Uncle Tyndareous is Penelope’s uncle, Helen’s father, and King Icarius’s brother. He and Icarius share the throne of Sparta. Tyndareous is characterized as mean, selfish, and conniving. Penelope believes that Tyndareous helped Odysseus cheat in the running competition for her hand in marriage so that Odysseus would take Penelope away to Ithaca and Tyndareous’s children could inherit the Spartan throne.
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Uncle Tyndareous Character Timeline in The Penelopiad
The timeline below shows where the character Uncle Tyndareous appears in The Penelopiad. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 6: My Marriage
...in bed, Penelope did not watch the race itself, which Odysseus won through cheating. Uncle Tyndareous helped Odysseus win by drugging the other contestants’ wine and giving Odysseus a performance-enhancing drug....
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...a rumor she heard that she “was the payment” for something Odysseus had done for Tyndareous during the competition for Helen’s marriage. Odysseus made the contestants swear to defend whichever man...
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Penelope, though, has a different idea of what happened. She thinks that Tyndareous, who had to share the throne of Sparta with Icarius, wanted the throne for himself....
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Chapter 7: The Scar
...he would be taking Penelope and her treasures back to Ithaca. This annoyed Icarius, but Tyndareous supported the move. Penelope states that the reader has probably heard that Icarius ran after...
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