Monday, January 13, 2020

What are examples of parallelisms in Book 1 of The Odyssey?

Athena, when she comes to Telemachus in the guise of Mentes, draws a parallel between Telemachus, son of Odysseus, and Orestes, son of Agamemnon. She tells him:

You must behave no longer like a child, being the man you are. Have you not heard what fame royal Orestes gained with all mankind, because he slew the slayer, the wily Aegisthus, who had slain his famous father? You too, my friend—for certainly I find you fair and tall,—be strong, that men hereafter born may speak your praise.

While Agamemnon was away from home, fighting in the Trojan War, Aegisthus began an affair with Agamemnon's wife, Clytemnestra; when Agamemnon returned home, Aegisthus killed him. Then, when Orestes grew up, he avenged his father by killing both Aegisthus and Clytenmnestra. Now, Athena says that it is time for Telemachus to likewise step up to the plate, so to speak. He must search out his father and learn Odysseus's fate. Telemachus must learn whether Odysseus lives or dies, act appropriately, and then figure out how he is going to slay the suitors who pursue his mother, Penelope, and dishonor and exploit his father's house. Telemachus does what Athena tells him, and will continue therefore to be compared favorably to Orestes, even taking charge in his home. He tells his mother to "seek [her] chamber and attend to matters of [her] own" because "power within this house rests [in him]."

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