Thursday, April 2, 2015
Fathers and Sons
During Telemachus' journey to Pylos and Sparta in Books 3 and 4, he meets or hears about several fathers and sons. He encounters Nestor and his son Psistratos, meets Menelaus as he celebrates his son's wedding and hears about the story of Agamemnon and his son Orestes. From these relationships what can we learn about the proper relationship between father and son in Bronze Age Greece? What are a father's duties to his son -- and a son's duties to his father? What does a father teach his son?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
In the Bronze Age it seems that being a father was a duty in itself. The father was supposed to be there for their son and help him grow up so one day he could be successful. “He could almost see his magnificent father, here…” Odyssey 1.34. Telemachus was longing for his father to return because he looked up to him as a powerful figure. Telemachus wanted Odysseus, his father, to do something about all of the suitors because he wasn’t willing to do so himself. Telemachus was afraid to speech in front of a large group because his father never taught him how. Athena had to come down from above as “mentor” and help Telemachus grow up. “You’ve counseled me with so much kindness now,/ like a father to a son.” – Telemachus (1.354-55). Telemachus realized that Athena was helping and maturing him to become a man who is willing to go find his father. I think that in the Bronze Age the father-son relationship was very important. Without a fatherly presence a son will not be the same. Just like in the Zhou Dynasty, the relationships of the father and son are very important. Although it does not actually say in the Odyssey, but I think that the father son relationship is the most important relationship and can affect the demeanor of a man for the rest of his life. Very strong examples of this relationship are shown in Pylos with Nestor, Agamemnon, Menelaus and their sons. Telemachus longs for a relationship like this with Odysseus but he has to find him first.
ReplyDeleteThe father and son relationship in the Greek Bronze Age was as important as or even more important than it is today. In the Greek Bronze Age, a Fathers duty to his son was to teach him how to be a man and what to become. Also, fathers taught their children everything they knew and knowledge they possessed. But, in Telemachus’ case, his father was never there for him throughout childhood and his quality of life growing up wasn’t as good as others with their fathers to guide and help their sons. Telemachus had to learn everything on his own by teaching himself and learning from others. An example of being a good father is in the case of Peisistratus. When Telemachus comes to Pylos and leaves with Peisistratus, Nestor knows when his son is ready to do something and knows what he is capable of incase that his son gets clouded by his own judgment. Since Telemachus has no father figure when he was growing up he could have made a lot of bad decisions because he had no one to tell him when to stop are start. Being a father is a huge job because you need to teach your son to grow up and be successful by teaching him everything that he knows even if the father is not very successful he can teach him what not to do and he can still be successful. In Telemachus’ case he doesn’t have a successful or unsuccessful father figure so he cannot learn much and he struggles in his real life.
ReplyDelete