It has been eighteen years since Lord Odysseus left with his men for Troy. Others have returned after a short ten, but Odysseus still does not appear. No one knows if he is dead. No one knows if he is lost. No one knows if the Gods have hindered his passage. Everyone knows Odysseus has not returned. Penelope, Odysseus's wife, waits at their home, Ithaca, for his return. Unfortunately, she is plagued by suitors who wish not for her, but the power she holds. Eighteen years have passed, yet she still remains faithful to Odysseus. Their son, Telemachus, never knew his father, and thus is not yet as great a man as he. One day, after vigorous mourning by Penelope, she heard a song that invoked tears and pain. When she went downstairs to tell the suitors to turn it off, her son rudely interrupted her and denied her that privilege. Then Penelope went upstairs to mourn some more. Telemachus stated that he was going to search for rumor of his father, in response, Penelope mourned Odysseus some more.