Telemachus

At dawn, Telemachus rose, dressed, fastened his sword and bound on his sandals. He ordered the heralds to summon the Achaeans to an assembly. Two swift dogs followed him as he entered the meeting place with a bronze spear. Athena gave him a remarkable grace, and the people watched him in wonder. He took his father’s seat, while the elders made room for him.

Aigyptios, an old man who had long experience, spoke first. His son had followed Odysseus, and he wondered who had called the assembly after so many years. He wished that Zeus would grant the caller whatever he desired. Telemachus then stood. The herald Peisenor placed the sceptre in his hand, and Telemachus declared that he had summoned the people himself. His concern was personal. Sorrow had fallen on him, and he had received no clear news of an army or any other public matter.

He rebuked the suitors of Penelope, who occupied Odysseus’s house and consumed his possessions. The suitors were seeking Penelope’s hand while Odysseus remained absent. Telemachus declared that he could no longer endure their feasting at his expense. He announced that he would seek news of his father, travelling to Pylos if necessary. Antinous answered with laughter. He told Telemachus to eat and drink as before, and said that the Achaeans would provide a ship and chosen rowers for his journey. Telemachus replied that he could not sit quietly among men who treated him arrogantly. They had already wasted his property while he was a child. Now that he had grown and gained knowledge, anger had risen in him, and he would seek a way to harm them.

Leiocritus, son of Evenor, then opposed the proposal. Addressing Mentor, he called it foolish to set the people against the suitors. Even Odysseus, he argued, could not fight so many men while they feasted in his house. Penelope would gain little if Odysseus died in such a struggle. Leiocritus dismissed the assembly, and the men returned to their homes. The suitors went back to Odysseus’s house, where they sang and danced until evening. When night came, Telemachus went to his high room, troubled and thoughtful. Eurycleia, who had nursed him as a baby, led him there with two burning torches.

Telemachus travelled from Pylos to Sparta with Pisistratus, the son of Nestor. Nestor had advised him to ask Menelaus for news of Odysseus. After a sacrifice to Athena, she disappeared in the form of an eagle. Telemachus and Pisistratus then went on to Sparta, where Menelaus received them hospitably in his palace.

At dawn, Menelaus came from his chamber and asked Telemachus why he had come to Lacedaemon. Pisistratus explained that Nestor had sent him to escort Telemachus, who needed counsel because his father was absent and had no supporters at home. Menelaus recognised the son of his old friend. He said that Odysseus had suffered greatly for his sake and that he had once hoped to honour him after the Greeks returned from Troy.

Menelaus told Telemachus what had happened to the Greeks after they sailed from Troy. The prophecies of Proteus had revealed that Odysseus was being held on the island of Calypso. While Telemachus was away, the suitors in Ithaca discussed how they could kill him when he returned. Penelope heard of their plan. Athena comforted her by appearing in the likeness of Iphthima.

Menelaus and Helen gave Telemachus gifts. Helen presented him with a robe for his future bride and asked him to have his mother keep it until the wedding. Menelaus gave him a double cup, while Megapenthes brought a mixing bowl. Pisistratus placed the gifts in the chariot. At daybreak, Telemachus asked to leave for home. Menelaus agreed and urged him to return if the god granted his prayer concerning Odysseus. Telemachus and Pisistratus set out, travelled through the day, and spent the night at Pherae with Diocles, son of Ortilochus.

Telemachus girded on his sword, took his spear, and stood armed beside Odysseus’ seat. Earlier, Odysseus had ordered him to remove all the weapons from the hall. Telemachus called the nurse Eurycleia and carried the armour away from the suitors’ reach. If they asked where it had gone, he was to say that smoke and fire had corroded it, and that he feared a drunken quarrel might break out during the feast. Telemachus obeyed. He also brought weapons from the storeroom and armed the loyal servants for the struggle that was to follow.

Odysseus then tore off his rags and leaped onto the broad threshold with his bow and quiver. He poured the arrows at his feet and declared that the contest had ended. He would now test whether he could strike a target no man had yet hit. Antinous was raising a two-handled golden cup, unaware that death was near. Odysseus aimed and drove an arrow through his throat. Antinous fell, and the suitors realised that the stranger was their enemy.

The suitors sought a way out. Odysseus ordered the loyal pig herder to guard the rear passage, the only approach from that side. Agelaos urged someone to call the people outside, but Melanthios replied that the passage was too dangerous, since one man could hold them back there. Telemachus remained beside his father, armed for battle. He and the loyal servants supplied weapons and joined Odysseus as the fighting spread through the hall.

Athena watched from the roof beam in the form of a swallow and continued to test Odysseus and his son. Odysseus’ arrows had already cut down many of the suitors. Agelaos, Eurynomos, Amphimedon, Demoptolemos, Peisander, and Polybos were among those still fighting. They pressed forward against Odysseus, Telemachus, and their allies, while the father and son fought together to overthrow the suitors.

Telemachus prepared to return to Ithaca after meeting Menelaus and Helen. At Pylos, while he made drink offerings and prayed beside his ship, Theoclymenus approached him. The seer asked who he was, where he came from, and who his parents were. Telemachus answered that he was from Ithaca and that his father was Odysseus, though Odysseus had suffered a miserable fate. He had gathered the crew and taken the ship to seek news of him.

Theoclymenus then explained that he too was an exile. He had killed a man of his own race, and the dead man's relatives in Argos were numerous and powerful. He asked Telemachus to receive him. Telemachus accepted him as a companion and brought him on board the ship.

When Telemachus returned to Ithaca, he learned that the suitors had lain in wait to kill him. Their plot had failed, however, and they returned to Ithaca. Telemachus avoided the ambush and went towards the farm of the swineherd Eumaeus. He reached it safely, with Theoclymenus accompanying him.

At the farm, Eumaeus received Telemachus. Telemachus then sent him to tell Penelope that he had returned safely. The arrival at Eumaeus's lodge brought Telemachus to the place where Odysseus, disguised as an old beggar, was staying with his faithful servant. Athena had arranged the disguise so that the suitors would not recognise him. She then commanded Odysseus to reveal himself to his son. Their meeting followed at Eumaeus's farm.

Telemachus married Nausicaa in an alternative later tradition. Nausicaa was the daughter of Alcinous and Arete, the rulers of the Phaeacians. The account names her as Telemachus’ wife and says that she bore him a son, Perseptolis. Their marriage belongs to a later account of Telemachus, rather than to the events of his return with Odysseus.

Nausicaa had earlier encountered Odysseus after he was swept ashore on Scheria. Athena had inspired her to go to the seashore at that moment. Nausicaa directed Odysseus to her father’s palace, where Alcinous received him hospitably. Odysseus had been shipwrecked and was alone. Nausicaa’s parents provided him with another ship, allowing him to continue his journey home.

Another account presents Nausicaa as a princess responsible for the household washing. She went to the shore with her attendants and carried the soiled clothes in a mule cart. Her mother gave her food, drink, and a golden flask of olive oil for bathing. This account also says that Alcinous offered Nausicaa in marriage to Odysseus. Odysseus avoided the matter by revealing that he was already married. The later tradition instead joins Nausicaa to Telemachus and names Perseptolis as their son.