<P> During Odysseus' long absence, unmarried men start to suspect that Odysseus died in Troy or on the journey home . Under the pretense of courting Penelope, these unmarried men, called "the suitors", take up residence in Odysseus' home and vie for her hand in marriage . Rather than simply rejecting the suitors, Penelope devises a plan to delay their courtship . She claims she will choose a husband after she has finished weaving a funeral shroud to present to Odysseus' father, Laertes . For three years, Penelope weaves the shroud during the day and unravels it at night, awaiting her husband's return . The suitors learn of Penelope's delaying tactic when one of her maidservants, Melantho, reveals it to her lover Eurymachus . Upon finding out, the suitors demand that she choose a husband from among them . </P> <P> The suitors behave badly in Odysseus' home, drinking his wine and eating his food . Odysseus' son, Telemachus, now a young man, is frustrated with the suitors . Telemachus laments to Athena (disguised as Mentes, one of Odysseus' guest - friends) about the suitors' behavior . In return, Athena urges Telemachus to stand up to the suitors and set out in search of his father . </P> <P> Once Odysseus returns home (whom Athena initially disguises as a beggar so he can plot his revenge in secret), his son Telemachus tells him that there are 108 suitors: 52 from Dulichium, 24 from Same, 20 Achaeans from Zacynthus, and 12 from Ithaca . Together, Odysseus, Telemachus, Eumaeus and Philoetius kill the suitors and the disloyal maidservants . </P> <P> Although there are many suitors, three are particularly important to the narrative of the epic . </P>

Who helps odysseus during the slaughter of the suitors in book xxii