Named after the celebrated princess of Greece, daughter of Icarius and Periboea. She was the wife of Odysseus {see planet  (1143)} and mother of Telemachus. During the absence of her husband, she was beset with 108 suitors whom she treated with coldness and disdain. The three most persistent were Amphinomus, Antinous {see planet  (1863)}, and Eurymachus, but she was relieved of their unwelcome attentions when Odysseus returned home after an absence of twenty years. Odysseus killed his rivals. Penelope is described as a model of feminine virtue and chastity by Homer. (Z 198) _ _.