Odyssey Essay, Research Paper

The Journey of Odysseus and Telemachos In The Odyssey written by Homer and translated by Richard Lattimore, several subjects are made apparent, conceived by thenature of the clip period, and imposts of the Grecian people. These molded and shaped the existent flow of events and outcomesof the verse form. Beliefs of this characteristic were represented by the sheer fear towards the Gods and the humanistic disciplines theGreek society exhibited, and are both profoundly rooted within the narrative. In the intricate and well-developed secret plan of The Odyssey, Homer harmonized several topics. One of these, was the quest ofTelemachos, ( titled & # 8220 ; Telemachy & # 8221 ; ) in correlativity with the journey of his male parent. In this, he is developed from a infantile, inactive, and unseasoned male child, to a immature adult male fixing to stand by his male parents side. This is straight connected to the ocean trip of Odysseus, in that they both lead to the same coda, and are both stepping rocks towards wisdom, manhood, and scholarship. Throughthese ocean trips certain analogues are drawn refering Odysseus and Telemachos: the physical journeys, the mental preparationsthey have produced, and what their emotional position has resulted in. These all partake a huge function in the manner the narrative is setup, stemming from the intent of each character & # 8217 ; s journey, their personal challenges, and the troubles that surround them. The narrative commences when Odysseus, a valorous hero of the Trojan war, journeys back place. Together with his courageouscomrades, and a several vass, he set canvas for his fatherland Ithaca. Fated to roll for a full 10 old ages, Odysseus & # 8217 ; s shipswere instantly blown to Thrace by a powerful storm. The expedition had begun. Upon this bad luck, he and his work forces started a foray on the land of the Cicones. However, this merely provided them withtemporary success. The Cicones had struck back and defeated a huge bulk of Odysseus & # 8217 ; s crew. This was their first of manydisastrous experiences to come. Storms so blew his ships to Libya and the land of the Lotus-eaters, where the crew was given Lotus fruit from which mostlost their full memories from place. Odysseus, and the others who had non tasted it, recovered the crewmans by force, and setsail once more, westward, this clip to the island of the Cyclops, a wild race of one-eyed giants. Leaving most of his work forces in asheltered cove, Odysseus so entered the island with one crew merely. They wandered about, meeting, and foolishlyentering an immense cave, expecting the proprietor. Moments subsequently, a Cyclops named Polyphemos, boy of Poseidon, entered andpushed a immense bolder covering the entryway to the cave. Upon this, he instantly ate two crewmans, and promised to eat theothers in due clip. The forenoon came, and Polyphemos had quickly eaten two more mariners, against the will of Zeus.Odysseus, shortly realized that killing him asleep would make no good since the oral cavity of the cave was still ineluctable. The captainhad so devised a new program. When Polyphemos returned that eventide, Odysseus showered the monster with vino until he hadfallen under a drunken enchantment. Then, with the aid of his comrades took a crisp pole and rammed it into his big oculus, blindinghim outright. As the crew sailed off into the huge dimensions of the sea, Odysseus had foolishly revealed his name intaunting the hapless animal, touting his inordinate pride. Polyphemos so made a supplication to his male parent, inquiring to penalize the manwho had caused him this injury. Several yearss subsequently Odysseus and his work forces arrived at the island of Aeolus, keeper of the air currents. There, they stayed for about onemonth, and departed, in sight of the long-awaited Ithaca. However, before they left, Odysseus was presented with a containerof winds, transporting each but the needful West air current. As Ithaca approached, the crew non cognizing the contents of the & # 8220 ; skin & # 8221 ; , opened it up and released all of the air currents, lodging the ships back at the island of Aeolus, who refused to assist them anyfurther. Puting canvas one time once more, the group headed back west, where they had come across the Island of the Laesrtygonians, a savagerace of man-eaters. Everyone, but Odysseus, lined their ships at the seaport, covered with stones. The full party was attackedand eaten by the Laestrygonians, who had bombarded them with elephantine bowlders. Having but one vas left, Odysseus sailed hisship to the Island of Dawn, inhabited by the sorceress Circe. A group of work forces were sent to research the island, who were so lured, feasted, and the turned to swine by Circe. Knowing thisOdysseus went after her, and on his manner encountered Hermes who gave him a potion to defy the enchantment. Circe tried, andthen she failed. Odysseus had so requested for his crew to be turned back to normal. She complied, and finally housedOdysseus and his shipmates long plenty for him to beget three kids. Homesick and distraught, Odysseus was so advisedby Circe to seek the underworld for Teiresias, to state him his luck, and how to pacify Poseidon. Odysseus agreed and made a trip to the underworld, where he discovered many of his dead comrades from Troy, and mostimportantly, Teiresias. With his new cognition, he returned to Circe, which had provided him with merely the information heneeded to go through the Sirens. They so departed from the island and continued on there journey, ears filled with wax. What Odysseus was about to meet following would be a really hard undertaking. He needed to direct his ship through a consecutive, between two drops, on one side the vortex Charybdis, on the other, a monster Scylla. Trying difficult to avoid CharybdisOdysseus came excessively close to Scylla, and six members of his ship suffered the effects. As the journey continued theIsland of Helios stood in way. Helios was the sun-god, and nurturer of the cowss of the Gods. Knowing this, but at the sametime inordinately hungry, Odysseus waited for his sea-mates to fall asleep and slaughtered several of the cowss. This wasmuch considered a deficiency of regard non merely to Helios, but to the remainder of the Gods every bit good. Zeus, angered by his gesture, struck his ship with boom, destructing the full thing and killing the remainder of the crew except forOdysseus, which floated off to the Island of Ogygia, where he would at that place pass the following seven old ages, made a lover, by thesea nymph Calypso. Upon Poseidon & # 8217 ; s going to Ethiopia, Zeus had so ordered that Calypso release Odysseus, who gavehim an ax. With this, he constructed a float, and continued his expedition. Back from his trip, Poseidon, saw Odysseus floatingin the ocean and felt compelled to submerge him, which he about did, if it was non for the goddess Ino, who had spared him amagic head covering. He tied this to his waist, and swam to a beach where he instantly fell asleep. The following forenoon he was awoken by maidens playing ball after making the wash. There he saw Nausikaa, girl of kingAlkinoos. Odysseus gently supplicated to the princess. She foremost took him to the dwellers of the island, the Phaiakians, andthen Alkinoos, the male monarch. There he listened to Odysseus & # 8217 ; s narratives, and presented him with munificent gifts and a equipped ship backto Ithaca. Resenting this fact, Poseidon turned the new crew into rock for their generousness. This is the clip, about twenty old ages after his male parents going, Athene sagely advises the disquieted, and still immature

