The palace of Ulysses, king of Ithaca, is beleaguered by a horde of suitors wooing his wife Penelope after his failure to return from the war against the city of Troy. Penelope has promised under pressure to marry one of her many suitors, who under the leadership of Antinous squander her husband's wealth and land. She holds them off by telling them she first wants to finish her tapestry, but she unweaves it every night to stall. Telemachus, the son of Ulysses and Penelope, is sick of the suitors' behavior and decides to search for his father.