Facts about Penelope in Greek Mythology

1. 05

   Penelope's name has been linked by some scholars to the Greek word for 'duck,' and a myth exists in which she was thrown into the sea as a child and saved by ducks.

   Penelope in Greek MythologyJun 7sharemythologyancientgreek
2. 04

   Daughter of Icarius and a naiad, Penelope was a cousin of Helen of Troy, connecting the two women at the center of the Trojan War cycle.

   Penelope in Greek MythologyJun 7sharemythologyancientgreek
3. 03

   The suitors competing for Penelope's hand in the Odyssey are ultimately killed by Odysseus after he alone succeeds in stringing his own great bow.

   Penelope in Greek MythologyJun 7sharemythologyancientgreek
4. 02

   In Homer's Odyssey, Penelope remains in Ithaca as queen for roughly twenty years while Odysseus is away at Troy and wandering the seas.

   Penelope in Greek MythologyJun 7shareancientgreekepic
5. 01

   Faithful wife of Odysseus, Penelope famously delayed her suitors by weaving a shroud by day and secretly unraveling it each night.

   Penelope in Greek MythologyJun 7sharemythologyancientgreek