Olive-Tree Bed

In Book 23 Penelope tests the stranger by ordering the bed moved out of the chamber. Odysseus answers with anger and precision: he himself built the chamber around a living olive tree, shaped the trunk into a bedpost, and constructed the rest of the bed from it. The trunk is still rooted; the bed cannot be moved. Only then does Penelope accept him. The object is the physical proof of identity that only the two of them share. Butler keeps the craftsman’s detail of the construction. — Material culture — Odysseus built the bedchamber around a living olive tree; the trunk becomes one of the bedposts and remains rooted in the earth of Ithaca. The rest of the bed is worked olive wood joined to the living trunk. Thongs of ox-hide form the webbing. Gold, silver and ivory inlay are mentioned. Recognition depends on the secret that the bed cannot be moved because the trunk is still living and rooted. Books (Butler): 23 Epithet: The rooted marriage bed