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The people who raise a child influence that child’s values. Telemechus in “The Odyssey” is the son of Odysseus, a hero from the battle of Troy. After Telemechus was born, Odysseus left for battle leaving Telemechus, and his wife, Penelope, for a sum of twenty years. Telemechus had to learn to become a man at a very young age because he had to uphold the position of the man in the household. He developed a way of modernized thinking for this time in Greece, this includes his disbelief in the gods or their power over human beings. Telemechus also learned good judgment of character, from the people who surrounded his childhood. This epic poem portrays Odysseus as a strong hero, physically and mentally, however, Telemechus surpasses his father’s strength, mentally (physically is not mentioned in detail). Telemechus’ coming of age, although not described, made him become a stronger person than his father.
Telemechus had to assume his father’s roles in the household because of his absence. Odysseus would have the responsibility of taking care of Penelope and Laertes, his father. When Telemechus was young, he was rushed into becoming a responsible adult. Odysseus was strong leader and next in line for the throne of Ithaca. Therefore, Telemechus had to protect his family’s land and throne in Ithaca, especially when suitors appeared on the doorstep looking for Penelope’s hand in marriage. Even though he heard about how his father was a strong leader, he did not have him as a role model. He had to find his own role models, such as his grandfather, Laertes. The responsibilities placed on Telemechus when he was young made him mature faster. Since Telemechus handled these new responsibilities well, he is stronger than Odysseus. He adapted to the situation at hand immediately, unlike Odysseus who takes a longer time to adapt to problems. For instance, it took him a while to devise a plan to defeat Polyphemus at the Land of the Cyclopes, causing some of his shipmates to be Polyphemus’ dinner. The rush Telemechus had from childhood to adulthood shows that he has the strength to accept changes, and form his own ideas on the Greek values.
Telemechus is a modern thinker from the method in which he raised himself. He did not have a father to guide him through learning all of the Greek values, and he formed some of his own opinions. “Those two are great defenders, no one doubts it, but throned in the serene clouds over head, other affairs of men and gods they have com to rule over…” Telemechus doubts the power of the gods.
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.
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
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
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
If Odysseus were to come home in books 1-4 they would find Telemachos to be completely different then the type of person he would be when he actually does return home. Telemachos and Odysseus return home roughly around the same time and they both stay at the Swineheards house. This shows a likness between them. Odysseus tests his son by offering his son a seat. Telemachos declines and odysseus is impressed by the maturity that he has. Telamachos’s ability to grow and mature through this whole book on his own is really a self-achievement. And he matures even more when he fights along side his father. I think this is the final stage of him becoming a man. This is because he is no longer timid, he can be supported by himself, and he no longer is in the shadow of his mother.
Telemachus has many experiences on his journey to manhood. In Ithaca while Odysseus is gone Penelope is being plagued with suitors asking for her hand in marriage. Telemachus sees what a nuisance they are to his mother, and how much they are taking from his father’s palace. He wants to put a stop to this and comes to the conclusion that he must find his father, or at least some information
Although Telémakhos first appears "a boy, daydreaming" (I, 145)truly a far shot from what he wants to be, a warrior and hero like Odysseus, of whom he daydreamsAthena stirs him into action and thereby sparks his initiation into the world as a man. In the shape of Mentês, Athena advises Telémakhos to stop sitting around and daydreaming, and to start looking for his father, or at least news of him. With her description of Telémakhos as Odysseus' boy by his looks, Athena makes Telémakhos realize that even though he may be young yet, he is no boy: "The way your head is shaped, the fine eyesyes, / how like him! We took meals like this together / many a time." (I, 252-254) Her description of him, so close to his father's, helps Athena make Telémakhos realize that he is indeed the son of the great Odysseus, and he can easily become a man like him, which seems to be the young man's dream. Even Mentês' reminiscence of dining with Odysseus in the old days being linked to eating with Telémakhos makes this assertion of his likeness to Odysseus more real for the young man. Before Athena talks to Telémakhos, as far as anyone can tell, Telémakhos is but a boy, meaning that he has not yet traveled the seas and has yet to stand up to the grown men wronging him.
Odysseus’ son; Penelope, Odysseus’ wife; and the suitors, prominent young men of Ithaca who attempt to marry Penelope. Telemakhos is the first of these characters to be introduced. In lines 1-14 of book II he is introduced as a prominent young man as he enters the assembly “spear in hand, with two quick hounds at heel; Athena lavished on him a sunlit grace that held the eye of the multitude. Old men made way for him as he took his father’s chair.” Despite Telemakhos’ prominent figure in the opening lines of this book, it soon becomes obvious that he is not an extremely powerful figure. Telemakhos intends to expel the suitors from his home but he is not strong enough to fight them. It is important that the reader meets Telemakhos in the beginning because he is the main character in the Ithaca plot and also he must overcome obstacles at home foreshadowing the obstacles his father faces later in the epic.
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.
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...
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 ...
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.
While Odysseus and his son are united and face the world together, Ulysses sees himself and his son as two different people living separate lives. When he returns, Odysseus has a close, personal relationship with his son; he becomes Telemachus' mentor. Odysseus realizes Telemachus' resemblance to himself - both are noble men of action who value justice. Together, they devise a plan to avenge the arrogant suitors who have abused their household for the past three years. Finally, "he [Odysseus] found the whole company lying in heaps in the blood and dust..." (Homer, 22.383). Father and son are victorious together. Conversely, as Ulysses ages, he and his son are disunited. Ulysses is confident that he has trained his son to be a benevolent ruler. He praises Telemachus's patience, gentleness, and prudence - all outstanding qualities that he is lacking. Ulysses acknowledges that he and his son are opposite people. He is adventurous, while Telemachus is sedate. "He works his work, I mine" (Tennyson, Line 43) suggests acceptance of a destiny; the father and son must lead separate lives because of their differences. Despite changing roles the man plays in Telemachus' life, he successfully raises his son to become a respectable leader.