Odysseus
I couldn’t believe it when Télémakhos, my son, appeared at the door. The swineherd greeted him as though he was his son, but I could not, because of my disguise and the necessity of keeping my true identity secret. He soon sent Eumaios to tell Penélopê of his safe return. Athena beckoned me outside and changed me back to my younger state; she thought it was time to tell my son the truth. I went back inside and Télémakhos was startled and frightened by my new appearance, taking me for a god. I finally convinced him, though, that I was none other than his father, Odysseus. We wept for a long time, so glad to finally be reunited. Once we had recovered, we discussed strategy for killing the suitors. He warned me we were very outnumbered, but with Athena and Zeus at our side, we shouldn’t have too much of a problem. It was decided that I would go to the manor as a beggar, my son would take away the suitor’s weapons (using as an excuse the smoke was not good for them), and we would gather up loyal fighters to assist us if need be. Eumaios told us that the suitor’s got word that Télémakhos was still alive, both from the messengers and the fact that their ambush ship came bac
k, and were probably still plotting to kill him. It may be a long, hard battle with impossible odds but I think we will fight honorably. It gladdens me how much confidence I put into my son by just coming home.
It was amazing to me how Télémakhos could not believe that I was his father at first. He said “all my life your fame as a fighting man has echoed in my ears…” (Odyssey 297). Here he acknowledges so great I was supposed to be, so why would he have such a hard time believing I was his father and not a god? I think what he said here also indicates another very important view of me. To him, I hardly existed, if I actually did at all. An echo is perhaps something so distant that it can hardly be heard. Maybe I was so distant to my own son that he could hardly believe I was really there. He took my grand appearance to be a god’s and I was supposedly very legendary and god-like to him, but since he couldn’t really imagine me actually coming home, he just assumed the other option: god. I see now how much my son needed me. He is afraid to fight the suitors and gives up too easily in general. I inspired him to be courageous. If I had been doing that his whole life, where would he be now? Looking back now, I wonder where I could have dawdled less to get home sooner and take care of my son.
I couldn’t believe it when Télémakhos, my son, appeared at the door. The swineherd greeted him as though he was his son, but I could not, because of my disguise and the necessity of keeping my true identity secret. He soon sent Eumaios to tell Penélopê of his safe return. Athena beckoned me outside and changed me back to my younger state; she thought it was time to tell my son the truth. I went back inside and Télémakhos was startled and frightened by my new appearance, taking me for a god. I finally convinced him, though, that I was none other than his father, Odysseus. We wept for a long time, so glad to finally be reunited. Once we had recovered, we discussed strategy for killing the suitors. He warned me we were very outnumbered, but with Athena and Zeus at our side, we shouldn’t have too much of a problem. It was decided that I would go to the manor as a beggar, my son would take away the suitor’s weapons (using as an excuse the smoke was not good for them), and we would gather up loyal fighters to assist us if need be. Eumaios told us that the suitor’s got word that Télémakhos was still alive, both from the messengers and the fact that their ambush ship came bac
k, and were probably still plotting to kill him. It may be a long, hard battle with impossible odds but I think we will fight honorably. It gladdens me how much confidence I put into my son by just coming home.It was amazing to me how Télémakhos could not believe that I was his father at first. He said “all my life your fame as a fighting man has echoed in my ears…” (Odyssey 297). Here he acknowledges so great I was supposed to be, so why would he have such a hard time believing I was his father and not a god? I think what he said here also indicates another very important view of me. To him, I hardly existed, if I actually did at all. An echo is perhaps something so distant that it can hardly be heard. Maybe I was so distant to my own son that he could hardly believe I was really there. He took my grand appearance to be a god’s and I was supposedly very legendary and god-like to him, but since he couldn’t really imagine me actually coming home, he just assumed the other option: god. I see now how much my son needed me. He is afraid to fight the suitors and gives up too easily in general. I inspired him to be courageous. If I had been doing that his whole life, where would he be now? Looking back now, I wonder where I could have dawdled less to get home sooner and take care of my son.
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