Penelope

Lore & Background

Penelope is known for her fidelity to her husband Odysseus, despite the attention of more than a hundred suitors during his absence, alongside her great intelligence in weaving a multitude of schemes to keep her suitors at bay. In one source, Penelope's original name was Ameirake, Arnakia or Arnaia. She was considered exceptional in both beauty and wits compared to others in her day, and so virtuous it was said that she surpassed even her cousin Helen in the beauty of her virtue. Different sources describe her as the mother of figures such as Poliporthes, Arcesilaus, Italus, Mamilia, and the god Pan.

In Their Own Story

The source does not provide a detailed story for Penelope beyond her relationship with Bentley and their co-construction of a time machine. No specific moments, quotes, or turning points are recorded.

Reader's Guide

According to the source, Penelope's name is glossed by Hesychius as 'some kind of bird' (today arbitrarily identified with the Eurasian wigeon, to which Linnaeus gave the binomial Anas penelope). In folk etymology, the name is usually understood to combine the Greek word for 'weft' and 'face', considered appropriate for a cunning weaver. Robert S. P. Beekes believed the name to be Pre-Greek. Olga Levaniouk argued that the pēnelopes were not wigeons, but rather a kind of seabird not too dissimilar to the Halcyon. Two myths describe Penelope being thrown into the sea and rescued by pēnelopes birds, after which she was renamed Penelope. She married Odysseus after he won a foot-race at Lacedaemon set by her father Icarius.

Did You Know?

• Penelope's original name was Ameirake, Arnakia or Arnaia before she was renamed after the pēnelopes birds.
• Penelope was thrown into the sea twice—once as a child by her parents, and once by King Nauplius—and rescued both times by pēnelopes birds.
• Odysseus won Penelope's hand by winning a foot-race at Lacedaemon, after which he built three sanctuaries to Athena near the Aphetaid Road.