In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since. 'Whenever you feel like criticizing any one,' he told me, 'just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.
This is a part of his supreme ordeal. His return home is much broader and includes his supreme ordeal which is what you described in the question. He fought them because he wanted to stop them from taking his wife Penelope. This was during the competition where they had to prove themselves.
