Telemachus In The Odyssey

Telemachus is not merely any character in Homer’s the Odyssey. Throughout the epic, Telemachus steadily becomes aware of his influence on others and develops for use as one of his main weapons. Following in the footsteps of his father, Telemachus is able to assist in overpowering the suitors. Lastly, Telemachus is dominant enough to gain the faith and favor of the Grey Eyed Goddess. Telemachus is surely the character that develops the most in the epic, learning and adapting to new situations like an authentic Greek hero. First of all, Telemachus demonstrates his adulthood power and dominance through his conflict against the suitors. The suitors, who chose to rampage in Odysseus’s palace for around four years, have given enough trouble to

Even as an inexperienced juvenile, Telemachus even attracts the attention of the Greek goddess of wisdom, Athena. King Nestor is shocked when he realizes this and points it out to Telemachus, saying “If you have gods as escorts when you are so young,/ I do not think you will turn out badly at all!” (3. 413-14). Greek culture believes that the Greek gods have the ability to do and predict everything, and so when Telemachus is sponsored by the daughter of the most powerful Greek god, it is clear that he is ready for great things. In addition, Athena also believes in Telemachus’ father. If Athena has great faith in both Odysseus and the amateur Telemachus, then therefore Telemachus has the possibility of being as great of a hero as his father. Another example of the investment put into Telemachus is shown in his father’s immediate trust in him. Immediately after Odysseus meets Telemachus as an adult, he gives him difficult tasks, believing that Telemachus will do the right thing. An example of this is when Odysseus accepts Telemachus’ offer, as written “Bring me what you can while I still have arrows/ Or these men might drive me away from the door” (22. 112-113). Without Telemachus’ aid, Odysseus would have lost his battle against the suitors due to a lack of weapons and armor. Odysseus trusts Telemachus with his life, surprising for one who does not trust his crew members for 3 years.

Odysseus was already a learned and experienced hero at the beginning of the epic, while Telemachus was still a novice. This can be shown through the many epithets used to describe each character. Odysseus is repeatedly called as one who is great, as well as “a master mariner” (5. 270). This epithet refers to Odysseus as someone who has taken much time to learn a skill, a skill he must have become adept at before the epic had begun. In addition, most of Odysseus’ epithets are consistent. For example, the phrase “godlike Odysseus” appears more than once every other book. On the other hand, Telemachus was described as an inferior being before being praised by epithets. Originally, Telemachus pictures himself as vastly lesser to Odysseus, as shown when he imagines that he is getting respect once his father scatters the suitors (1. 123-126). This gives the idea that Telemachus is unable to do anything or fight back against the suitors. Yet, this changes later on in the epic after Telemachus attempts to give himself a name. Telemachus is described with the epithet “cool-headed under fire” only late in the epic (22. 158). This happens after Telemachus meets Athena and travels throughout Greece, therefore representing his sudden growth in the epic. While Odysseus as a character does grow and learn, most of Telemachus’ experiences were brand new and