It is Homer’s Odyssey. This heroic poem is more widely chronicled than the journey of Odysseus after the end of the Trojan War. In many ways, Odssey is a story about family conflict with supernatural and natural obstacles. The main movement in Homer’s work is the theme of family health and family health.
The background
The boy Telemachus, when his father was left to fight in the Trojan War, waited for his father’s return. While he grew up, let’s call the beautiful Penelope the mother of the bridegroom. But Penelope longs for her husband, and does not wish to presume that Odysseus is dead. While Penelope is waiting, Telemachus is frustrated by the suitors who are trying to change the family; However, Telemachus and Penelope never despair that their king Ulysses will come to them. But Odysseus, with the intercession of the gods by Athena, Odysseus’ protector, Ulysses begins the perilous journey home. While the heroic hero is heading towards Siren, the Cyclops and other celestial obstacles, his son has set out to find him.
Family Values
The causes of Odysseus’ and Telemachus’ desires are best matched in Homer’s epic. Each has his own profit. Odysseus seeks to reunite with his people and Tlemachus seeks to restore his family. The destination is more than semantic. Odysseus seeks to return home to experience life, and Telemachus seeks to establish it through lack of exposure or experience.
Telemachus’ quest begins with a search for a man he doesn’t know, and the young prince hopes that once he finds his strong father, the chaos that will calm his life will come to an end. A simple solution to the prodigal and undisciplined suitor is the father’s return. Telemachus travels from city to city, establishes friendships, and observes happy and healthy family relationships. From King Menelaus to Agamemnon, Telemachus witnesses that uproar of infidelity, murder, and family separation. It also reveals the beauty of the father-child relationship through healthy interactions. Telemachus’s goal is to prevent the same tumult, personified as a suitor, from undermining his potential happiness and destroying his family.
While Telemachus develops his own sense of ideal family relationships, Odysseus has some of his own struggles. Imprisoned, the hero of the tale is enslaved by Calypso, the goddess who tempts Ulysses with immortality. Odysseus is freed by desire which the goddess cannot give him. His family chooses to travel back to Ithaca and make their home. He must endure many temptations, seek revenge from the gods and other dangers in order to reach his safe home. His memory and love for his family are a constant inspiration.
Telemachus is a slightly different reading for Ulysses. For a son, a healthy family life, means happiness, love and long life. For the father of the family offers something greater with immortality. Family provides a sense of identity and peace.
A happy family can find prosperity and joy in their togetherness, but a divided family only finds hopelessness, longing, and mistrust. Homer’s final lesson is that family can and should, despite obstacles, natural or supernatural.
