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In Homer's classic Greek epic, The Odyssey, its main character Odysseus, a Greek hero, struggles to overcome difficulties he faces while he is stranded away at sea. Odysseus has been lost at sea for ten years since the fall of Troy, and as a result, his wife and son in Ithaca are lost and having doubts regarding both their beliefs about whether or not their beloved husband and father is alive, as well as whether or not they will be able to rid the rowdy suitors who have laid waste to his palace. As Odysseus struggles to maintain his sanity and return to his family in one piece, his son Telemachus must prove himself at home with his mother Penelope, by saving the integrity of their family's reputation, as well as his mother's faithfulness from
The Odyssey is about perilous quests, wars, and a man who just wants to come home. The Telemachia is important because it establishes the problem at Odysseus’ home, reveals facts about Odysseus, and shows that the gods favor Odysseus and Telemachus.
Phil Collins, a songwriter and artist, sang the songs that were used in Disney’s animated movie Tarzan. One of those songs is called “Son of Man”, and it described Tarzan’s journey of growing from a boy into a man. One part of the song goes like this; “Though there’s no one there to guide you, no one to take your hand, but with faith and understanding, you will journey from boy to man”. I think that this could also be used as an accurate representation of Telemachus from Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey. In the poem, Telemachus, the son of Odysseus and his wife Penelope, had grown up without his father. Before Athena, goddess of wisdom, came to visit him, he struggled emotionally and acted more like a boy than a man. Soon, though, through
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.
At some point in their life, many people experience feelings 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, most of Telemachus’ life. Telemachus has been
The great epic, Homer's Odyssey, is a tale of an adventure; a journey through the mind body and soul. Odysseus was strong throughout his voyage and was able to conquer his obstacles thanks to the help from the Goddess Athena. Athena provided physical and emotional support for this man, to get him on his way home to Ithaka. She also provided this same support for Odysseus' son, Telemakhos. Without her involvement, "The Odyssey" would not have turned out the way it did; because she plays such a crucial role in the story. It is understood that Odysseus is the primary character in this epic; concerning his fears and eventually returning to his home, Ithaka. The only reason this was possible is because he had the help of the clever and intelligent Goddess, Athena.
Homer (fl. 850 B.C.). The Odyssey. The Harvard Classics. 1909-14). "In disguise as an old friend of Odysseus', Athena travels to his manor in Ithaka, now overrun with noisy, lustful suitor's intent on marrying Odysseus' wife, Penelope. Odysseus' son, Telemakhos, unhappy among the suitors, greets Athena warmly as a stranger and invites her to their feast. As the suitors devour Odysseus' oxen, Telemakhos says he believes his father - whom he does not know at all - is dead."(gradesaver.com/ClassicNotes/Titles/odyssey/summ1.html). "He is so unsure of his own identity that he refuses to affirm without qualification his relationship to Odysseus. Athena introduces herself as Odysseus' old friend Mentes and predicts that he will be home soon. Telemakhos matures from a callow, helpless youth into a stronger, more confident man" (Approaches to Teaching Homer's Iliad and Odyssey ). "Just as Odysseus' story is about returning home to his old identity, Telemakhos' is about forging a new one; as Athena tells him, "You are a child no longer"."(gradesaver.com/ClassicNotes/Titles/odyssey/summ1.html). As Telemakhos' develops from youth to man inspired by Athena, especially her favorable comparisons between him and his father; he stands up against the suitors in his assembly. "Failing in an attempt to get the Ithacans to help him to assert his rights, Telemakhos sets out for Pylus under the guidance of the goddess Athena, who is disguised as Mentes, a friendly chief.
In the epic The Odyssey by Homer, the protagonist Odysseus is traveling home from the war in Troy. Odysseus has been traveling home for twenty years and throughout his journey longs for his son Telemachos and his wife Penelope as well as his estate in Ithaca. Odysseus is a man with a penetrating mind as well as outstanding valor; however, a weakness of Odysseus is his sensualness. Odysseus always encounters women throughout his journey home. These women adore Odysseus because of his attractive looks and brave spirit and wish for Odysseus to remain with them. Although Odysseus is vulnerable to the rich and beautiful women he encounters, he rejects their kind offerings with the determination to be reunited with his wife Penelope.
