Telemachus

A young hero in the Odyssey. Telemachus (Τηλέμαχος) was the son of Odysseus and Penelope.

Telemachus was only an infant when his father left for Troy. Apparently his father tried to pretend to be insane in order to avoid going to war, but one of Agamemnon's captains was just as cunning as Odysseus. Palemedes exposed Telemachus to danger, and Odysseus could not avoid exposing his feigned madness when he saved Telemachus' life.

The reason why Odysseus didn't want to go to Troy was because a prophecy said he would not return home without wandering for 10 years after the war, losing all of his ships and men.

In the 17th or 18th year of his father's absence, young noblemen from Ithaca and the surrounding islands began to woo his mother. Over 100 nobles persistently stayed at their home. Penelope couldn't turn them away, and Telemachus was still too young to drive them from their home.

In the 19th year, Telemachus was at the point of despairing that his father would ever return home when the goddess Athena appeared in the form of Mentes, advising him to seek news of his father at Pylos and Sparta. Odysseus was not only the goddess' favourite, she was also the protector of Odysseus' wife and son during the hero's absence.

Athena, later disguised as Mentor, spirited Telemachus out of Ithaca on a ship and took the young man to Pylos, where he met Nestor. Nestor had no news but sent him to Sparta, where he met Menelaus and his wife Helen who was actually Telemachus' aunt. The news Menelaus had wasn't much. Despite being related to Helen, Menelaus could not assist Telemachus in removing Penelope's unwanted suitors. Telemachus had to either await for his father's return or find some way to remove the suitors himself.

By the time Telemachus returned to Ithaca, he met his father in the guise of an old beggar. The clever disguise was Athena's magic, but the goddess revealed Odysseus' true identity to Telemachus. So father and son were finally reunited.

Odysseus insisted that he couldn't reveal his return either to his wife or to his wife's suitors until he assessed the situation at home. So in the guise of an old man, Odysseus tested both his wife's loyalty and the situation in his palace. Telemachus assisted his father by hiding most of the weapons from the suitors.

Even unarmed, the suitors still could overpower Odysseus and Telemachus, but their situation did improve when Penelope decided at last to choose a new husband. She would only choose one who could string Odysseus' old bow and fire an arrow through the holes of twelve axes. Telemachus tried to string the bow first, but couldn't. Neither could any of the suitors; they didn't have Odysseus' strength.

When Odysseus managed to get the bow into his hands, he easily strung the bow and shot an arrow through the hoops. With this formidable weapon, Odysseus began killing the suitors with the assistance of his son and two servants who were still loyal to him. A battle ensued, and ended with the death of all the suitors. Odysseus didn't reveal his identity to Telemachus' mother until the battle was over.

Odysseus knew that he would have to deal with the suitors' families, so he went in search of his father Laertes as well as enlisting some aid from those still loyal to him. The Ithacan townspeople would have attacked Odysseus, but Athena intervened, forcing the Ithacan noblemen to make peace with Odysseus.

With his father reunited with his mother, Telemachus became a brother of Acusilaus.

According to the Telegony, Telegonus was the son of Odysseus and Circe, and therefore Telemachus' half-brother. Telegonus had unwittingly killed their father. Telemachus forgave his half-brother. Telemachus and his mother left Ithaca with Telegonus, where they buried Odysseus on Circe's island. Telemachus married Circe while his mother married Telegonus. Circe, being a goddess, made Telemachus and his mother immortal.

According to a fragment attributed to Hesiod, during his short visit in Pylus, Telemachus slept with Polycaste, Nestor's daughter, and became the father of Persepolis.