, a young and wealthy man who entertains his fellow townsmen yet cannot win their affection, receives the answer Love. Giosefo, troubled by a wife he considers impossible to correct, is told to go to Goosebridge. The king offers neither man an explanation.

On their return, a muleteer’s struggle to force a balking mule across a bridge gives Giosefo a way to interpret Solomon’s words. Melisso and Giosefo watch the mule resist moderate handling and then pass after the muleteer beats it severely. When they learn that the bridge is called Goosebridge, Giosefo connects the scene with the counsel he received. The travelers continue, and after several days reach Antioch, where Giosefo invites Melisso to stay for a day or two.

The Supper at Giosefo’s House

In Antioch, Giosefo asks his wife to prepare supper according to Melisso’s instructions, which Melisso gives briefly at his friend’s request. The wife does almost the opposite, as she has done before. When Giosefo challenges her, she answers haughtily that she chose to do it her own way and that he may either accept it or leave it.

Giosefo tells her that she remains as she has always been and says he will make her change. He asks Melisso to remain and watch, recalling the muleteer’s reply when the travelers had criticized his treatment of the animal. Then Giosefo takes a stout stick of young oak, follows his wife into the chamber to which she has withdrawn, and beats her. She first cries out and threatens him, then, bruised, begs him to spare her life and promises not to oppose his wishes again. The account records the beating and her promise as the immediate outcome of the encounter.

Narrative Significance

Antioch is more than a point on the travelers’ route: it is the place where a riddle becomes an action. The journey’s sequence links Solomon’s terse instruction, the muleteer’s conduct at Goosebridge, and Giosefo’s treatment of his wife. The city’s household scene supplies the tale’s concrete answer to the counsel, while exposing its severe and troubling logic: Giosefo applies an animal-handling lesson to marital authority, and the wife’s submission follows physical punishment.

The contrast between the two travelers’ purposes also shapes the episode. Melisso seeks to be loved despite his generosity; Giosefo seeks to correct a wife he regards as disobedient. Their shared journey brings both before Solomon, but Antioch gives only Giosefo’s problem a narrated resolution. The location thus anchors the tale’s turn from public wisdom and travel to private power within the household.