The Odyssey Blog 2

I have just finished reading book 2 and am in the middle of book 3.  Telemachus is just beginning his journey to find his father and bring him home, so that the suitors will stop trying to convince him mother to marry them. Telemachus didn't tell his mother or anyone besides his nurse that he was leaving because i think that he wanted to do this on his own and didn't want anyone to convince him not to go on the journey. After he began his journey, they stopped at Pylos and Telemachus was afraid to speak with the King of Pylos, Nestor, but Athena was there to help him through it. One quote that i found very interesting in my reading was what Athena said to Telemachus: "Some of the words you'll find within yourself, the rest some power will inspire you to say" (Homer 108: 30-31). Athena says this to Telemachus when he was nervous to speak with the King and i think that it shows that we have power within ourselves, but there also is some greater power in the world that we as humans have absolutely no control over. The reason that Telemachus had to Speak with the King was because he wanted to know if he knew any news about his father. King Nestor didn't know anything Telemachus' father, but he did tell him that the city of Ithaca was being taken over by suitors. Another very insightful quote in this reading that is said by Athena is: "Death: not even the gods can defend a man, not even one they love, that day when fate takes hold and lays him out at last" (Homer 115: 269-271).  I think that this shows that no matter how hard we may try to control our future, we will never be able to because it is completely out of our reach.