Telemachus and Pisistratus arrive at Sparta. When they arrive Menelaus is hosting a double wedding feast for his son and daughter. Then, Menelaus serves Telemachus and Pisistratus food. Telemachus is amazed by Menelaus of how he takes care of the palace. Menelaus tells him a story that he has been wandering the sea for seven years and discovered that his brother Agamemnon was murdered. He also shared Telemachus that he lost a lot of friends during the Trojan war. He was deeply sudden with all these discoveries and realizes that it is better to stay home with his family and with his people by living honorably in Sparta. That is why the city of Sparta is well take care of because of his stay and ruling. Menelaus is satisfied with his city. Then, Menelaus talked about Odysseus and how he misses him so much and Telemachus cries. The room was quiet then Helen, Menelaus’s wife walks …show more content…
Characters like Telemachus, Menelaus, and Penelope are similar to what they feeling for the people they love and care about. Telemachus situation is that he does not want to accept that his father Odysseus is death. So he goes on a voyage to find out what really happened to his father. As he arrives at Sparta Menelaus finally tells Telemachus that Odysseus is alive and is held captive by Calypso. This gives him hope that his family will finally be complete. Penelope in the other hand is devastated she has been weeping on her bed since the news broke that Odysseus is death. Also, not knowing that his son Telemachus is on a voyage and his life is in danger. Finally, Menelaus who has been wandering the sea for seven years and discovering that the death of his brother and the loss of his friend’s because of the Trojan war and the dangers of voyaging. So, he made himself a favor that is better to stay home and live honorably. The moral of the story in this section is that in the end the people you love will matter the
And how smart Odysseus was “And no one could there hope to rival Odysseus, not for sheer cunning-at every twist of strategy he excelled us all.” (p.111 134-136). After talking with old King Nestor Telemachus and Athena sailed off toward Sparta to meet with King Menelaus. They arrived during a double wedding for the king’s two children, where King Menelaus tells them his story “No man alive could rival Zeus, ...but among men, I must say, few if any could rival me in riches.” (p.127 87-90). Then he starts grieving for Odysseus “That man who makes sleep hateful, even food, as I pour over his memory. No one, no Achaean labored as hard as Odysseus…how they mourn him too, Laertes, Penelope, and Telemachus as well.” (p. 127-128 120-126) as well as Telemachus.
He also finds something he least expected: his father alive and well. Telemachus is overjoyed to see Odysseus, the man who could not be there to help him grow into a man. Even though he did not have a father, though. Telemachus has grown up in a very short amount of time due to his faith in the gods and the help of Athena. Together, Odysseus and Telemachus come up with a plan to take revenge on the suitors by killing them. One part of this plan was to make sure that the suitors did not get any weapons by closing the door to the room in Odysseus’ house where weapons were stored. Telemachus, however, accidentally leaves the door open. He shows his maturity in this situation by telling his father that he had left the door open, rather than keeping quiet about it. A real man will always confess his mistakes. Then, Odysseus set to work on taking vengeance against the suitors, and Telemachus, with his new-found courage, helped
Telemachus demonstrates his new maturity when he explains his plan if he discovers his father is dead. “I can come back to my own dear country/ and raise a mound for him, and burn his gear,/ with all the funeral honors that benefit him,/ and give my mother a husband”(2.231-234). Telemachus changes because of the responsibility that he is taking on and the mature decision that he is prepared to make. Telemachus also exemplifies this step into manhood when he acknowledges that he must find a way to overcome his obstacle of the suitors. He takes on the quest to find his father, which is important to him. If he fails to fulfill his responsibility to his mother, he has to face the consequences of losing her to one of the suitors. Telemachus maturely discusses his request of the suitors’ departure with the main suitor. “After the death of King Odysseus./All I insist on is that I rule over our house/ and rule the slaves that my father won for me”(1.447-449). Telemachus is calmly asks if he can take responsibility for the house if his father is dead. His ability to discuss his problems instead of resorting to immediate violence indicates he is changing. His readiness and persistence after he is denied is
One important characteristic that Penelope and Odysseus share is their loyalty to each other. Odysseus failed to return home seven years after the Trojan war. Because he is assumed dead, 108 wealthy noblemen and princes invade his palace and refuse to leave until Penelope has married one of them. By marrying her, the suitors hope to gain control over Odysseus’s wealth and power. However, Penelope remains faithful to Odysseus. But, as a woman, she is powerless to remove the suitors from the palace. And without a man in the household, she is subject to her father’s decisions. However, despite his wish for her to remarry, Penelope clings to the hope of Odysseus’s return and remains faithful to him. She waits and gathers information by asking strangers who arrive in Ithaca about Odysseus. She goes through the stories of their encounter point by point, and asks about every detail while tears stream down her eyes. Although the suitors promise her a secure future, Penelope continues to wait for Odysseus. Without Odysseus, she does not believe that she will ever be happy again.
