Euryclea brought the cauldron and poured cold water in, then hot. Odysseus sat by the fire and turned toward the dark, for he suddenly feared she might know the scar and all be discovered. She took his leg in her hands — and knew it at once.
When Odysseus went to Parnassus to claim gifts from Autolycus, his mother's father — who surpassed all men in thievery and oaths, for Hermes himself had given him that craft — they hunted on the mountain with the sons of Autolycus. A great boar charged from its lair in a thicket; Odysseus struck first with his spear, but the white tusk tore his flesh above the knee. The sons of Autolycus bound the wound and sang the blood away with a charm, and he came home to Ithaca with rich gifts — and that scar, which forever after marked him. Autolycus and his sons rejoiced when they saw the boy return alive; they healed him and sent him home with glory, and Euryclea herself had tended that wound when he was young.
As soon as Euryclea had the scarred limb well in her hands she recognized it, dropped his foot into the basin so the bronze rang and tipped, and spilled the water over the floor. Joy and pain took her at once; her eyes filled; her voice stuck in her throat. She touched his chin and whispered: You are Odysseus, dear child — and I did not know you until I had handled my master's self.
She looked toward Penelope, meaning to tell her that her husband was in the house. But Athena turned Penelope's mind aside so she neither saw nor heeded. Odysseus's right hand closed on the nurse's throat; with the left he drew her close. Nurse, he said, would you destroy me? I am home after twenty years, by a god's will. Be silent, or I swear, if a god lets me master these suitors, I will not spare you though you nursed me — not even you. The nurse nodded, trembling, and he released her.
My child, Euryclea answered, you know nothing can bend or break me. I will be as firm as stone or iron. And I will tell you which of the women in the house have been disloyal, and which are true. Odysseus said he would form his own opinion about the women; only hold your peace and leave the matter to the gods. She went for fresh water, washed him, and rubbed him with oil. Odysseus drew his seat closer to the fire to warm himself and hid the scar under his rags.
Penelope had turned away to the fire and did not see what had passed between the nurse and the stranger. Odysseus watched her in silence, still wearing the beggar's look, while the plan for the next day's work hardened in his mind. The night wore on; the braziers glowed; and still she sat, unwilling to leave him without one more word.