Telemachus

• provides the impetus for the action
• at the beginning of book 1, Telemachus is no longer a boy.- P should remarry and it is a race for Ody to get home before one of the Suitors is sucessful
• Homer must make him at least 20 for him to be the son of Ody
• must be initially weak enough to have let the Suitors take control, yet by the end, assertive enough to act with the support of his father
• xenia established in bk 1 - perfect host to Athene and embarrassed about Suitors behaviour
• tells Athene he cannot say who his father is - not through doubt, but through lack of role model
• Athene tells him that he is no longer a child and should be as brace as Orestes
• when Athene leaves, he realises he was in the presence of a god
• another indication of his maturity into a son worthy of Odysseus - immortals only help heroes, and Telemachus has been deemed worthy
• shows new-found boldness when he rebukes Penelope about Phemius
• he dismisses her to get on with her weaving
• dismissal repeated with more serious intent in bk 21
• assertiveness to Suitors about leaving the palace leads to them plotting his death
• boldness had prepared the next level of conflict
• bk 1 ends with him being put to bed by Eurycleia - folding tunic and closing his door - still something of a child
• bk 15 - returns from his travels, protected by Athene
• bk 15 - asks Eumaeus to look after the beggar
• learned about his father's exploits on his travels - not ready to take on this role himself ye
• emotional recognition with his father - T learns that he must succeed in a world in which Athene can, at will, make his father look like a beggar or a richly dressed man
• he must exercise all his self-control to be able to watch the beggar being maltreated and must pretend that Odysseus isn't back
• self-control and deception - hero lessons
• he advises his father on strategy - when his ship arrives from Pylos, shows that collecting treasure Is another heroic quality he gained
• Eumaeus later announces that he has a ship full of armed men entering the harbour
• T practises deception and knows that all he needs to do is glance at his father and smile
• shifts from a victim of the Suitors to being a threat
• bow is a challenge to T as well - shows physical strength
• almost strings it himself - only Odysseus shaking his head that prevents him from ruining the whole plan
• masterly in asserting his authority when he sends his mother from the hall
• shouts loudly and menacingly to overrule the Suitors
• fights bravely
• shows he still has some things to learn
• his killing of Amphinomus is awkward, since he cannot work out how to retrieve his spear
• his carelessness in leaving the door unlocked leads to the enemy obtaining weapons
• tested when he persuades Odysseus to spare Medon and Phemius
• dealing with maids and Melanthius - not distinguished between justice and vengeance
• Odysseus' instructions are to kill the maids by sword - gives them a much slower and more gruesome death
• the punishment of Melanthius is barbaric - his nose, ears, hands and feet are cut off and his genitals are fed to the dogs
• bk 23 - T hasn't learned the patience of his parents
• he petulantly accuses his mother of being cold-hearted for not accepting his father and that she has always had a heart of stone
• doesn't appreciate her resilience to ward off the Suitors