… is home and proposing marriage to his mother Penelope) that he wants them all out of his house. He then requested a ship and twenty men, and sailed off to the Island of Pylos. There he was immediately greeted by Nestor, in the middle of offering 81 bulls to Poseidon. Peisistratos, son of Nestor, then offered some intestines to Telemachos and Athene as far as sacrificing it in hopes of a safe journey. This was ironic since in reality, Athene was controlling his journey, and on the other hand, moments ago, Poseidon, was in fact destroying the journey of his father.
Nestor, once seeing that his guests were finished feasting, asked of their identities. Once he was recognized, Telemachos asked Nestor about his father. Nestor rambled on and said nothing of real importance to Telemachos. At this point Telemachos became pessimistic, and Athene reassured him with an analogy of Agamemnon’s short journey, and it’s consequences. Still emotionally unstable, Telemachos used this opportunity to speak of Menaleus, Agamemnon’s brother. Nestor agreed that Menaleus may be more knowledgeable that he, and kindly provided him with a chariot, so that he could travel to Sparta to speak with him, accompanied by Peisistratos.
He arrived at Sparta two days later, sleeping in the house of Dio cles the first night, and arriving by nightfall the second day. He reached the island just in the middle of a double marriage ceremony of Menaleus’s daughter and son. At this point, Homer cleverly compared Menaleus to Odysseus in the reader’s mind by suggesting the similarities between the both in background, and ‘undoubtedly’s urvival. He also used this scene to emphasize Telemachos’s emotional instability as he burst out crying at the mention of his father’s name. The night ended and Telemachos was finally noticed to be Odysseus’s son by Helen, Menaleus’s wife. Once this took place, he conclusively mentioned his purpose in visiting: To find information about his father.
Menaleus answered Telemachos by speaking of his journey from Troy, and reassuring Telemachos of his father’s wit and cleverness, and almost certain survival. After the men finished talking, Menaleus showered him with complements and gifts (one refused, one accepted), and then Telemachos left, feeling good about himself once again. After this event, the scene changes back to Ithaca where the suitors were planning their ambush on the young prince. Telemachos went back home, only to find out that his father had already arrived before him.
This sets Odysseus (disguised as a beggar) and Telemachos up for the big scene against the suitors, where father and son, side by side, rid Ithaca of its cancerous cells, and reunite the ‘royal’ family. Odysseus then appeased and sacrificed to the god Poseidon in the name of his misbehavior. As Homer makes it apparent, there are other underlying themes embedded in the story that would just confuse the reader if they were not there. An example of this is the emotional aspects of both characters.
If one does not understand this key element, their is no way that the sequence of events would cohere. ‘Why didn’t Telemachos look for his father earlier? Why did Penelope wait twenty years to consider remarrying? How did this affect Odysseus in his journey?’ . These are questions that would go unanswered unless the reader reaches within the emotions of the character. In the case of Telemachos, his emotions shaped his well being. For example, had it not been for Athene giving him confidence, by no means would he ever have thought of taking such a voyage, hence, Telemachos would have never participated in his ‘final test’ against the suitors either.
His sorrow and anger from the loss of his father and his mother constantly being attacked and proposed to by piranha-like suitors were also driving forces towards his journey. Some of these are brought out in different situations, both positive and negative, such as Menaleus’s mention of his father, which caused a sudden out-burst of tears, and the proud and accomplished feeling he received from leaving Sparta… Odysseus’s situation was only slightly different. He, like Telemachos had his worries about family-life, and his kingdom at stake, but also had concerns about his wife, possibly triggered by the mention of Agamemnon’s by Proteus, who was killed by the hands of his own wife. These factors probably had taken their toll on Odysseus. At the same time he had the wrath of Poseidon to contend with.
Another factor which could have also lead to this distress could have been his visit to the underworld, and in his entire journey, losing friends and comrades regularly. The last object of these journeys and possibly the most important to the reader, is comprehending how these travels actually led to the final test: The battle against the suitors. This is considered the poem’s mental perspective. Odysseus had many things to overcome before he would be ready to take on this responsibility. His journey prepared him for that.
For one, if he had not have perfected his tolerance abroad and finely tuned his hubris problems there would have been no possible way for him to undertake a role such as the beggar, where he must be constantly enduring both verbal and physical attacks. There is also no way that Odysseus could have sacrificed and begged forgiveness to the sea-god Poseidon if he had not learned his lesson about respect from Polyphemus and Zeus (eating Helios’s cattle). These factors play an immense role in the outcome of the poem. If it had not been for these events, the story could never have taken place. The same circumstances applied for Telemachos as well. His goal was to reach a level of adulthood and to stand by his father’s side, to mature into a man, and most importantly to gain respect, and to withhold and protect family k leos.
This happened when at first Athene inspired him to go in search of his father. At that stage he was an inactive, and boyish young prince. When the challenges rose, however (assisted by Athene), Telemachos rose to meet those challenges. His first items of business were to set the suitors straight at home. Although he was not completely effective, he surprised them a great deal with his authority, and even his own mother in later books. That proved that Telemachos was gaining a new awareness, not only about his father, but about the kingdom, his mother, and the role he needed to partake.
By the end of his long emotional journey, Telemachos realized what it took to be a man, which could not have been possible without his escapades to Pylos and Sparta. In The Odyssey, Homer created a parallel for readers, between Odysseus and Telemachos, father and son. Telemachos was supposedly learning the role of his father, the king of Ithaca, to follow in the footsteps. The two are compared in the poem from every aspect. However, in analyzing The Odyssey, one may also presume that Homer had not intended for the Telemachos to be as great a hero as his father. This may be due to the fact that, for example, he never had a Trojan War to fight, his setting is in a time of peace unlike his father’s, and more notably- although matured, Telemachus never really learned true leadership or chivalry as did his father.
Homer has presented the world with poetry so unique and classic, so outstanding and awesome, that generations to come will challenge themselves interpreting them until the end of time.