Relationship between Mentor and Telemachus At some point in their life, many people experience a feeling of inadequacy or uncertainty. In “The Odyssey” by Homer, one of the main characters Telemachus experiences both of these feelings. He feels that he is not good enough, especially compared to his father, Odysseus, who many people refer to as a great leader. In the beginning of “The Odyssey”, Telemachus’ home has been taken over by suitors, each with the goal of winning over his mother in hopes to marry her and become king. Telemachus is not fond of these men in his home, but does not have the confidence to get rid of them. Lastly, at this point in the story, Odysseus, Telemachus’ father, has been gone for approximately twenty years, …show more content…
(Homer Odyssey, 2. 295-299) This is a reference to earlier in the book, when Athena visits Telemachus as Mentes and tells him to go look for his father. Telemachus’ prayer is asking for assistance in how to initiate this journey. Very early in the book, Telemachus is portrayed as a helpless, immature child. He just allows the suitors to take over his father’s estate. After Athena visits him the first time, Telemachus calls an assembly and tells the suitors to leave, but the suitors do not listen. Telemachus’ confidence level seemed to increase greatly in order to complete this task, but seems defeated after, which would explain why he prayed to Pallas for help. This prayer is directly responded to by Athena, once again visiting Telemachus in disguise, but this time as Mentor. Athena reassures him, saying that he’ll “lack neither courage nor sense from this day on” (2.270). Athena also reminds him just what kind of people the suitors are, explaining, “They’re madmen. Not a shred of sense of decency in the crowd (2.314). This provides Telemachus with newly discovered sense of courage. So much, that he is able to return to his home, appear before the suitors, and speak to their leader,
At the beginning of the book Telemakhos is troubled with the suitors trying to marry his mother. He tries to keep them in line but they are rampant, especially when they're drunk. They kill Odysseus's herd for their own feedings and disrespect the house of Odysseus. So Telemakhos is obliged to search for his father because he is his last and only hope of keeping the suitors away. He is determined to search for his father and must find him at all costs. When Odysseus is stuck on the island of Kalypso, Athena had obliged him to leave the island in search of his home, Ithaka. She tells him of the memories he had there and he remembered how much he had longed for Ithaka. So he was determined to get home. Just like how Telemakhos was determined to find his father. They were destined by the gods to come together. In book 16, it talks about Telemakhos and his father talking to each other planning how they were going to take over the suitors. They talked and talked and were happy to see each other.
At Odysseus’ house Penelope and Telemachus are dealing with president suitors that wish to wed Penelope, however no matter how much Telemachus tries to get rid of them, “You should be ashamed yourselves...I beg you by Zeus, by Themis too...leave me alone to pine away in anguish.” (p.95 70-75), Telemachus is pretty desperate to get rid of the suitors because they are intruding on his house and making a mess. Penelope has become sullen since her husband has been missing for
Through Telemachus, Odyssues’ son, the reader sees Odysseus’ utter dependence upon the gods’ aid. During Telemachus’ journey, all those th...
In Odyssey, Homer creates a parallel between Odysseus and Telemachos, father and son. The two are compared in the poem from every aspect. One parallel was the quest of Telemachos, in correlation with the journey of his father. In this, Odysseus is developed from a childish, passive, and untested boy, to a young man preparing to stand by his father's side. This is directly connected to the voyage of Odysseus, in that they both lead to the same finale, and are both stepping-stones towards wisdom, manhood, and scholarship.
Telemachus’ prayer is asking for assistance in how to initiate this journey. Very early in the book, Telemachus is portrayed as a helpless, immature child. He just allows the suitors to take over his father’s estate. After Athena visits him the first time, Telemachus calls an assembly and tells the suitors to leave, but the suitors do not listen. Telemachus’ confidence level seemed to increase greatly in order to complete this task, but seems defeated after, which would explain why he prayed to Pallas for
...ks, the distaff and the loom, and keep the women working hard as well.. I hold the reins of power in this house'” (Homer 89). With a shock, his mother followed his order and this shocked some suitors as well. “Discreet Telemachus took command: ' You suitors who plague my mother, you, you insolent, overweening... You must leave my palace! But if you decide fare is better... carve away'” (Homer 89). He still hasn't quite won yet because he wasn't able to actually throw them out by himself, so the suitors still look down on him. However, a huge change was shown through Telemachus. He actually gained the courage to say something, which is a really good sign. After he said something, he finally took action to go look for his father himself. Without a doubt, Athena's visit was the element that allowed Telemachus begin doing something about his life and make some changes.
