Soon thereafter, Odysseus takes her back to his home island of Ithaca despite the expectation that he would stay in Sparta with his wife’s family. Odysseus is kinder and more sympathetic on their wedding night than Penelope expected, and she falls for him immediately. Though ill-suited to the race, Odysseus of Ithaca wins, as he colluded with Penelope’s uncle to drug the other contestants. When she comes of marriageable age, a contest is held to see who will win her hand. As a child, Penelope’s father throws her into the sea to avoid a prophecy concerning his death, but she is saved by a flock of ducks. She describes her childhood, born in Sparta to King Icarius and Periobea, a naiad, or water nymph. Previously unwilling to tell her side of things, calling tale-telling a “low art,” she now feels that enough time has passed to present her side of her relationships with Odysseus and Helen of Troy.
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