Heroism In Odysseus In Homer's The Odyssey

In the Odyssey one main theme is all about heroism. Telemachus has someone to look up in reaching that hero aspect and of course none the less than Odysseus, his father. Telemachus hasn’t always been born a hero in any manner but rather had to learn from mistakes and grow as an individual. In the first book of the odyssey, Odysseus home is being occupied by the suitors and Telemachus is still not up to par yet with his way of being that hero, and demanding that the suitors stop taking the sheep and drinking the wine. In a way he is frightened and intimated by how many suitor there are and doesn’t want to stand up for what he believes in, it feels like he has the confidence but is too afraid to use it. In Greek, hospitality is taken very seriously …show more content…
He is no longer concerned about what the God’s want from him but rather has his own path of thinking. “Fear also the gods ' anger, lest they, astonished by evil actions, turn against you. I supplicate you, by Zeus the Olympian and by Themis who breaks up the assemblies of men and calls them in session: let be, my friends, and leave me alone with my bitter sorrow to waste away; unless my noble father Odysseus at some time in anger did evil to the strong-greaved Achaians, for which angry with me in revenge you do me evil in setting these on me.” What Telemachus is saying here is that the Gods see what the suitors are doing and it can be really annoying and they may be punished. Telemachus has a unique way of sticking up for himself and is developing more hero aspects to …show more content…
Mind over matter plays a lot in this stories take and Telemachus may not seem to have much courage in the beginning but he shows that giving up isn’t an option which he will take to achieve excellence. In all his journeys his excellence brings him to the man he is in later in the story. Odysseus is so proud of his son for the man he became after all that he wasn’t there for him most of his life. The bond between the two when they meet is exceptionally strong and Telemachus wants to show his father that he has courage to stand up for himself and kick the suitors out, but also he shows that he is more honest “Father, it was my own mistake, and there is no other to blame. I left the door of the chamber, which can close tightly, open at an angle. One of these men was a better observer than I.” In this part of the story it proves how Telemachus is willingly open to his father about the truth and isn’t afraid of possible consequences. Telemachus realizes that his problem is that he doesn’t act on the conflict in the moment but rather just processes what to do to make it right. When joining with his father he learns that one aspect of becoming a man is to act on the conflict right then and there instead of