Book 20 Summary

After talking to Penelope about how he knows that Odysseus returns, our hero Odysseus goes to bed in the palace. However, his mind is restless as he plans to kill all the suitors in the morning. If having the suitors around wasn't bad enough some serving maids are disloyal and are sleeping with the suitors. Odysseus feels betrayed and angry. He wonders if he should kill them all now, but Athena comes to comfort Odysseus in his time of stress. She tells him not to worry about not succeeding in killing the suitors because he has a goddess on his side.
Meanwhile Penelope is feels tortured by her situation, and even asks Artemis to pretty much kill her. She misses Odysseus and worries about the suitors.
Odysseus asks for a sign that it is right to kill the suitors. Apparently talking to Athena didn't convince him. Zeus sends a thunderbolt down as he asks the question, and it confirms Odysseus's resolve.
Telemachos checks up on his "guest" (Odysseus). After he has made sure that Odysseus is fine, he allows the servants prepare the feast for the suitors. In the meantime Odysseus talks to Philoitios the cow herder. He discovers that Philoitios hates the suitors and desperately wishes that Odysseus would come home. comforted by Philoitios's loyalty, the disguised Odysseus tells him that Odysseus will return. Philoitios is doubtful, but he hopes that this vagabond is right.
We then find out that the suitors are still pretty steamed and want to kill Telemachos. Amphinomos, however, interprets a sign of an eagle killing a pigeon. He says that it is a bad omen, and that they should not kill Telemachos. They decide to feast inside. Telemachos seats himself and the disguised Odysseus at the table. He asserts to the suitors that if anyone insults or hurts his guest that he won't be happy. It's apparently very assertive so all the suitors back down for a while.
That is until Athena stirs them all up. She wants a fight and she wants Odysseus to have complete determination in killing the suitors. Ktesippos taunts and throws a cow foot at Odysseus under the influence of Athena. Telemachos gets really angry, but one of the suitors, Agelaos, calms the situation, but he claims that Odysseus will never come back and that Penelope should pick one of them to marry. Telemachos replies that he doesn't want to send his mother away from her home, but the suitors all laugh at this reply.
 The suitors at this point are no doubt under Athena's influence as they continue to  laugh and laugh. The situation gets weird however because their faces become distorted and their laughter turns to lamenting wails. Theoklymenos interprets this as a sign from the gods that death and destruction is certain in the suitors' near future, but they call Theoklymenos useless and continue to laugh. Book 20 ends with another foreshadowing of the death of the suitors.