The Two Individuals Odysseus Spares in the Odyssey (And Why It Matters)
The bloodbath in Book 22 of the Odyssey is one of the most brutal scenes in classical literature. Odysseus, finally revealed after twenty years away from Ithaca, turns from beggar to butcher. With help from his son Telemachus, his loyal dog Argos, and a handful of faithful servants, he slaughters virtually every suitor who had been devouring his estate, harassing his wife, and trashing his home for years.
Short version: it depends. Long version — keep reading.
But here's what most people forget — he doesn't kill everyone. On the flip side, two men walk out of that hall alive. Knowing who they are and why Odysseus spared them tells you something important about Homer's understanding of mercy, loyalty, and what separates justified revenge from mindless slaughter.
Who Are the Two People Odysseus Spares?
The two individuals Odysseus spares are Phemius and Medon.
Phemius was the court poet — the bard who entertained the suitors with songs and stories while they feasted and drank at Odysseus's table. He was doing his job. He'd been summoned to perform, not given a choice in the matter, and his livelihood depended on pleasing the men who controlled the household. When Odysseus raises his bow against him, Phemius drops to his knees and begs for his life. He makes one crucial argument: he never wanted any of this. He was forced to sing for the suitors, not out of loyalty to them, but out of necessity It's one of those things that adds up..
Medon was the royal herald. He's a lesser-known figure, but his role matters. Medon had shown genuine kindness to Penelope — he'd brought her news about what the suitors were planning and generally treated her with respect even while her household was being overrun. He wasn't one of the suitors' inner circle. He was a servant who had maintained his decency in a corrupt environment Nothing fancy..
That's the short version. Two men, different positions, different reasons for survival — but both spared for essentially the same underlying principle: they hadn't chosen to be enemies Turns out it matters..
Why Does This Scene Even Happen?
Here's the context worth holding onto. Plus, odysseus doesn't just walk in and start killing people on a whim. The suitors had it coming — and then some Simple as that..
For nearly three years, a gang of wealthy nobles from Ithaca and the surrounding islands had been camping in Odysseus's palace. They wasted the family's resources, brought shame to the household, and basically ran the place as if Odysseus were already dead. They ate his food, drank his wine, harassed his servants, and pressured Penelope to remarry. Some of them had actively worked to prevent Odysseus from returning. One of them — Antinous — was the ringleader and had even tried to have Telemachus killed Most people skip this — try not to..
Not obvious, but once you see it — you'll see it everywhere Easy to understand, harder to ignore..
Odysseus doesn't act alone, either. They laugh at him. Here's the thing — they pick up weapons against him. Think about it: the goddess Athena pushes him toward this confrontation, and even then, he gives the suitors a chance to back down. He tells them to leave peacefully, to pay back what they've stolen. At that point, the massacre becomes — in the world of the Odyssey — an act of justice, not murder And that's really what it comes down to..
The official docs gloss over this. That's a mistake.
So when you ask why he spares two people, you're really asking: what separates the suitors who deserve death from the ones who don't? And the answer Homer gives is surprisingly modern.
How the Sparing Unfolds
The scene plays out with a kind of grim efficiency. Telemachus proves himself as a warrior. Odysseus and his small band of allies methodically work through the great hall. Plus, old Eurycleia, Odysseus's nurse, hands out weapons. It's brutal, fast, and decisive.
When Phemius is about to be killed, Penelope appears. Worth adding: she intervenes — and this is a moment worth sitting with. Penelope, who has resisted the suitors for years, who has endured their harassment and their threats, is the one who asks for the poet's life. Practically speaking, she makes the case that killing a singer who was only doing his job would be unjust. That's why odysseus listens to her. He puts down his sword.
Easier said than done, but still worth knowing.
