It is only through the intervention of Athena that Odysseus is spared and allowed to return to his home, where the invasion of the suitors is portrayed as disorderly, chaotic, and wrong. Odysseus must struggle, suffer, and be obedient to the gods, but he cannot escape his fate any more than the suitors can escape theirs. Greek epic poetry was written in dactylic hexameter. Each line had five dactylic feet and a sixth spondaic foot consisting of two strong beats. These helped the poet-composer fill out a line of verse without throwing off his meaning.
Epic similes are long comparisons used to make the poet's meaning vivid.
Odysseus returning home to rout the suitors is compared to a lion finding fawns in his den and attacking them. Some of these epic similes are set pieces that give the poet a breather. Irony heightens the drama of the story. The audience often knows Odysseus is actually present, but the characters do not. Repetition is part of oral tradition.