In the ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Iliad'', th ...

'', Leodes, Leiodes or Liodes (;

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

: Λειώδης means 'smooth, even') was an Ithacan diviner and a minor

suitor Courtship is the period wherein some couples get to know each other prior to a possible marriage. Courtship traditionally may begin after a betrothal and may conclude with the celebration of marriage. A courtship may be an informal and private ...

Penelope Penelope ( ; Ancient Greek: Πηνελόπεια, ''Pēnelópeia'', or el, Πηνελόπη, ''Pēnelópē'') is a character in Homer's ''Odyssey.'' She was the queen of Ithaca and was the daughter of Spartan king Icarius and naiad Periboea. Pe ...

. He had darkly predicted that Odysseus would return to avenge the suitors' abuse of

hospitality Hospitality is the relationship between a guest and a host, wherein the host receives the guest with some amount of goodwill, including the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Louis, chevalier de Jaucourt describes ...

Family

Leodes was the son of Oenops.

Mythology

As the sacrificial priest to the suitors, Liodes hated the evil deeds of the suitors and was indignant with the others. He was the first to test Odysseus' bow of which he said would break the heart and be the death of many.Homer, ''Odyssey'' 21.148–156 Leodes was the last person whom Odysseus killed in his homecoming rampage, decapitated while pleading for his life:

Leodes rushed in and caught the knees of Odysseus,
and spoke to him in winged words and supplication:
'I am at your knees, Odysseus. Respect me, have mercy;
for I claim that never in your halls did I say or do anything
wrong to any one of the women, but always was trying
to stop any one of the other suitors who acted in that way.
But they would not listen to me and keep their hands off evil.
So by their own recklessness they have found a shameful
death, but I was their diviner, and I did nothing;
but I must fall, since there is no gratitude for past favors.'

Then looking darkly at him spoke resourceful Odysseus:
'If you claim to be the diviner among these people,
many a time you must have prayed in my palace, asking
that the completion of my sweet homecoming be far off
from me, that my dear wife would go off with you, and bear you
children. So you cannot escape from sorry destruction.'

So he spoke, and in his heavy hand caught up a sword
that was lying there on the ground where Agelaos had dropped it
when he was killed. With this he cut through the neck at the middle,
and the head of Leodes dropped in the dust while he was still speaking. —(Odyssey, Lattimore translation, XXII. 310–329)

Notes

References

Apollodorus Apollodorus (Ancient Greek, Greek: Ἀπολλόδωρος ''Apollodoros'') was a popular name in ancient Greece. It is the masculine gender of a noun compounded from Apollo, the deity, and doron, "gift"; that is, "Gift of Apollo." It may refer to: ...

, ''The Library'' with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.Greek text available from the same website
*

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

, ''The Odyssey'' with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, PH.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1919.
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.Greek text available from the same website
{{Characters in the Odyssey Suitors of Penelope Characters in the Odyssey Ithacan characters in Greek mythology