Solon states in The Ages of Man a boy grows from “ A child in his infancy grows his first set of teeth and loses them within seven years” to a man at the age of approximately twenty one ”to show he is growing from youth to a man”. If one were to look at Telemachos and what stage he is in in comparison to Solon’s idea of men, it is a difficult pin to place. He was just a child ten years ago and is now growing into the “man” he is meant to become. Unfortunately he never had a father to show him the way. Telemachos, Odysseus’s son, was the “man” of the household after his father left for the Trojan War. When his father did not return to Ithaca, suitors flooded into his palace, grazing at all his food, and overstaying their welcome. Throughout The Odyssey, Telemachus matures very much so, but in the first four books, there is a definite transition from an immature scared little boy, to the man that revenges the abuse he received at the end of the story.
Thus, it is fitting that Homer depicts it as the final step of his endeavors. Certainly, Nestor was a great and wise aid to Telemachus, but his character is not exactly whom he needs imitate at this stage of his life. Rather, it is ultimately Menelaos who will be his prime examples of leadership, aided by the words of Peisistratos. Upon his arrival to Menelaos’ home, the scene is filled with the joys of marriage and wealth. Homer makes a particular effort to portray Menelaos as one Telemachus should look up too. In fact, Menelaos is so intimidating that Telemachus is too shy to speak. Peisistratos, in consequence, initiates the conversation for him, and all three men, Menelaos, Telemachus, and Peisistratos, begin to cry. For the first time, people are truly able to sympathize with Telemachus’ emotions toward his father. This is one of the unique ways Menelaos develops Telemachus’ leadership skills. The consolation from a prime father figure is key to his becoming a man. This emotional setting leads to Menelaos’ memories of Odysseus, lavishing his old friend with compliments and praise when speaking about him to Telemachus. This is something the son of Odysseus is desperate to hear. For he longs to know from a trusted figure the accomplishment and character of his father. Menelaos relays the tales of his wanderings, finally telling Telemachus about his father, who is alive but trapped on
The Odyssey’s protagonist, Odysseus, King of Ithica, husband of Penelope and father of Telemachus was reknown for his craftiness. When Helen is abducted and Menelaus calls upon his allies to honour their oaths and help him to retrieve her. Odysseus tries to avoid going to war by feigning lunacy and starts sowing his fields with salt, as an oracle had prophesied a long-delayed return home for him if he went. However, Palamedes, sent by Menelaus’s brother Agamemnon places his infant son Telemachus in front of his plow. Odysseus, rather than eviscerate his son with rudementary farm equipment, Odysseus reveals his deception and joins the Greeks in their conquest of Troy.
Throughout the Odyssey, there are many relationships that represent love between two people. These relationships show loyalty, compassion, and the wanting to be near one another. Two of these kinds of relationships are between Odysseus and Telemakhos, and Odysseus and Penelope.
