Editing Anticlea (section)

===''Odyssey''===
In Book XI of the ''[[Odyssey]]'', Odysseus makes a trip to the [[Greek underworld|underworld]] to seek the advice of the dead prophet [[Tiresias]]. In the underworld, he encounters many spirits, among them is that of his mother, Anticlea.<ref>Apollodorus, Epitome 7.17; Hyginus, ''[[Fabulae]]'' 125</ref> Initially, he rebuffs her since he is waiting for the prophet to approach.

After speaking with Tiresias, however, Odysseus allows his mother to come near and lets her speak. She asks him why he is in the underworld while alive, and he tells her about his various troubles and failed attempts to get home. Then he asks her how she died and inquires about his family at home. She tells him that she died of grief, longing for him while he was at [[Trojan War|war]]. Anticlea also says that Laërtes (Odysseus' father) "grieves continually" for Odysseus and lives in a hovel in the countryside, clad in rags and sleeping on the floor. Anticlea further describes the condition of Odysseus' wife [[Penelope]] and son [[Telemachus]].

Penelope has not yet remarried but is overwhelmed with sadness and longing for her husband while Telemachus acts as magistrate for Odysseus' properties. Odysseus attempts to embrace his mother three times but discovers that she is incorporeal, and his arms simply pass through her. She explains that this is how all ghosts are, and he expresses great sorrow.

In some accounts, Anticleia killed herself on hearing a false report about her son from [[Nauplius (mythology)|Nauplius]].<ref>Hyginus, ''[[Fabulae]]'' 243</ref>

The encounter between [[Odysseus]] and his mother in the [[underworld]] is also the concept of a work by the Northern Irish poet [[Michael Longley]], titled ''Anticleia''.