Aretias

Aretias is a shadowy figure in the Odyssey, known only through his descendants. He is the father of Nisus and the grandfather of Amphinomus, a suitor from the island of Dulichium who is distinguished among Penelope's wooers for his good natural disposition and more reasonable conduct. The poem never brings Aretias onto the stage; his entire existence is confined to a single genealogical reference that serves to anchor Amphinomus's social standing and character.

Genealogical Context and Narrative Function

The sole mention of Aretias occurs during the debate among the suitors after Telemachus's return from Pylos. When Antinous proposes an ambush to kill the young prince, Amphinomus rises to speak. The narrator introduces him as "the son of Nisus, who was son to king Aretias," and notes that he was "foremost among all the suitors from the wheat-growing and well-grassed island of Dulichium." This triple lineage—Aretias, Nisus, Amphinomus—is the only information the poem provides about Aretias himself. The genealogy does more than identify; it subtly prepares the reader for Amphinomus's exceptional character. The narrator immediately adds that his "conversation, moreover, was more agreeable to Penelope than that of any of the other suitors, for he was a man of good natural disposition." By tracing Amphinomus's descent from Aretias, the poem implies that his decency is an inherited trait, a quality rooted in his family line.

Significance in the Poem's Moral Framework

Aretias's grandson Amphinomus stands out among the suitors for his moderation and his reluctance to harm Telemachus. When the suitors debate killing the prince, Amphinomus counsels restraint: "I am not in favour of killing Telemachus. It is a heinous thing to kill one who is of noble blood. Let us first take counsel of the gods." This principled stance, rare among the suitors, reflects well on his lineage. Later, when Odysseus, still disguised as a beggar, warns Amphinomus to leave the house before the master's return, Amphinomus listens seriously: "he walked away serious and bowing his head, for he foreboded evil." Yet despite his better nature, he does not escape the general doom. Minerva has "doomed him to fall by the hand of Telemachus," and during the slaughter he is struck from behind by Telemachus's spear. The fate of Aretias's grandson illustrates a central theme of the Odyssey: even the virtuous can be swept away by the collective guilt of a group, and good lineage does not guarantee survival when one chooses to remain among the wicked.

Narrative Role and Evaluation

Aretias himself is a non-entity in the poem's action—a name without a face, a voice, or a deed. His sole function is to provide a genealogical foundation for Amphinomus, lending weight to the suitor's character by connecting him to a named, presumably honorable, ancestor. In a poem that repeatedly emphasizes the importance of lineage—Odysseus is "son of Laertes," Telemachus is "son of Odysseus," and the suitors are constantly identified by their fathers' names—Aretias serves as a marker of social identity. His mention reinforces the poem's world of inherited status and character, where a man's nature is often traced back to his forebears. Though Aretias never appears, his name contributes to the moral texture of the narrative, reminding the reader that even among the doomed suitors there were men of good stock who might have chosen differently.