Antinous in The Odyssey was one of Penelope’s suitors and the very first of whom to be slain in the hands of Odysseus. In the Homeric classic, the young suitor pursued Penelope with gusto, leading the army of suitors in their schemes for the Ithacan throne.
Antinous is the leading suitor of Penelope, who wants to marry her for mainly political reasons. In Book 2 he says that Penelope has misguided the suitors for nearly four years now, leading on each man with hints and promises but choosing no one. Antinous demands that Telemachus must send his mother back to her father's home so that the old man might choose a husband for her. Despite the insults, Telemachus remains calm and counters the leading suitor with logic. He argues that Penelope's father and the public at large would condemn him if he kicked his own mother out of her home. The gods would never tolerate such behavior.