Medon's survival is even more incidental. He's not a major character. But when the bloodshed is over and Odysseus is taking stock, he recognizes that Medon was one of the decent people in the household. Worth adding: medon gets to leave. He survives not because he begged or because someone intervened on his behalf, but because Odysseus could see he hadn't been part of the conspiracy against his family Worth keeping that in mind. Practical, not theoretical..
What Most People Get Wrong
A few things tend to get muddled in how this scene is remembered.
Some readers assume Odysseus spared the bard because poets were sacred in Greek culture — that there was some unwritten rule about not killing men of the Muses. Odysseus's willingness to listen matters. That said, there's probably some truth to that, but it's not the whole picture. Which means penelope's plea matters. This isn't blind cultural superstition; it's a moment of moral reasoning.
Others think Medon was a suitor himself. He was a servant — one of the palace staff who had kept his integrity. On the flip side, he wasn't. Distinguishing between the conspirators and the bystanders is exactly what Odysseus does, and it's the key to understanding why these two men live.
And some people simplify it all down to "Odysseus is merciful." That's not quite right either. He's not some gentle, forgiving figure wandering through the massacre with a soft heart. He kills plenty of people. That said, his mercy is selective and strategic — it's not a character trait so much as a principle. He kills those who chose to be his enemies. He spares those who didn't have a real choice Simple as that..
What This Tells Us About the Odyssey
Here's what I find genuinely interesting about this detail.
Homer could have made the massacre total. Day to day, he could have had Odysseus wipe the slate clean — kill every last person who had defiled his house. That would have been a cleaner, more dramatic act of vengeance. Plenty of myths end that way It's one of those things that adds up..
But Homer doesn't do that. Instead, he builds in this nuance. He gives us two survivors, and their survival says something about what Odysseus values: the ability to distinguish between people who actively chose harm and people who were caught in circumstances beyond their control.
It's one of the moments where the Odyssey feels less like a fairy tale about a heroic killer and more like a story about a real person trying to manage a terrible situation with some degree of moral clarity. Now, odysseus isn't perfect. Now, he's violent, cunning, and sometimes brutal. But he listens to his wife. Practically speaking, he recognizes loyalty when he sees it. He knows the difference between a man who performed for his enemies and a man who became one of them.
That distinction — that moral precision — is what makes the sparing of Phemius and Medon one of the most telling details in the entire poem.
FAQ
Did Odysseus spare any other characters? He also spared the twelve disloyal servant women who had aligned themselves with the suitors — but only temporarily. Later, Odysseus has them killed as part of the cleanup, which is one of the more unsettling moments in the poem. Phemius and Medon are the only two men spared from the suitor massacre itself Worth keeping that in mind..
Was Phemius really forced to entertain the suitors? Yes. As the court poet, his role was to perform whenever the household required entertainment. Refusing the suitors would have meant losing his position or worse. It's worth noting that he also didn't participate in the plot against Odysseus or Telemachus No workaround needed..
Why does Penelope intervene for the poet but not for the suitors? Penelope had been negotiating with the suitors for years and had every reason to want them gone. But Phemius was different — he was a servant, not a nobleman with designs on her or her estate. Her plea shows she can distinguish between the powerful men who wronged her and the humble workers who were just doing their jobs.
Is there a deeper meaning to sparing these two? Many scholars see it as Homer making a point about justice versus revenge. True justice involves discrimination — killing everyone indiscriminately would make Odysseus no better than the suitors themselves. By sparing those who weren't truly guilty, he maintains his moral standing.
What happens to Phemius and Medon after this? They simply return to their lives. Medon likely continues as a herald. Phemius probably goes back to performing — though you have to imagine his repertoire changes considerably after that night.
The sparing of Phemius and Medon is one of those small details that reveals a lot about how Homer thought about morality in his epic. It's easy to focus on the violence, the bow, the massacre — and all of that is there, and it's real. But so is this: in the middle of the bloodiest chapter of the Odyssey, Odysseus pauses, listens, and makes a distinction. That's the moment that sticks with you long after the fighting ends.
