After the Trojan War, the family of Odysseus is left unprotected and torn, as Odysseus has not been home for ten years. 100 suitors enter Odysseus’s house to marry Penelope, Odysseus’s wife, presuming him to be dead. They devour much of his food every day, which is clearly against the rules of Xenia. It is then that Odysseus’s son Telemakhos, is visited by the grey-eyed goddess Athena in the form of Mentes, an old family friend. She tells him that he should quit being a baby and make a name for himself. The Greek ideal of manhood is that one must voyage to far off lands to be considered a man. She explains that if he goes out to the distant lands of Pylos and Lakedaimon, and searches for news about his father, he will be considered in full manhood. In The Odyssey, Telemakhos does attempt to reach for the Greek ideal of manhood. Reasons that Telemakhos does try to reach his goal of manhood include that he has to make a name for himself, and stop living off of the name of his father, he wants to find news of his father, and what better a way to do it than to prove himself a true man while he is at it, and that he has hope, that even if his father is dead, he will be able to rule just as strong as his father did.

One reason why Telemakhos attempts to reach manhood is because he wants to make a name for himself, and not live off of his father’s name. Before Mentes met Telemakhos, he was referred to as a “boy”, and he would obey commands and not do anything about the suitors living off of his own inheritance. After Mentes’s speech, he knows that he must go make a name for himself. One way he does this is by holding an assembly, where he spoke with grace, and power. He then goes on a voyage to find out about his father, and if he is still alive. On his return, he knows that his father is still alive and with a goddess Kalypso, and once he returns, he will be considered a true man.

Another reason why Telemakhos tries to reach manhood is because he needs to find news of his father. If the only way to find out about his missing father is to travel to faraway lands, he might as well do it with an intention to complete his quest to manhood. In other words, Telemakhos is killing two birds with one stone, the stone being his quest, and the birds being news about his father and the final step to manhood. When Telemakhos reaches Pylos, the first land, he is told by the king, Nestor, that he should go the rest of the way to Lakedaimon by land. In other words, he is completing a land voyage and a sea voyage, making him even more superior.

The third reason why Telemakhos goes to become a man is because of the little hope he has, that even if his father turned out to be dead, he can still become a strong ruler of Ithaka. What better way to prove that he is a strong ruler than to go out to faraway islands from Ithaka! Telemakhos was brave in the open sea and was wary of thieves on the landmass while going to find out about his father. If he returns with bad news about his father, he can be crowned king, because of his exploration, and the suitors will be dealt with.

In conclusion, one can understand that becoming a man can not only help Telemakhos rule, but also remove the house of suitors. Telemakhos definitely tries to become what the Greeks propose is “manhood”. Once Telemakhos returns to Ithaka, he will be considered a true man.