The Odyssey

Wow.... Homer is the man. So far I have only been able to read the first book (or chapter) as it's called and I am awed at the characterization that has taken place. I had an idea of how the story goes from reading pieces of it, however I have never really appreciated how the author describes people and events. Telemachus, Odysseus' son will be the focus. He is home in Ithaca while his father goes to war against Sparta. When Odysseus does not return home, Telemachus is stuck dealing with his father's kingdom and the many suitors that come to take his mother's hand in marriage and continue to eat away at his resources or his "inheritance."

Homer does a great job of underlying the strain that this is having on Telemachus. "If only I had been a child of some happier man whos latter years found him at ease in his own posessions!Instead - think of the most unhappy of mortal men - it is his son I am said to be." The fact that Telemachus' father has not come home, has not been proclaimed dead, and has given no word of his return and that his mother is being hounded by suitors while they take all that he has and he feels hopeless to stop it for is just a young boy is killing him inside. He just wants to find a way to stop it. Thus Athenes, daughter of Zeus, comes down from heaven to give him word and hope to one, find news of his father, and two kill the suitors looking for his mother.

I am excited to see how the story continues. I have an understanding of the story and the plot and twists. However, I am excited to see how these characters progress and change throughout the story. Those Greeks had it right in this book.