Eventually, the news that Troy has fallen and the Greek soldiers are headed home arrives in Ithaca. Over this time, Penelope hears updates about Odysseus through minstrel songs. He and other Greek soldiers wage a war against Troy that lasts ten years. Odysseus is forced to leave Ithaca for Troy. Odysseus swore an oath that he would help recover Helen if she was ever taken away from her husband, Melenaus. When Telemachus is one year old, Helen runs away with Paris of Troy. In time, she gives birth to a son, Telemachus. She keeps mostly to herself and spends the nights with Odysseus. Her mother-in-law, Anticleia, and Odysseus's nurse, Eurycleia, give her a hard time. Once Penelope and Odysseus arrive in Ithaca, Penelope has difficulty adjusting. Odysseus announces early in their marriage that he intends to bring her back to his own Kingdom, Ithaca, which goes against tradition. Penelope and Odysseus tell each other stories from their childhood on their first night as a married couple, and Penelope quickly grows fond of him. Her kingdom holds a competition to see who will win her hand, and Odysseus wins, even though he is not the noblest nor the richest suitor. Because Penelope is of noble birth, she is married off when she is fifteen. However, because she is half-Naiad, she is saved by a group of ducks who bring her back to shore. Neither parent is overly affectionate with Penelope in fact, King Icarius tries to have Penelope killed when she is very young by throwing her into the ocean. She begins her story with her childhood, explaining that she is the daughter of King Icarius of Sparta and a Naiad. In the Penelopiad, Penelope tells her version of events through the voice of a spirit in the Underworld.

Through that time, however, Penelope remains faithful to Odysseus and patiently waits for his return. It is many, many years before he is able to return home. However, many misadventures derail his return home, in part because the god of the ocean, Poseidon, is angry with him. In the Odyssey, Odysseus has just left the Trojan war and sets out for Ithaca, where his wife, Penelope, and son, Telemachus, are waiting for him. In the Penelopiad, Margaret Atwood retells the story of Homer's Odyssey through Penelope's point of view.

Sparknotes penelope odyssey summarry