Telemachus As Metaphors In The Odyssey

      During the book it seems that even a goddess, such as Athene, does not know what to do with somebody as incompetent, and inexperienced as Telemachus.  Athene toys with some ideas and then finally decides to get Telemachus to go to Sparta.  Perhaps it is this journey that finally gives Telemachus a chance to mature and see the world.  Through this journey, Telemachus' first, he sees many new sights and encounters new situations. He is humbled when he sees the palace of Menelaos and his most beautiful

He undergoes trials as a young man that help awaken who he is and has been this whole time and what he is capable of. Within the first four books alone, the reader can see who Telemachus is as a man and son of Odysseus and what little he has done to live up to his family’s name – specifically his father’s. In Book I, Athena comes to Telemachus disguised as Mentes, son of Anchíalus, to aid him in setting out on a quest to finding his very alive father, reassuring him that Odysseus is alive and may be on an island somewhere. In Mentes/Athena’s advice, she also tells Telemachus that she is a friend of his father’s and how Telemachus physically resembles his father, but does not make a move to comment on the kind of man he has become. This is the first instance, among the many in the first book, where the reader is able to see what little Telemachus has done and believes he is capable doing while living in the shadow of the father he has never

Telemachus has been without a father his whole life and when Athena sends him on this journey to find and bring him back which will change him as a person. As Nestor tells his story he recalls what happens after Aegisthus murdered Agamemnon: “In the eighth year, though, he met his doom In the person of Orestes, come back from

Leaving Telemachus to grow up without a father. In book 16 it says, “Think of a man who’s dear and only son, born to him in exile, reared with labor, has lived ten years abroad and now returns; How would that man embrace his son!” (Homer, 16, 19-22). Odysseus left Telemachus without a father for many years while he was at sea. Which would probably cause tension and doubtfulness in Telemachus when his father return. Due to the fact his has been gone for so many years. Another example of the father-son conflict is when Odysseus confronts Telemachus after Athena changes his clothes, “‘No god. Why take me for a god? No, no. I am that father whom your boyhood lacked and suffered pain for lack of. I am he.’ Held back for too long, the tears an down his cheeks as he embraced his son... ‘You cannot be my father Odysseus...’” (Homer, 16, 77-84). Because Telemachus has never really been with his father because he has been gone for so many years, it would make sense that he has doubts wether this man that just showed up is his father. Why should Telemachus beleive this man that just showed up and claimed to be his father? After all the men that have tried to be with Penelope in Odysseus’ absence he has the common sense to think that maybe someone is playing a cruel trick on him to be with Penelope.

Telemachus makes many outbursts regarding the suitors, however, the suitors note his adolescence and inexperience, paying Telemachus little mind. Telemachus’ outbursts only lead to more strife from the suitors. After consult with Athena, who has disguised herself as an old man, Mentor, Telemachus decides to heed her advice and hold council in his father’s place. This is a monumental move, for the council has not met for twenty years. He states his case to the council, and to the suitors.

Telemachus was stunned and wanted so bad to be like his father a great warrior and hero. But then only four were left amongst the suitors and each of Ulysses men killed one. Telemachus then told his father, “ When i reach my full strength, shall I be able to bend the bow?” Ulysses replied, “Yes, I promise you. I will teach you everything you have to know. I have come home.” Penelope couldn’t hold much longer and went into the kitchen where she saw Ulysses and ran towards

Still he searches out for clues and any information of the possible demise of his father. He is willing to go far and wide just for the knowledge of his father's whereabouts. He is a faithful son and aids his father in all possible ways as Odysseus returns and reclaims what is legitimately his. Telemachus is there to fight side by side with his father whom he has only loved in his heart and mind. Some would call that blind faith. Just as the God whom we serve today calls us to love and serve him without seeing him with our eyes, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20:29). Although Odysseus is Telemachus' earthly father, one can see the parallels. He is as devoted to Odysseus as Penelope is; yet he has no actual memory of his father what so ever.

