Unchanged by any teller — how the centuries since have seen Philoetius.
The gallery
Slaughter of the Suitors (with Philoetius)
Ixion Painter, c. 330–310 BC
Campanian red-figure bell-krater in the Louvre (CA 7124): Odysseus and Telemachus cut down the suitors with Eumaeus and Philoetius at their side — the cowherd who locked the doors and killed Peisander. Homer's loyal stockman leaves the herds for the hall's climax.
On screen
The Odyssey
Andrei Konchalovsky
Konchalovsky's miniseries keeps the loyal cowherd among the few who stand with Odysseus — Philoetius beside Eumaeus at the return.
L'Odissea
Franco Rossi
Rossi's Odyssey stages the Ithacan servants who never betrayed the king — Philoetius as the cowherd of the slaughter.
In play
Odyssey
Homer
Books 20–22 make Philoetius Odysseus' chief cowherd — loyal through twenty years, locksmith of the hall, and killer of the suitor Peisander.
Philoetius
The Odyssey's cowherd counterpart to Eumaeus — promised freedom and power for remaining faithful when other slaves turned.