Question

How does Odysseus test his father Laertes, now living a hard life, after the slaughter has been accomplished? What's the point of testing his father?

Answer 1

Answer:

Odysseus test Laertes by pretending to be Eperitus from Alybas who had housed Odysseus in one of his journeys.

This test was to see the true loyalty of Laertes and also to prove that he was his father and not someone else.

Explanation:

Odysseus decided to pay his father Laertes a visist after his return from his long absence. Chapter XXIV of the text "The Odyssey" by Homer shows him going to his father's house but as a different person, to try to test whether his father will remember him or not. Also, he wanted to see whether he is still loyal to his son.

Odysseus pretended to be Eperitus, the son of king Apheidas, the son of Polypemon. he had housed Odysseus when he was on his journey, staying with him in his house at Alybas. He tested his father this way to see if that will reveal anything about Laertes and his loyalty. But once he saw the grief and sorrow of his father, he revealed his true identity.  

The test of Laertes was to make sure that he was his father, and that he had still remained loyal to his son and the king of Ithaca.

Answer 2

Answer:

Odysseus tests his father to check his loyalty and to know if Laertes truly is his father and not someone else in disguise.

Explanation:

In the book 24 of "The Odyssey" Odysseus goes to Ithaca, to his father's farm. Laertes was the name of Odysseus's father. In this book, Odysseus travels back to the land to meet his father alone.

When Odysseus enters the house of Laertes, his father, he observes that his father had become aged now because of the grief for his son and wife. Laertes was no able to recognize Odysseus because of his old age.

Odysseus test the loyalty of Laertes and to test his true identity did not reveal himself immediately but when his father began crying he revealed his identity.