After he gets together a crew he begins to take charge, and “Telemachus shout[s] out commands to all his shipmates: ‘All lay hands to tackle!’ They [spring] to orders” (106). Telemachus at this point is beginning to find his own voice. He is driven by the desire to find Odysseus and it is bringing out an authoritative side to him which the men seem to respect. Despite some of the crew being older than him they listen and respond positively to his orders. Once they reach their first destination, Pylos, King Nestor addresses Telemachus and his crew. At the start of this interaction Telemachus is quite fearful and intimidated by the king. Thanks to Athena however, “poised Telemachus answer[es], filled with heart, the heart Athena herself inspired, to ask for the news about his father, gone so long, and make his name
The whole point of Telemachus speech is to encourage the people to help him on a voyage to find his father so that they can bring him back so that his father can protect them from the suitors
The first step in any hero’s journey is the Call to Adventure, or the seperation from the pack. For Odysseus this call happened while he was on Calypso’s Island. Up on Olympus Athena had convinced Zeus of her case and Hermes was dispatched to free Odysseus from Calypso’s grasp. Odysseus was settled here for quite some time and had no way of escape until Calypso was forced by the gods to let him go. This is where his journey begins. At first Odysseus is very skeptical of this freedom and thinks that it is a trick by Calypso, which is the denial stage that follows the call to adventure. This stage seperates Odysseus once agaian from what has become familiar to him. He is called to journey alone once again to gain what it is that he has wanted for so long. For Telemachus his call came due to the perils he was facing in his own home with suitors competing for his mother’s love. They started to eat him out of house and home and began to disrespect his mother. Before this Telemachus had stayed quiet, and had not taken action. Telemachus got summoned to branch out from his mother and his home to venture out on a journey of his own. It was now his time to become a man.
Telemachus’ and his father Odysseus’ experiences/journeys parallel each other in many different ways. One way that they are both similar is that they are both very well liked by Athena, who accompanies both on their journeys around Greece. Athena acts as guardian to both father and son. A quote which proves this is I, 85 “In the meantime I will go to Ithaca, to put heart into Odysseus' son Telemachus; I will embolden him to call the Achaeans in assembly, and speak out to the suitors of his mother Penelope, who persist in eating up any number of his sheep and oxen; I will also condu...
At the end of book four, the reader is left to feel that Telemachus is a good and, in all likelihood, a virtuous young man. Athena, it is assumed, would not have gone to the trouble to assist in his cause if this were not the case. By the time he reaches Sparta, however, he remains untested. Athena tells him where to go and with whom to meet, she teaches him what to say, and she even physically grooms him for the role. One suspects that there are likely to be trials that lie ahead for him. Athena tells Telemachus that his actions will be a combination of instinct and divine guidance. One can only hope, if the goddess is not by his side, that these instincts will see him through these upcoming struggles.
Of the many proofs of Telemachus' maturation three are sufficient to render an accurate account of what virtues he gained. The gained virtues shown are courage, wisdom, and prudence. Courage is shown when Telemachus decides to go around Nestor's house rather than passing through it, for Telemachus goes out to sea knowing that an ambush awaits him. This wisdom is manifested in his knowledge that if he stops Nestor's hospitality will delay him even more. And prudence is shown in Telemachus' ability to control his desires for comfort in Nestor's house and his decision to endure hardship at sea. Next Telemachus' confidence and hospitality are shown when he takes in Theochlamenos the seer. In the beginning of the poem Telemachus is not confident enough in his ability to provide hospitality to Athena disguised as Mentor, but now Telemachus is happy to provide the seer with refuge. Another proof of Telemachus' virtues is his confidence in ordering his mother and her maids to comply with his will; their obedience shows us that he is worthy of respect. Thus Telemachus possesses the virtues necessary to be a ruler: courage, wisdom, prudence, confidence, and hospitality.
Early on in both of their stories, Odysseus and Telemachus learn to practice strong will in initiating their own journeys. Even though Telemachus reaches the cusp of his childhood, the individuals around him plague him into believing he remains a boy. In the Odyssey, gods are considered to control vast things such as fate or choose to intrude in the lives of mortals. One of these goddesses, Athena, desires to aid both Odysseus and Telemachus in their journeys. In disguise, she gives Telemachus inspiration to initiate the steps to adulthood by saying, “you’ll never be fainthearted or a fool, /Telemachus, if you have your father’s spirit; /he finished what he cared to say,” (Homer 27). With this he commences the hardship of finding his father by immediately calling an assembly and defying the men around him who thought him incapable. Meanwhile, Odysseus has already faced trials testing his determination. He evades the many temptations of immortals su...
In the Odyssey, Telemachus, son of great hero Odysseus, who grows up in the world of greed and disrespect where the suitors take over his palace and court his mother, is one of the most significant character throughout the whole epic. His father, Odysseus, leaving the land Ithaca for 20 years, is the only warrior alive in Trojan war who hasn’t make his return home. During Telemachus’ expedition to search for the news of his father, he is under a process of maturation from the beginning in which he is mere a shadow of his father to the end in which he becomes more and more like him in terms of initiative, sensitivity and socialization.
He is released from Ogygia and permitted to return to Ithaca only by the command of Zeus, as delivered by Hermes. Telemachus, rather than being trapped physically, was detained emotionally, feeling helpless to repel the suitors wooing Penelope. Only through the motivation of the goddess Athena did Telemachus find the will and courage to embark in search of Odysseus.