“You must not cling to your boyhood any longer— / it’s time you were a man,” Athena tells Telemachus when giving him advice before he his begins his journey (1.341-342). In Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, “The Telemachia” are the first four books of the epic poem. They focus on Odysseus’ son, Telemachus, and his struggles as he goes on a quest to find any news of his missing father, Odysseus. Telemachus’ development throughout his journey in the first four books of The Odyssey help us to understand the Greek ideal of manhood.

Now we return to the re-encounter of the father and the son. They spend twenty years apart from each other undergoing trials and hardship that poise them for their final confrontation. Telemachus and Odysseus both arrive on the island of Ithaca within more or less the same time period. And they both, out of prudence and devotion, seek safety in the swineherd's security; in this they are analogous. Odysseus' restraint is shown when he abstains from revealing his identity to his son until Eumaeus has exited. Before father and son first recognize each other, and before Telemachus knows that he is talking to his father, an interesting phenomenon occurs in which both father and son demonstrate their humility and likeness to each other. The event involves Odysseus offering his seat to Telemachus and Telemachus refusing the offer. The significance of this event is that Odysseus, who is in disguise as a beggar, is a more dominant man than Telemachus and modest enough to offer his seat. Telemachus in turn knows that he is a better man than a beggar but refuses chivalrously to take the beggar's seat. The

Telemachus was the son of Odysseus, mighty king of Ithaca and hero of Athena. Telemachus was a mere infant when Odysseus set sail for Troy where he helped to conquer the Trojans and retrieve Menelaus’ wife Helen. Despite emerging victorious from the Trojan war, Odysseus hadn't succeeded in returning home to Ithaca, and so twenty-one years after his departure for Troy, his family and kingdom believed him to be dead. Telemachus had lived his entire life without his father and as the Odyssey begins, although twenty-one years of age, Telemachus seems to be a child and not a powerful young man. Telemachus was first portrayed as a somber young lad who's heart was stricken with grief for the loss of his father. He was daydreaming and keeping to himself

    Long-tried royal Odysseus is tested for devotion and trust through the absence of his loved ones. His character can be seen through the actions and voice of his very own son Telemachus. Since Telemachus and Odysseus have been away from each other

Telemachus shows signs of confidence, he is becoming more independent. Telemachus says to the suitors, “ctesippus, you can thank your lucky stars my sharp in your bowels-you father would have been busy with your funels not your wedding here!” Telemachus is standing up for Penelope, The suitors want to marry her. Telemachus threatening them says he wouldn’t mind killing them. Even though it’s a odd number of suitors and then its just Telemachus, he is manning up to the suitors and gaining more strength to fight back.

In the beginning of The Odyssey, Telemachus is not yet a man and not sure of himself yet. Embarking on a mission to find his father, he matures from a child to a strong, single-minded adult. Throughout the poem, Telemachus finds his place in the world and becomes a more well-rounded person. Although Telemachus never quite matches his father Odysseus in terms of wit, strength, agility, his resilience does develop throughout the text. In the epic, The Odyssey, by Homer, the young boy Telemachus changes from an insecure teen into a confident and poised young man as he travels the seas in search for his father, whose bravery and intelligence proves to be comparable to his own.

Telemachus’s coming of age, however, is incomplete because he lacks the most important masculine influence: a father. He is unable to fully become a man without Odysseus present; he cannot kill the suitors on his own, and feels abandoned and weak without his father. He says of Odysseus, “He’s vanished, gone, and left me pain and sorrow...All of the nobles who rule the islands...are courting my mother and ruining our house. She refuses to make a marriage she hates but can’t stop it either” (Homer 8). The reason Telemachus’s life is so out of control is because his only parental figure is his mother, Penelope. The text portrays Penelope, untempered by the presence of a husband, as the cause of disorder in the home of Odysseus; she refuses to choose a husband, but is too weak to stop the suitors’ advances. A father figure, Odysseus, is needed to create order in young Telemachus’s life, because only a man can impose such order.

Homer's Odyssey depicts the life of a middle-aged, while Tennyson's "Ulysses" describes Ulysses as an old man.  The character's role in his son's life shifts. With maturity, Telemachus does not require as much guidance from his father.  However, time does not alter the caring fellowship the man has with his crew, nor the willpower that he possesses in achieving his goals.