Nisus

Nisus, son of Aretias, is a Dulichian chieftain whose son Amphinomus is the most decent of Penelope's suitors. The poem identifies Nisus as a man both brave and wealthy, and Amphinomus is said to be foremost among all the suitors from the wheat-growing and well-grassed island of Dulichium. His conversation is more agreeable to Penelope than that of any other suitor, for he is a man of good natural disposition. This favorable characterization makes his fate all the more pointed: though he alone among the suitors tries to restrain the others from murdering Telemachus, he is nevertheless doomed by Athena to fall by Telemachus's own hand.

Role in the Suitors' Council

When the suitors debate whether to ambush and kill Telemachus, Amphinomus speaks plainly and honestly against the plan. He declares it a heinous thing to kill one of noble blood and urges them first to take counsel of the gods, saying that if the oracles of Zeus advise it he will help, but if they dissuade him he will hold his hand. His words please the others, and they rise and go to the house of Odysseus. This moment establishes Amphinomus as the sole voice of conscience among the suitors, a man who respects divine law even when surrounded by lawlessness.

The Gift of the Golden Goblet

After Odysseus, disguised as a beggar, defeats Irus in the fight, Amphinomus is the only suitor who treats him with genuine kindness. He takes two loaves from the bread-basket and brings them to Odysseus, pledging him as he does so in a golden goblet of wine. "Good luck to you, father stranger," he says, "you are very badly off at present, but I hope you will have better times by and by." Odysseus accepts the cup, makes a drink-offering, and then delivers a solemn warning: he tells Amphinomus that Odysseus is certain to return soon and that the suitors and he will not part bloodlessly. He urges Amphinomus to go home quietly first, so that he may not meet Odysseus in the day of his coming. Amphinomus walks away serious and bowing his head, for he forebodes evil, but even so he does not escape destruction, for Athena has doomed him to fall by the hand of Telemachus.

Death in the Slaughter

During the slaughter of the suitors, Amphinomus draws his sword and makes straight at Odysseus, trying to get him away from the door. But Telemachus is too quick for him and strikes him from behind; the spear catches him between the shoulders and goes right through his chest, so that he falls heavily to the ground and strikes the earth with his forehead. Telemachus then springs away from him, leaving his spear still in the body, for he fears that if he stays to draw it out, some other suitor may come up and hack at him. Amphinomus thus dies as he lived—bravely but on the wrong side, a good man caught in a bad cause, his death a necessary part of the justice that Odysseus exacts.

Thematic Significance

Nisus's son Amphinomus embodies the tragedy of the suitors' collective guilt. He is the one suitor who might have been spared, who shows xenia to the disguised Odysseus, who tries to prevent murder, and who listens to prophecy with foreboding. Yet he is not saved, because he remains among the suitors and participates in their waste of Odysseus's estate. His death, at the hands of Telemachus rather than Odysseus, completes the young prince's coming of age as a killer of men. The figure of Nisus himself, mentioned only as Amphinomus's father, serves to anchor the son in a specific lineage and to emphasize that even a good and wealthy house can produce a son who, despite his virtues, is swept away by the ruinous choices of his peers.