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A deleted paragraph from the Wikipedia article on bow shape:
"There is a section in Homer's Odyssey when the suitors attempt to string Odysseus' bow and are unable to do so, whereas Odysseus is able to string it without standing up. A reflex bow is almost impossible to string unless one knows the technique and is easiest to string from a sitting position. This passage has been suggested as evidence that reflex bows were just beginning to spread into the Aegean area at the time of writing."
I think I'd always found it odd that "wily Odysseus" was suddenly supposed to be superstrong at the end of his story. Seems more fitting if it were more a matter of his knowing the right trick.
"There is a section in Homer's Odyssey when the suitors attempt to string Odysseus' bow and are unable to do so, whereas Odysseus is able to string it without standing up. A reflex bow is almost impossible to string unless one knows the technique and is easiest to string from a sitting position. This passage has been suggested as evidence that reflex bows were just beginning to spread into the Aegean area at the time of writing."
I think I'd always found it odd that "wily Odysseus" was suddenly supposed to be superstrong at the end of his story. Seems more fitting if it were more a matter of his knowing the right trick.