2022/04/19 by Frazer Merritt
#Homer #Odyssey #experience.
paper · doi:10.5526/esj89
The journeys of Telemachus and Odysseus in The Odyssey portray the two most significant experiences in a man's life—the transformation from a boy to a man after adolescence, and the movement from the accomplishments of middle age into the second half of life and old age. Athena functions as an anima inspiratrix who launches Telemachus on his task of discovering his masculine identity by searching for his absent father. A young man's potential must be seen by other men, as done by two of Odysseus' former comrades in arms, kings Nestor and Menelaus; additionally, recognition by the feminine is particularly important, a role performed by Helen. Telemachus must connect to his warrior archetype, which is a powerful force for developing the masculine traits of courage, purpose, focus, and authority, often through physical and warlike actions. Odysseus, on the other hand, has to be stripped of his warrior identity, broken of his hubris, and humiliated by his overindulgence in the realm of the Id. His physical and spiritual reunion with his wife Penelope—attainable only after becoming purified through hardships—symbolizes the development of a man’s soul in his latter years.