Question

Read the following quote from The Odyssey and then answer the question below:

Do we know . . .the names of these strangers who have come to visit us? Shall I guess right or wrong? - but I cannot help saying what I think. Never yet have I seen either man or woman so like somebody else (indeed when I look at him I hardly know what to think) . . . . . . I see the likeness just as you do. His hands and feet are just like . . .; so is his hair, with the shape of his head and the expression of his eyes. - Butler, Book IV. Who are the speakers of these words, where are they, and about whom are they speaking?
A) King Nestor and his son Pisistratus are the speakers; they're in the palace and are speaking of Telemachus and Mentor.
B) Helen and her maid Phylos are the speakers; they're at the head of the stairs before they descend, and they're speaking of Mentor/Minerva.
C) Menelaus and Helen are the speakers; they're in the hall of their palace, and they're speaking of Telemachus and Mentor/Minerva.
D) Minerva and Jove her father are speaking; they're in Mount Olympus, and they're speaking of the newly arrived Mercury.

Answer 1

Menelaus and Helen are the speakers in the hall of their palace, discussing the resemblance between Telemachus and his father Odysseus, with Athena (as Mentor) being present.

Step-by-step explanation:

The speakers of the words in the quote from The Odyssey are Menelaus and Helen; they are in the hall of their palace, and they are speaking about Telemachus and Mentor/Minerva.

During this scene in Book IV of Homer's epic, Helen and Menelaus notice the striking resemblance between Telemachus and his father, Odysseus, even though they are not yet aware of Telemachus's identity.

Menelaus and Helen are marveling at how much Telemachus looks like his father, while Mentor, who is actually the goddess Athena in disguise, is accompanying Telemachus on his journey to find news of his father.