Saturday, December 5, 2009

Penelope’s gambit, Telemachus and Theoclymenus paradigms of children of prophets and heroes in Ulysses time.

The eagle is a regal powerful bird that captures the goose that has been asexual yet is penned and easy to capture. The suitors have been asexual with Penelope only because she has been trying to delay their advances while she waits for Ulysses to return. She tells them that she is weaving a cloth and will not think of their courtship till after she is done weaving. She weaves the cloth during the day and unweaves it at night thus prolonging the suitors wait while not angering them to violence. She like her son Telemarcus secretly waits for Ulysses to return and believes the romours that he still lives and is trying to return. The suitors are penned in the palace of Penelope and the eagle prepares to descend on them and sit next to his son on their rightful thrones. Telemachus has Pisistratus travel the next day towards Ithaca and Telemarcus is dropped off at Pylos where his ship sits waiting. While preparing to set sail for Ithaca Telemarcus is approached by Theoclymenus a descendent of a famous prophet fleeing manslaughter in Argos. Theoclymenus requests to be allowed to come aboard Telemarcus' ship and is welcomed with an odder of safe haven in Ithaca.
This says a lot about Telemarcus and the descendents of prophets that is reminiscent of Ulysses Hades ritual. Are the children of prophets as virtuous as the prophet? In this case one would say no. The fact that Telemarcus welcomes the fugitive from justice brings to question if Telemachus is a virtuous as Ulysses and draws a picture of the next generation or progeny of prophets and heroes. Telemarcus does embody the divine wisdom that Ulysses has but is less lawful and Theoclymenus coming from a divine lineage is actually even less virtuous, though he did not commit a murder and was only fleeing a manslaughter or accidental killing of someone.

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