Telemachus in The Odyssey

Telemachus in The Odyssey

The first four books of the Odyssey are sometimes known as

'Telemachy'. It is a self-contained section that could in fact be

easily removed, allowing the story to begin with Odysseus without

damaging the plot. They deal with Telemachus' struggle and coming of

age through his travels and quest.

Telemachus is sent on his travels because although he has grown to

adulthood, when Athene first visits him in book one, he is somewhat

pathetic, lonely and very much a young boy and is not strong enough to

remove the suitors from his father's palace:

"Sitting disconsolate among the Suitors, imagining how his noble

father might come back out of the blue, drive the Suitors headlong

from the house, and so regain his royal honours, and reign over his

own once more"

Telemachus had no one strong to support him and there were 108 suitors

for his mother. Telemachus at this point would not impress the great

Odysseus (his father).

As Telemachus was only an infant when his father left for Troy, he was

desperate for some news about him. Telemachus says that he knows that

he is Odysseus' son only by what he has been told and he is also very

negative about ever finding his father, and his conviction that he is

dead is obvious:

"My father's unhappy end"

Also, his grandfather Laertes was not at the palace and so he has no

male role model to lead him on the right path to becoming a man.

His travels also give Telemachus a chance to develop his own identity

and Kleos and become a man. He develops somewhat in books one to four.

Kleos in Homeric context meant what people said of you and defined how

you'd be r...

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...s, which tie him to his childlike life with his overly emotional

mother. He needs to learn about being a hero and polite etiquette in

the company of gods or heroic men. He must prepare himself for the

imminent arrival of his father, which is delayed by Homer whilst

Telemachus becomes a son resembling his father in ways other than

physically. He gains a role model in characters such as Menelaus and a

positive attitude that comes from reassuring words from him and

confidence from Athene. Telemachus discovers the last known

whereabouts of his father, is given hope that he could still be alive

and learns that his father was indeed a hero with many important

friends. We feel sorry for Telemachus' difficult childhood, and yet

think that he needs to become a stronger, more confident character,

that his father can be proud of.