How many suitors does Odysseus kill?
Answer
108
How many suitors does Odysseus kill? 108. In Homer's Odyssey, Telemachus reports that 108 suitors have taken over Odysseus's household while competing for Penelope's hand.
The group is counted geographically: 52 come from Dulichium, 24 from Same, 20 from Zacynthus, and 12 from Ithaca. Their numbers matter because they are not merely romantic rivals; they are a large, organized presence consuming the king's food and wealth and plotting against Telemachus.
After Odysseus returns disguised as a beggar, Penelope announces the bow contest. When the disguised king easily strings his own bow, he turns it against the suitors, beginning with Antinous. Telemachus and the loyal servants Eumaeus and Philoetius help him complete the slaughter. Thus 108 is the number of suitors killed in the palace reckoning, though the final battle is a collective action rather than Odysseus acting entirely alone.
The suitors should not be confused with the disloyal female servants, whom Telemachus later orders hanged. Their deaths are a separate part of the household's punishment.