Telemachos to travel in hunt of his male parent. Telemachos agrees with her order

s, and before his departure he makes it clear to thesuitors (robbing his 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, inthe middle of offering 81 bulls to Poseidon. Peisistratos, son of Nestor, then offered some intestines to Telemachos and Atheneas far as sacrificing it in hopes of a safe journey. This was ironic since in reality, Athene was controlling his journey, and on theother hand, moments ago, Poseidon, was in fact destroying the journey of his father. Nestor, once seeing that his guests werefinished feasting, asked of their identities. Once he was recognized, Telemachos asked Nestor about his father. Nestor rambledon and said nothing of real importance to Telemachos. At this point Telemachos became pessimistic, and Athene reassured himwith an analogy of Agamemnon’s short journey, and it’s consequences. Still emotionally unstable, Telemachos used thisopportunity 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 couldtravel to Sparta to speak with him, accompanied by Peisistratos. He arrived at Sparta two days later, sleeping in the house ofDiocles the first night, and arriving by nightfall the second day. He reached the island just in the middle of a double marriageceremony 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 theboth in background, and “undoubtedly” survival. He also used this scene to emphasize Telemachos’s emotional instability as heburst out crying at the mention of his father’s name. The night ended and Telemachos was finally noticed to be Odysseus’s sonby Helen, Menaleus’s wife. Once this took place, he conclusively mentioned his purpose in visiting: To find information abouthis father. Menaleus answered Telemachos by speaking of his journey from Troy, and reassuring Telemachos of his father’s witand cleverness, and almost certain survival. After the men finished talking, Menaleus showered him with complements and gifts (one refused, one accepted), and thenTelemachos 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 abeggar) and Telemachos up for the big scene against the suitors, where father and son, side by side, rid Ithaca of its cancerouscells, 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 ifthey were not there. An example of this is the emotional aspects of both characters. If one does not understand this keyelement, their is no way that the sequence of events would cohere. “Why didn’t Telemachos look for his father earlier? Why didPenelope wait twenty years to consider remarrying? How did this affect Odysseus in his journey?”. These are questions thatwould 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 attackedand proposed to by piranha-like suitors were also driving forces towards his journey. Some of these are brought out in differentsituations, both positive and negative, such as Menaleus’s mention of his father, which caused a sudden out-burst of tears, andthe 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 thehands of his own wife. These factors probably had taken their toll on Odysseus. At the same time he had the wrath of Poseidonto contend with. Another factor which could have also lead to this distress could have been his visit to the underworld, and inhis 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 ledto the final test: The battle against the suitors. This is considered the poem’s mental perspective. Odysseus had many things toovercome before he would be ready to take on this responsibility. His journey prepared him for that. For one, if he had nothave perfected his tolerance abroad and finely tuned his hubris problems there would have been no possible way for him toundertake a role such as the beggar, where he must be constantly enduring both verbal and physical attacks. There is also noway that Odysseus could have sacrificed and begged forgiveness to the sea-god Poseidon if he had not learned his lessonabout respect from Polyphemos and Zeus (eating Helios’s cattle). These factors play an immense role in the outcome of thepoem. 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’sside, to mature into a man, and most importantly to gain respect, and to withhold and protect family kleos. This happened whenat first Athene inspired him to go in search of his father. At that stage he was an inactive, and boyish young prince. When thechallenges rose, however (assisted by Athene), Telemachos rose to meet those challenges. His first items of business were toset the suitors straight at home. Although he was not completely effective, he surprised them a great deal with his authority, andeven his own mother in later books. That proved that Telemachos was gaining a new awareness, not only about his father, butabout the kingdom, his mother, and the role he needed to partake. By the end of his long emotional journey, Telemachosrealized 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 wassupposedly learning the role of his father, the king of Ithaca, to follow in the footsteps. The two are compared in the poem fromevery aspect. However, in analyzing The Odyssey, one may also presume that Homer had not intended for the Telemachos tobe 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 isin a time of peace unlike his father’s, and more notably- although matured, Telemachus never really learned true leadership orchivalry as did his father. Homer has presented the world with poetry so unique and classic, so outstanding and awesome, thatgenerations to come will challenge themselves interpreting them until the end of time.