The Hero’s Journey is never an easy one. This particular journey, as detailed in Homer’s The Odyssey, is one of struggle, loss, heartache, pain, growth and triumph. It is comprised of many steps that Odysseus has to overcome and battle through in order to achieve his final goal of reaching his home and his loved ones. From the Call to Adventure to the Freedom or Gift of living, Odysseus conquered them all. The story begins in the middle of the story, as many of the oral Greek traditions did, with the Journey of Telemachus to find his father. Although Telemachus has not yet met his father, it is almost as if they are journeying together, where the end of both of their journeys results in being reunited. Telemachus journeys from being a boy to becoming a man, while out in the sea Odysseus is battling Poseidon to return to the home that wife that he loves and the home he has left behind.
In Homer's epic poem, the Odyssey, the main theme is the reunification of the family, as Odysseus struggles to return home and rejoin his wife and son. Throughout the Odyssey, we are shown examples of families: good ones that prosper and bad ones that do not. As Telemakhos struggles to become a man and Odysseus struggles homeward, the concept of healthy family life is stressed. At the end, when all conflicts are resolved and Odysseus is reunited with wife and son, the lesson that a united family can overcome any obstacles is shown and is one that today's families should heed.
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.
Throughout the last books of The Odyssey Homer tells us how Odysseus restores his relationships with his friends and relatives at Ithaca. Perhaps one of the most revealing of these restoration episodes is Odysseus' re-encounter with his son, Telemachus. This re-encounter serves three main purposes. First, it serves to portray Telemachus' likeness to his father in the virtues of prudence, humility, patience, and planning. Secondly, it is Odysseus' chance to teach his son to be as great a ruler as Odysseus himself is. Lastly, Homer uses this re-encounter to emphasize the importance of a family structure to a society. To be able to understand the impact that this meeting had on Odysseus it is necessary to see that Telemachus has grown since his first appearances in the poem and obviously since his last contact with his father; Odysseus left Telemachus as an infant now their relationship is a man to man relationship rather than a man to child relationship.
The epic poem The Odyssey, written by Homer, centers around the main protagonist Odysseus and his long journey back home. Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, returns home after defeating the Trojans in a ten year war. On his way back, he angers Poseidon, god of the sea, by blinding his son, Polyphemus the Cyclops. Due to Odysseus’ actions, Poseidon refuses to let Odysseus reach home, and Odysseus and his crew are forced to go through a series of obstacles throughout the epic. Through this adversity, Odysseus must show his heroic attributions in order to survive. Homer portrays Odysseus as a hero by giving him characteristics such as: craftiness, loyalty, and bravery.
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.
middle of paper ... ... In Homer’s Odyssey, both Odysseus and his son Telemachus embark on long, difficult journeys; Odysseus trying to return from Troy to his home in Ithaca, escaping Calypso and the island of Ogygia, and Telemachus from Ithaca to Pylos and Sparta in search of his lost father. While The Odyssey tells of the courage both men demonstrate during their respective travels, their quests are the results of the intentions and desires of gods. Odysseus is trapped in exile on Ogygia by the will of Poseidon, whose anger Odysseus attracts when he blinds the Cyclops Polyphemus, son of Poseidon, and by the love of Calypso, who wishes to make Odysseus her husband.
Homer’s The Odyssey is a Greek story that follows the journey of its primary character, Odysseus, back to his home in Ithaca after the Trojan War. Odysseus encounters many challenges in his journey home, from encounters with Polyphemus the Cyclops, the witch Circe and even the ghosts of dead Greeks. Meanwhile, his household in Ithaca is being threatened by suitors of his wife, Penelope, all wanting to inherit Odysseus’ possessions in the belief that he was already dead. Like many epic heroes, Odysseus possesses many admirable qualities. Three good characteristics of Odysseus are—cleverness, bravery and strength—here are some supporting instances from the epic that demonstrates Odysseus possession of such characteristics.