We first join our protagonist Odysseus as he is returning to his wife and son in his kingdom Ithaca; for he has spent the past twenty-two years making his way home from the battle of Troy. Upon his return, the goddess Athene dresses Odysseus as a beggar so that he may see how things have changed while he was gone. There he finds that not only is he thought dead, but there are one hundred suitors courting his wife. Even though Odysseus warns them that they need to change their ways, suitors treat the "beggar" (Odysseus) harshly and abuse him. Soon they will get their just desserts.
Odysseus then finds his wife Penelope, who does not act as though she recognizes him. She tells him of a dream she has in which an eagle swoops down and slaughters a flock of geese. "The beggar" then tells Penelope that he has seen Odysseus and that he is returning shortly. To thank him for bringing her the news, Penelope offers to have her servants bathe him and give him fresh clothes so that he may join her and the suitors for dinner. Fearing that he may be recognized, Odysseus declines, saying that such things as new clothes do not suit him and that the only person whom he would allow to clean him is an old virtuous woman. In response, Penelope offers to have her old servant Eurykleia bathe his feet, for she has seen as much hardships as he. Odysseus accepts her gracious offer; but as his feet are washed, Eurykleia recognizes a scar that is on "the beggar’s" muscular thigh. Ever the faithful servant, Eurykleia vows to keep Odysseus’s secret. At the same time, Athene also helps to keep the truth from Penelope by turning Penelope’s perceptions so that she could not realize his identity.
Meanwhile, the pressure for Penelope to choose a husband remains high. She has told the suitors that she cannot marry until she has finished weaving a burial shroud for Arete, her father-in-law, thus fulfilling her last obligation to Odysseus’s family. So she spends all day weaving and to remain the loyal wife, she spends all night undoing her work. Athene convinces Penelope that she must finally make a decision on which man she is to marry. She is to hold a contest where each suitor is to string Odysseus’s bow and shoot an arrow through twelve axe heads; the winner to marry Penelope. Athene knows that only Odysseus is able to string the bow and this proves to be an excellent opportunity for him to make his presence known.
The day of the great test comes and "the beggar", Odysseus, goes to each of the suitors and offers to clean their weapons. Odysseus takes the weapons and locks them in a shed. As the test began, one by one, each suitor stepped forward and took his turn with the bow; and one by one, each failed. Soon it is Telemachus’s (Odysseus’s son’s) turn, but instead he offers to let the beggar try (for he knows of his father’s presence). With one great swoop, the "beggar" strings the bow and shoots the arrow straight through the axe heads. And before the suitors realize what is taking place, Odysseus begins what will be a mass slaughter of all those who had defiled his house. In the end, all that is left is a horrible mess of blood and gore.
Odysseus now turns to Penelope to reclaim his throne as lord of the house, but Penelope still acts as though she is not sure of the "beggar’s" identity. She orders her servant to move the bed to the hall so that she has time to be sure of him. Odysseus becomes mad at this because he knows that their bed is made out of a tree that grows in the middle of the master bedroom. At this Penelope reveals that she recognizes Odysseus and they embrace and go to bed.