Odysseus’ and Telemachus’ journeys or nostos were both very similar and different. They parallel each other in some ways but they are also completely different at other times. Telemachus starts as a younger, less mature boy, and without the presence of his father during his childhood, he becomes a timid, shy and spineless boy who is greatly pampered by his mother. He has even more to achieve, being the son of a world-famous father, and this is a very difficult reputation to live up to. His journey, and after that the killing of the suitors who took advantage of him really show how his journeys and problems throughout the book mature him from being a shy, timid boy into a mature man. Odysseus’ journey also taught him about many things which he had never really experienced before, including suffering, poverty, and other things of that nature. Telemachus and Odysseus have parallel, but different journeys, which drastically change them throughout the epic and they are influenced by many different forces, both human and supernatural. Telemachus matures into a man while Odysseus becomes more wise, and both journey through Greece in search of one another.
The reader first finds the character of Telemachus sitting among the suitors in his father’s palace. This seemingly unimportant detail yields information regarding his temperament. The suitors, whom Homer portrays as malicious usurpers, continue to take advantage of Telemachus’ hospitality. Instead of defending his home, his mother, and his belongings from these men, Telemachus numbers among them. This lack of assertiveness displays his frailty and his helplessness given the overwhelming circumstances. At this point, Athena, disguised as Odysseus’ old friend Mentes, visits Telemachus in order to “inspire his heart with courage” (I.105). The two share a meal and engage in a lengthy conversation. The goddess discusses how Telemachus should handle the troublesome suitors and suggests a journey to try to ascertain the whereabouts of Odysseus. The conversation appears to immediately galvanize the young man’s resolve. In fact, immediately after her departure, he summons the courage to confront the suitors, demanding that they are to leave his house at once. The assertiveness that Telemachus displays in this instance is a dramatic departure from ...
The relationship between Odysseus and his wife Penelope is one of loyalty, love, and faith. Both characters are driven by these characteristics. Odysseus displays his loyalty in his constant battle to get home to his wife. This love helps him persevere through the many hardships that he encounters on his journey home. Odysseus spent 20 years trying to return to his home in Ithaca after the end of the Trojan War. Along the way he manages to offend both gods and mortals, but through his intelligence, and the guidance of Athena, he manages to finally return home. There he discovers that his home has been overrun by suitors attempting to win Penelope’s hand in marriage. The suitors believed that Odysseus was dead. Odysseus and his son, Telemachus,
In the opening of Homer’s epic, The Odyssey he explains that Odysseus left Ithaca about 20 years ago to fight in the Trojan War, leaving behind a wife and a young son. After other men had returned from the war, people assumes that Odysseus did not make it home. This encouraged many suitors to come. In book II after being prompted by Athena in disguise Telemachus calls for help from the leaders of Ithaca. Although Telemachus’ use of rhetoric in his speech is strong, it is ultimately ineffective because he has too much of an emotional appeal. His overall persona is seen as weak. As well as the fact that the men of Ithaca are still unable to see where the blame should properly be placed.
Some of the major relationships in the story are the relationship between Odysseus and his men, because they view as a hero and are willing to do anything for him. Odysseus also has a very close bond with Telemachus, his son, and his loyalty to his father can be seen when he travels to Sparta to look for his father when he has been absent for so long and near the end when he helps his father defeat the suitors. An important negative relationship that Odysseus has is his relationship with the suitor Antinous. When Odysseus returns, Antinous and his men are trying to take over his house, ...
The Odyssey also illustrates other relationships where love is of great importance – one of the most emphasized is the father-son relationship between Odysseus and Telemachos. This relationship is a little awkward because they both never really got to know each other but they still care for each other's well being. When Odysseus hears of all the suitors devouring Telemachos's future fortune and mistreating him, he wants to return and revenge the misuse of his family and property. Odysseus, like any parent, also misses his only child while he is at war. Telemachos on the contrary also displays a lot of love for his father. Telemachos leaves Ithaca, nexperienced, to find any knowledge of his father in hope that he is still alive. Telemachos through out most of his life has lacked a father figure and desperately needs that special help and guidance from Odysseus as he becomes a man. Their relationship seems to show how love can give you the strength to carry on.
He remains in Ogygia for years, leaving the care of his home to his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus. Because Calypso keeps him away for years, Odysseus is presumed dead and his absence invites suitors to his home. These suitors look to win the hand of Penelope, Odysseus’ wife. This state of affairs is the overall cause of Telemachus’ departure.... ...