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What is the significance of the Agamemnon Orestes story for Telemachus?

Jim Brown

What is the significance of the Agamemnon Orestes story for Telemachus?

The repetition Agamemnon’s story was meant to deceive the reader into believing one ending (that Telemachus would kill the suitors and that something could possibly prevent Odysseus from reaching home, maybe death) by drawing parallels between the heroes, Agamemnon and Odysseus, and their sons, Orestes and Telemachus.

What does Telemachus learn from Orestes?

Nestor’s tale about Agamemnon and Orestes helps cement Telemachus’s determination to restore honor to his household by defeating the suitors. Telemachus tells Nestor that he wishes the gods would give him the power to wreak revenge on the suitors feasting in his father’s house.

Why is Orestes important in the Odyssey?

[2] One facet of this polemic, I suggest, is a programmatic assertion of the god’s own role in the Odyssey. Just as Orestes, who acts with Zeus’ approval, suffers no retribution for killing Aigisthos, so Zeus will intervene at the end of the Odyssey to ensure that Odysseus will not suffer for killing the suitors.

How does Telemachus compare to Orestes?

Answer: Both Telemachus and Orestes have an unfailing loyalty for their fathers. Telemachus, son of Odyssues, takes charge of the kingdom and protects his mother from marrying the suitors. Orestes, son of Agamemnon, is loyal to his father by killing his father’s murderers, Clytemnestra and her husband.

Why do the suitors want to kill Telemachus?

Penelope’s suitors plan to kill Telemachus as he returns from his voyage to find Odysseus. She finds out about the plot when Medon, a herald, overhears their plans and comes to alert her about the danger to her son.

What does Nestor tell Telemachus?

Nestor tells Telemachus that the Greeks sacked Troy and then prepared to sail away. Unfortunately, a quarrel arose between Agamemnon and Menelaus and the Greeks were divided about whether to sail away immediately (Menelaus) or delay a little while and offer sacrifice to Athene (Agamemnon).

What does Telemachus learn from Nestor?

Telemachus learns that Odysseus survived the war and set sail from Troy to go back home. However, Nestor does not have information of Odysseus beyond that; he does offer Telemachus hope that his father may arrive home yet.

Does King Nestor have the information Telemachus is looking for?

Although Telemachus has little experience with public speaking, Mentor gives him the encouragement that he needs to approach Nestor, the city’s king, and ask him about Odysseus. Nestor, however, has no information about the Greek hero.

What was Orestes punishment?

As Aeschylus tells it, the punishment ended there, but according to Euripides, in order to escape the persecutions of the Erinyes, Orestes was ordered by Apollo to go to Tauris, carry off the statue of Artemis which had fallen from heaven, and to bring it to Athens.

How did Orestes become an example to Telemachus?

In the Odyssey, Orestes is held up as a favorable example to Telemachus, whose mother Penelope is plagued by suitors. According to Pindar, the young Orestes was saved by his nurse Arsinoe ( Laodamia) or his sister Electra, who conveyed him out of the country when Clytemnestra wished to kill him.

Who is Telemachus reminded of in the Odyssey?

Telemachus is again reminded of Orestes’ acts when he speaks with Nestor (Book III, Line 306-313). For Telemachus to turn into a hero like Orestes would be a great accomplishment. Throughout The Odyssey Athena always seems to be with Telemachus when he most needs it. Athena first pursues Telemachus to leave Ithaca and find news of his father.

Why does Telemachus need to go to see Nestor?

Athena is the one who sends Telemachus on the journey to see Nestor, though his palace is only the first stop. He’s supposed to travel to see Menelaus next. If he finds out his father is alive, he has to come home and wait for his father while Odysseus makes his way home.

Why was Orestes held up as an example in the Odyssey?

In the Odyssey, Orestes is held up as a favorable example to Telemachus, whose mother Penelope is plagued by suitors.

What is the significance of the Agamemnon Orestes story for Telemachus?

Jim Brown

What is the significance of the Agamemnon Orestes story for Telemachus?

The repetition Agamemnon’s story was meant to deceive the reader into believing one ending (that Telemachus would kill the suitors and that something could possibly prevent Odysseus from reaching home, maybe death) by drawing parallels between the heroes, Agamemnon and Odysseus, and their sons, Orestes and Telemachus.

How does Telemachus compare to Orestes?

Answer: Both Telemachus and Orestes have an unfailing loyalty for their fathers. Telemachus, son of Odyssues, takes charge of the kingdom and protects his mother from marrying the suitors. Orestes, son of Agamemnon, is loyal to his father by killing his father’s murderers, Clytemnestra and her husband.

Why is Orestes important in the Odyssey?

[2] One facet of this polemic, I suggest, is a programmatic assertion of the god’s own role in the Odyssey. Just as Orestes, who acts with Zeus’ approval, suffers no retribution for killing Aigisthos, so Zeus will intervene at the end of the Odyssey to ensure that Odysseus will not suffer for killing the suitors.

Why is the goddess urge Telemachus like Orestes?

In short, Telemachus is resentful and bitter, but he does not feel as if there is anything he can do to change things. Another way she tries to motivate Telemachus is to remind him about Orestes, the son of Agamemnon who killed his own mother and her lover to avenge his father’s death.

How does Nestor treat Telemachus?

Nestor takes Telemachus back to his palace and they drink to Athena, then everyone goes to sleep. When the king realizes that Telemachus’s companion is a god, he stops emphasizing Telemachus’s eloquence and will, and focuses instead on the prince’s dependence on the gods.

How did Telemachus honor his father?

If Telemachus learns his father is dead, he will honor his father with a funeral and force his mother to marry one of the suitors.

Who does Nausicaa find when she goes to the river?

Odysseus Calypso Poseidon Ino.

Is Clytemnestra a hero?

After her daughter Iphigenia’s death at the hands of her father, Clytemnestra swore she would avenge her daughter’s death. She is not a sympathetic or villainous character; instead, Clytemnestra is the play’s anti-hero. As an anti-hero, Clytemnestra does not possess the same characteristics of a stereotypical hero.

Why is Orestes a hero?

Orestes personifies the hero character in the play, who acts justly. Orestes acts as a hero killing Clytemnestra, who was responsible for the death of his father. Even though he suffers, he is always aware of his moral duty to revenge that made him a hero in the perception of the public in ancient Greece.

Why was the story of Orestes important to Telemachus?

These tales of bravery and cunning both further educate Telemachus about his father, and serve as further examples of heroism to which he should aspire. The story of Orestes is revisited, again, to inspire Telemachus to take action against the suitors. Telemachus takes his own steps toward manhood when he leaves Sparta.

What was the goal of Telemachus in the Odyssey?

Telemachus’ goal is to get rid of the Suitors and find news on his father; in doing this he will become more like both heroes, Odysseus and Orestes. When Telemachus leaves Ithaca in search for news of his father he meets two great men, Nestor and Menelaus.

Why was Orestes held up as an example in the Odyssey?

In the Odyssey, Orestes is held up as a favorable example to Telemachus, whose mother Penelope is plagued by suitors.

Where did Orestes go after his father’s death?

In the familiar theme of the hero’s early eclipse and exile, he escaped to Phanote on Mount Parnassus, where King Strophius took charge of him. In his twentieth year, he was urged by Electra to return home and avenge his father’s death.