Then Minerva assumed the form and voice of Mentor, and presently made a covenant of peace between the two contending parties.
~ The Odyssey - Book XXIV (Samuel Butler Translation. p322)
The suitors are dead, and Ulysses is united with his wife; what next? The last part is to ensure that none of the suitors’ relatives take up arms against Ulysses since he needs to rule Ithaca. Towards the end of the previous book, Ulysses travels to his father’s farm. The beginning part of this book shows a scene in Hades where all the dead suitors are led in. Agamemnon is heard telling Achilles that Achilles’ funeral was grand and his fame even grew more after his death. When he sees the suitors, he asks Amphimedon, Menelaus’ son, about what happened, and he describes the events, blaming Penelope for misguiding them.
Meanwhile, Ulysses is on his father’s farm, and his father, Laertes, does not recognize him. He initially doesn’t reveal himself but later tells him the truth when he sees his father’s sadness, and Laertes hugs him. Word gets out about the suitors’ death and that Ulysses is at Laertes’ place. Suitors’ relatives gather an assembly, and people like Medon and Halitherses tell the assembly that the suitors got what they deserved. But people side with Eupeithes, Antinous’s father, who tells them they should seek revenge, and they go to Laertes’ farm with arms. In the ensuing fight, Laertes kills Eupeithes with a spear, and Athena calls for peace, and everyone agrees.