Telemachus: the True Hero of the Odyssey

A hero can be defined in many different ways, such as a man or woman who performs tasks otherwise not able to be performed by a normal human being. Telemachus is a different breed of hero compared to our modern day Superman and Batman. Telemachus, the son of a king, is often seen by the public. Being the son of a king has its benefits and its downfalls, he must be a person that the public can look to for solutions while his father is gone, but he also has power that others do not have. He exhibits the characteristics of becoming a great hero and leader by using his power for good and not abusing it. Telemachus goes upon a hero’s journey and learns how to become a great leader by taking initiative and setting off on a journey to find his

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

A hero can be defined in many different ways, such as a man or woman who performs tasks otherwise not able to be performed by a normal human being. Telemachus is a different breed of hero compared to our modern day Superman and Batman. Telemachus is a leader that is seen by the public eye, and also the son of a king. Being the son of a king has its benefits and also has its downfalls, he is looked to for solutions while his father is gone, but he also has power that others do not have. He learns quickly to use his power for good and not abuse it which is the first step in becoming a great hero and leader. Telemachus goes upon a hero’s journey and undergoes a separation from his mother, Penelope, to find his father, he undergoes an

One of the opposing sides reasons for Odysseus being a hero might be that he killed the suitors for Penelope. This is not a good reason because the suitors were not guilty enough to be killed. The only thing they did wrong was steal from him and try to marry his wife. How were the suitors supposed to know Odysseus wasn’t dead? Imagine what Penelope would feel like if she did not have the suitors constantly bothering her, which kept her from thinking about Odysseus all the time. Odysseus had no good reasons to kill all of the suitors. He let his rage consume him which turned him into a

Odysseus portrays himself as anything but a hero throughout Homer’s The Odyssey. Odysseus goes through his life believing he is the best. He has no regard for anyone’s feelings but his own, and he believes nothing and no one can harm him, not even the gods. Odysseus feels he is always the leader and no one can tell him otherwise. Odysseus should not be considered a hero because he portrays himself as a selfish man that failed his crew, and is controlled by his hubris.

  The Odyssey was a great book in which many characters were brought out and developed.  The most significant development that occured in the epic was the development of Telemachus.  Telemachus is a very complex character that Homer develops from beginning to end.  From the beginning when is a mere shadow of his father to near the end in which he is considered just as courageous.  Many factors influence Telemachus as he matures into a man.

One can be judged by their actions, but what truly shapes a person is their personality. Odysseus is an over-confident and ill-tempered man. On the cyclops's island, Odysseus's boasting nearly proves costly. A modest and heroic person would have had his men in mind, rather than himself, and left the island. Also, Odysseus revealing his true identity to the cyclops could very well have resulted in the death of his men. After Odysseus's boasting, Polyphemus prays to his father, "Let him lose all companions, and return / under strange sail to bitter days at home" (Homer 9. (537-8). This prophecy, of course, becomes a reality. Another sign of Odysseus's over-confidence shows while he is explaining himself to King Alcinous. In some of his first words to the king, Odysseus again boasts of his accomplishments. "Men hold me / formidable for guile in peace and war: / this fame has gone abroad to the sky's rim" (Homer 9. (127-8). Another very important fact is Odysseus's position on monogamy. Odysseus believes he's above monogamy, as he stays with many goddesses during his journeys while Penelope stays faithful at home. A hero is not a boasting, over-confident person, but someone who does their actions for no reward.

First, Odysseus is not a hero because he is a foolish leader who makes many mistakes on his journey back home to Ithaka. His first mistake is his decision to let his men raid and

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.

Odysseus’ and Telemachus’ journeys or nostos were both very similar and different. They parallel each other in some ways but they are also completely different at other times. Telemachus starts as a younger, less mature boy, and without the presence of his father during his childhood, he becomes a timid, shy and spineless boy who is greatly pampered by his mother. He has even more to achieve, being the son of a world-famous father, and this is a very difficult reputation to live up to. His journey, and after that the killing of the suitors who took advantage of him really show how his journeys and problems throughout the book mature him from being a shy, timid boy into a mature man. Odysseus’ journey also taught him about many things

Homer’s The Odyssey tells the story of young Telemachus with the task of finding his father, Odysseus while also finding himself. As the hero of this journey, Telemachus develops into a noble, brave, and strong man, through complications inflicted by others’ mental endurance. By overcoming these obstacles Telemachus develops into the universally known stereotypical hero. However, the same cannot be said for the heroes of William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying and Lewis Carol’s Alice in Wonderland. At the end of their journeys, Jewel and Alice become different kinds of heroes; instead of becoming a stereotypical plucky adventurer, they each develop different traits to benefit themselves along their journey.

In Homer's epic, The Odyssey, Odysseus is an epic hero with an epic wife, Penelope. Penelope is also the Queen of Ithaca, a vital role indeed. Penelope's love and devotion towards Odysseus is proven when she waits nineteen years for her husband to return from the wine dark sea, rather than losing faith and marrying another man. Penelope's character is strong and solid, and her personality remains consistent throughout Homer's Odyssey.

In Homer’s, The Odyssey, I believe that Odysseus is a true modern hero. During his long and perilous journey home Odysseus shows many heroic qualities that help save his men from many dangerous situations. He first shows his Valiant behavior during the war in Troy, he cares about his crew and survives the war. He also deeply cares about the welfare of his men on their return trip to Ithaka. Odysseus is a hero because he is a courageous leader, a quick thinker and a modest man.

Odysseus: a hero in every way. He is a real man, skilled in the sports, handy with a sword and spear, and a master of war strategy. Most of the challenges and adventures in his return voyage from Troy show us this even if we had no idea of his great heroic stature and accomplishments in the Trojan war. I found in my reading of the Odyssey that most of the trials the gods place upon him are readily faced with heroic means. These challenges are not

Throughout the last few books of the Odyssey, Homer explains to the reader how Odysseus reestablishes his relationships with his family and friends of Ithaka. It’s possible the restoration of his relationship with his son, Telemachus, is the most significant event of all. This reconnection carries out three main purposes. First, it serves to characterize Telemachus' likeness to his father in the virtues of wisdom, humility, patience, and organization. Secondly, it enables Odysseus a chance to coach Telemachus on how to be a powerful ruler like he is. Lastly, Homer uses the reconnection to highlight the importance of a healthy family structure to a society. To be able to understand