An impossible target dressed up as a fair contest. Twelve axes set in a row down the hall, the ring-handles or sockets lined up so a true shot could pass through every one of them. It is the kind of thing a man practices for years and still misses. Penelope ties it to her hand. Whoever can string the bow and put an arrow through all twelve will take her and the kingdom. The axes are the proof inside the proof. Anyone who claimed they could shoot like Odysseus had to actually shoot like Odysseus. There was only ever one man who could.
The Twelve Axes
Twelve axe-heads stood in a line, their ring-handles aligned. The arrow has to thread all twelve. A trick shot only Odysseus could make.