The Odyssey: Relationship Between The Older and Younger Generations

The positive and negative sides in the relationship between the older and younger generations are reflected both in modern literary works and in the epics of ancient Greece. Intergenerational relations have an impact on the way families, communities, countries. On the example of the relations of Fathers and Children in the Odyssey, one can observe what was the family structure in the country as a whole.

In ancient Greece, sons were long-awaited children, since this was a historical period of the division of lands and the establishment of the influence of individual clans, and Greece needed warriors who were distinguished by their courage and courage.

Children tried to imitate their parents in everything: life, relations with neighbors, attitude to war. Children were raised from an early age by fearless warriors. The sons took an example from their fathers, who earned the enviable reputation of warriors who bravely defended their territory. But Telemachus was born at the beginning of the Trojan War, when all the men left to defend the honor of their state.

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He grew up without a father and this was reflected in his character, he was timid and shy, he could not fend for himself and bathed in his mother's love. This could be traced in the situation with husbands who came to Penelope. Telemachus understood that it was necessary to defend the honor of his father, home and his name, but instead of taking radical measures in this situation, he timidly asked them to leave. The questions immediately arise: Is Telemachus to blame for not being able to drive the husbands out of his house if he did not have a person who would teach him? Why did Homer show the son of a great hero so weak and miserable? To make Odysseus an even greater hero? But in fact, in the works of Ancient Greece there was no place for weak men.

I believe that throughout the work, Homer tries to show the path of becoming a man on the example of Telemachus. After all, by the end of this enlightenment is weak, the boy was reborn into a brave man, whom his father Odysseus is proud of. You can notice how the character of Telemachus changed from a conversation with his mother before the death of the grooms, you can hear the speech of a man standing firmly on his feet.

In the culture of many nations, one can find a common universal mythological plot in which the hero begins his journey and faces various trials and miraculously transforms his inner qualities and outlooks on the world. His life becomes more conscious. A path is not just a movement in time and space, it is a symbol denoting changes, ingrowth. In the case of Telemachus, Athena sent him to Sparta, she hoped that along the way Telemachus would discover a new world and discover new features within herself that were hidden inside him.

It is not surprising that the relationship of the protagonists of the epic is admirable. These fathers are proud of their children, and children admire the deeds and deeds of their parents. Telemachus and Odysseus spend most of their time apart and their love and reverent attitude towards each other is formed at a distance.