Prof Jette
Eng-111
3/10/13
Athena and Telemachus
Athena, the Grey eyed goddess, is one of those women in The Odyssey whose role is so important. She is the goddess of wisdom, who helps Telemachus on a journey to bring his father back home. Athena goes to Odysseus son to put courage in him. She doesn’t show her true self to humans; instead Athena disguises herself on three different occasions. She appeared as Odysseus friend Mentes, when she approached Telemachus. When Athena touches down Ithaca she is immediately spotted by Telemachus, who was sitting unhappy among the suitor. Free-will is greatly used between Athena and Telemachus, when she is persuading him to find his father. Athena says, “If I were you, I should take these steps to make these men disperse,” [Homer, 320]. Here Athena is trying to get Telemachus to realize that it’s time for his father to come to Ithaca, and he has to get the suitors out of his home.
In The Odyssey Telemachus is portrayed as a boy who has to grow up, he needs to find the courage and guidance to find his father, Athena is Telemachus’ voice she is the one who helps give this courage to him. The Odyssey give you more of an external view of the characters, it doesn’t really expose their inner thoughts or feelings. Meadowlands by, Louise Gluck demonstrates Telemachus’ true feelings for his father. “When I was younger I felt sorry for myself compulsively; in practical terms, I had no father; my mother lived at her loom hypothesizing her husband’s erotic life;” [Meadowlands, Telemachus’ Kindness, 24]. Here a whole different side of Telemachus is being identified. In Meadowlands Telemachus is angry at his parents, he pity them. This quote from Telemachus’ Kindness shows the anger he has towards his father for leaving. He feels as if he had no childhood because he never had a father figure in his life. Penelope sorrowed over Odysseus absence, instead of marrying one of the suitors and give Telemachus a father figure, someone to look to, Penelope often fantasied about her husband life and what he is doing while he is gone. She would loom every night to stall the suitors, keep from marrying them.
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