The Real Couples of the Odyssey

By the time we encounter Odysseus in Books 5 and 6, we are introduced to several couples in the story:  We meet Odysseus and Penelope, although they are apart; Odysseus and Calypso, although Odysseus is held against his will; Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, although not directly; Menelaus and Helen, and, potentially at least, Odysseus and Nausicaa. What is the significance of these couples?  Do some of these couples show the ideal of love and marriage while others show flawed and problematic relationships?  According to the story, what should you look for in a relationship and what should you avoid?  Do you agree?

Growing Up

At the beginning of the Odyssey, Telemachus seems young and powerless. He is completely passive in the face of the suitors abuses and they treat him like a pushover. As he embarks on a journey and the epic wears on, how and why does the character of Telemachus change?

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?

Whose Fault Is It Anyway?

Zeus complains in Book I of the Odyssey:
Ah how shameless--the way these mortals blame the gods.
From us alone, they say, come all their miseries, yes,
but they themselves, with their own reckless ways,
compound their pains beyond their proper share (1.37-40).

What is Zeus saying? Is he right? Whose fault is it anyway that Odysseus has been wandering for ten years -- that the suitors are eating him out of house and home? From what we know of the story so far (think of the story of Agamemnon, Ajax, Menelaus and Nestor as well as Odysseus), are the gods to blame for our suffering and successes-- or are we?