After 20 years, her brother, Odysseus, and what she hoped was her husband, Eurylochus, had returned.

She had been staying in the palace with Penelope for most of the two decades, so she heard the screams of the suitors when Odysseus and Telemachus slaughtered them. She didn’t want to disturb Odysseus and Penelope for the first night, just in case they were going to do something.

The next morning, Odysseus was wandering around the palace, and found his little sister. He stopped dead in his tracks, not knowing how to explain what had happened to her husband. After the siblings had talked for about a minute, Ctimene spoke up and asked the dreaded question.

“Odysseus, where’s Eurylochus?”