The Odyssey

            
             From the very start of this story you can begin to see how things in Ithaca are much different from things of other polis's. The fact that the suitors of the area were so blatant in the destruction of the kingdom led me to believe that there was no respect for Prince Telemachus. During their actions the suitors went as far as to plan an attack on the ship that the prince was on. But the amazing thing of this situation is how Telemachus chose to ignore this, letting the suitors have their way with his goods and his home, although, after Athena came to see Telemachus you can see a definite change in his sheepish activities. He went from a childish acting boy who had no idea on how a prince should act, to a young man who was bent on finding out information about his father. This journey that he would take to find the information he was looking for would also lead him into adulthood. Because of the people he met, kingdoms he visited, and stories he heard of his father Telemachus began to see that some of the problems in Ithaca may lay within himself. After realizing this you can see a change in the way of his thinking. He is no longer the adolescent that started the journey but rather a young warrior who thinks out and makes good descions, one who commands respect because of his actions, and one whose polis would be proud of him for his bravery. But his journey to manhood was not complete until he and his father met face to face. During their discussion of how to handle the suitors you can still sense fear in the young prince's heart, but he does what is expected of a boy of this time, by obeying his father, Odysseus, and showing great bravery for his homeland, completing his journey from a child to a respectable prince.
             Although Telemachus had to worry about loosing his own life during this time, the fate of his mother laid heavy on his heart. During this age it seems that the women's role in the community was not descion makers.