[140] εἴδατα πόλλ᾽ ἐπιθεῖσα, ‘after she had set on many dainties, giving freely of such things as she had by her.’ The housewife (“ταμίη” (“τέμ-νω”) who gives the portion of meat to the household) does the best she can for the unexpected guest; the “εἴδατα” are probably the leavings from a former meal. Cp. “κρειῶν πίνακας παρέθηκε συβώτης”
“ὀπταλέων, ἅ ῥα τῇ προτέρῃ ὑπέλειπον ἔδοντες” Od.16. 49.παρεόντων is equivalent to the “ἔνδον ἐόντων” of Od.7. 166; 15. 77, 94; 21. 178. The objection to this line, in the present passage, is that it is found elsewhere in the Odyssey to describe such hasty preparations as can be made for an unexpected guest. Buthere, as the following lines show, the full preparation for a banquet is now just ready. To this it may be answered, that this separate provision, which Telemachus had to make for his guest, serves to point the unfriendly relations between the young prince and the suitors.
