Books 1-4 Summaries
by Erin Salona
Book ONE
Athena Advises Telemachus

Homer’s invocation to the Muses
(9 daughters of Zeus worshipped for
Inspiration to art and music)

The reader learns:
 Poseidon has stranded Odysseus with Calypso,
the nymph
 Poseidon is upset with Odysseus for poking the
Cyclops’ eye out
 Athena begs Zeus to let Odysseus return to
Ithaca
 Hermes is sent to free Odysseus from Calypso
Book ONE
Athena comes to give advice to Telemachus
& is disguised as Mentor, a male family
friend.
 Suitors have overrun Odysseus’ home &
want to marry his mother, Queen Penelope.
 Mentor/Athena tells Telemachus to find a
boat & to sail to different places asking about
his father
 She tells Telemachus that he should warn off
the suitors or kill them upon his return.

Book ONE
From Mentor, Telemachus decides that
he should go to Pylos and Sparta to talk
with both King Nestor and King
Menelaus.
 If Telemachus learns that his father is
alive, he should go home and put up
with the suitors, knowing his father will
be home soon.

Book ONE
If Telemachus learns that his father is
dead, he should prepare a proper burial
for him.
 Also, he will have to ask Odysseus’
father Laertes choose a suitor for her to
marry (due to arranged marriages)
 Telemachus is also informed by Mentor
that he will have to kill the suitors who
will not leave their home.

Book TWO
Telemachus Confronts the Suitors
Telemachus calls all of the Greek men
together to discuss his problem with the
suitors.
 During the assembly, Zeus sends two
eagles– omens of death– to fly over the
suitors.
 Halitherses, a prophet, interprets these
eagles to mean Odysseus is coming home
and will kill the disrespectful suitors.

Book TWO


Antinous, the most
arrogant suitor,
blames Penelope for
the problems
because she
seduces every suitor
but will commit to
none of them, says
Antinous.
Penelope has been
tricking the suitors.
Book TWO



Penelope has been
weaving a burial
shroud for Laertes
during the day but
unraveling it at
night.
She will not marry a
suitor until the
shroud is done.
A maid tells a suitor
of Penelope’s trick.
Book TWO
Eurycleia, slave and Telemachus’s old nurse/
care-giver, helps him prepare for the trip.
 Telemachus begs the nurse not to tell his
mother that he has left until some time has
passed
 Mentor/ Athena finds a crew for Telemachus
and they all sail away together.

Book THREE
The Visit to Nestor
Telemachus & ship arrive at Pylos, the land
of King Nestor.
 They arrive during a festival in honor of
Poseidon (who is Odysseus’s enemy)
 Nestor doesn’t know who Telemachus is and
invites him to feast with them
 Nestor then asks Telemachus who he is
 Telemachus asks Nestor if he has seen
Odysseus

Book THREE
Nestor praises Telemachus
 Nestor says that he & Odysseus were
friends
 Nestor says that Athena likely helped
Odysseus
 Telemachus doubts Athena’s power
 Athena, disguised as Mentor, assures
Telemachus that a god can save a
mortal

Book FOUR
The Visit to Menelaus and Helen
Nestor sends Telemachus and Athena, still
disguised as Mentor, to Sparta.
 In Sparta, King Menelaus & wife Helen, are
back together and happy.
 Telemachus doesn’t tell them his identity.
 Menelaus reminisces about Odysseus & tells
war stories; Telemachus cries
 Menelaus says no soldier worked harder
than Odysseus & that he doesn’t know if he
is alive or dead.

Book FOUR





Telemachus cries for his father
Menelaus figures out Telemachus’s identity
Helen says aloud that Telemachus must be
the son of Odysseus
They tell Telemachus that they heard that
Odysseus is alive & living with the nymph
Calypso
The suitors have planned to kill
Telemachus when he returns home