The Journey Into Manhood Of Telemachus In Homer's Odyssey

1078 Words5 Pages
The Journey Into Manhood In The Odyssey, there are many heroes. Heroes of all ages and sizes. But in the Odyssey, there is one in particular who is a true hero, and that is Telemachus. Telemachus stands up for justice for his family, and pride in himself. A true hero in the eyes of his family and the gods. His story is remarkable and his journey is long, but in the end he achieves manhood and elite status in his hometown. Telemachus, was not born an ordinary kid, he is the son of Odysseus. Telemachus is a character that Homer develops from beginning to end. He is just an infant when Odysseus left for Troy, forcing Telemachus to be very independent at a young age. The suitors were the only problem in Telemachus’ life, a problem Telemachus…show more content…
When he arrives on shore, he directs his attention to Eumaeus. Eumaeus informs Telemachus that he has a guest waiting for his arrival. The guest happens to be Odysseus, but disguised. Odysseus becomes disguised by Athena so that he could easily confuse the suitors as to who he is. Following his disguise comes the bond between father and son. Telemachus greets the guest not knowing who he is and confusing him with a god. Odysseus says: “Believe me, I am no god. But I am your father, on whose account you have endured so much sorrow and trouble and suffered persecution at those men’s hands.” This quote ties up all of the built up sorrow and love that Odysseus feels for his son. After greeting, Odysseus tells Telemachus that he will be assisting in removing the…show more content…
The suitors begin to attempt to string the bow. However, none of them succeed in stringing the bow and stand there puzzled. Next to try and string the bow is Telemachus. He gets close to stringing it as the disguised Odysseus stops him. Odysseus takes the bow in hand easily strings it together. Finally, revenge will seek the suitors. Odysseus and Telemachus armor up and murder every one of the suitors with no remorse. Each and every corpse was mutilated, due to the pain and sorrow they caused both Penelope and Telemachus. At once, the problem of the suitors is finally laid to rest. Telemachus proves that he is a great warrior. Athena plays a huge part in the journey. Without Athena, there would have been no journey. Deep down Athena really cared for Odysseus. Odysseus was always loyal to the gods and Athena felt responsible to help both Odysseus and his family get united again. Telemachus has now reached the point where even Odysseus is impressed. Telemachus matures through his journey with courage. He achieves self-confidence and dominance over the suitors. In addition, he unites with his father and is now able to achieve peace in his home. Both Penelope and Odysseus are happily reunited again. Telemachus becomes apart of his fathers’ footsteps and battles his way through his fear to reach

More about The Journey Into Manhood Of Telemachus In Homer's Odyssey

Open Document