Death in the Great Hall (book 22)

Now that it was time to fight, I shrugged off my rags, my disguise, and leapt to stand in the doorway. Many arrows lay at my feet waiting to kill the suitor of my choice. My first arrow went to Antinoos and it hit him square under the chin just as a sip of wine was falling onto his lips. He fell backward and knocked his table about, sending bread and meat onto the dusty floor. Now, all the suitors turned to me in their fury. They screamed threats in their anger, but before any of them could be carried out, I revealed myself to them and they went green with fear. Only one man had the courage to speak, Eurymakhos, and he begged for forgiveness, pleading that Antinoos was the ringleader and that none of the other men deserved to die. I heard him out, but I knew from the moment he started pleading that none would live, not even those who had no true desire to be there. When I turned him down he tried to rally his men before he lunged forward in an atempt to surprise me. Unfortunately for him, I had an arrow ready, and before he could come anywhere near me, there was an arrow through him and he lay dead on the floor. The next man to come after me was Amphinomos, though he died when Telemekus threw a spear straight through his back and he fell face first to the ground. My son then ran to retrieve a sword and a sheild for me while I held off the suitors with the arrows. As my loyal servants and I pulled on our helmets and shields, I shot the remainder of the arrows and with each shot another man went down. After a minor setback, the battle continued, though it turned ugly, as the suitors had gained armor and weapons. Even in these hard times, my men and I succeeded in holding off the others with the help of Athena who was disguised as Mentor. The only sparred were the minstrel and the herald. As soon as the suitors lay dead in the blood and dust on the floor, I sent for Eurykleia so she could get the maids together to clean the great hall.