Telemachos the Christ-like, Jesus the Human: The Odyssey Intersects With Luke

By Francis Bartus
Posted 12/17/05

The familiar tale of the life of Jesus inspires many metaphors and allegories in popular writing.  In fact, many consider Jesus’ self-sacrifice an almost universal part of Western cultural vocabulary.  Indeed, countless scholars devote themselves to the study of the Gospels themselves, as well as the works which draw inspiration from them.  However, the most poignant evidence for the universality of Jesus’ tale comes not from later works, but from earlier works that existed independently from the entire Bible.  One such work, Homer’s Odyssey, provides an interesting window into Jesus’ character.  Interestingly, Telemachos, Odysseus’ son, bears a striking resemblance to Jesus in the many challenges he faces due to his relationship with his father.  Though on the surface, the parallels and differences between the two works seem insignificant, a close reading of the Telamache (Books 1-4 of the Odyssey) provides new insight into the challenges Jesus faces in the gospel.

            At first glance, Jesus and Telemachos seem utterly different characters, faced with very different sets of challenges.  Yet the few common challenges they share define their roles as characters.  Foremost among these shared challenges are their respective relationships to their legendary fathers.  Of course, it may not seem fair to compare Odysseus—a mere mortal—to the all-powerful Hebrew God, but as characters in the two narratives, they fulfill similar functions.  Though throughout the gospel of Luke, Jesus prays often to his father, God takes a hands-off approach to Jesus’ life—remaining absent throughout most of the gospel.  When Jesus angers the Pharisees at the synagogue in Nazareth, God never explicitly steps in on his behalf.  In fact, though “they rose up and put him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill… that they might throw him down headlong,” Jesus simply walks through them and goes “away,” escaping on his own without God’s help.  (Luke 4:29-30)  Here, though Jesus appears left to his own devices, God does not reveal himself as Jesus’ father to the skeptical Pharisees.  Rather, God’s character remains absent throughout most of the narrative

            Similarly, Odysseus remains absent throughout the first four books of the Odyssey.  In fact, Odysseus’ absence has such a profound effect on Telemachos that he does not always refer to himself as the son of Odysseus.  When Athene approaches Telemachos disguised as Mentor in Book I and inquires about Odysseus, Telemachos says “My mother says indeed I am his.  I for my part do not know.  Nobody really knows his own father.” (Odyssey: 1, lns. 215-216)  Since his father has been absent since his youth, Telemachos finds himself struggling with his identity.  Similarly, Jesus decides not to identify his father; when the disciples of John question him, asking “Are you he who is to come?” Jesus simply answers “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard… blessed is he who takes no offense at me.” (Luke 7:20-23) These two questions pose a similar question: why would Jesus and Telemachos choose not to identify their fathers—especially in circumstances in which it might benefit them?

            The answer, it seems, lies in the expectations to which both Jesus and Telemachos are held based on their far-famed fathers.  When Telemachos visits Gerenian Nestor to inquire about his father, Nestor describes him as “great Odysseus… far surpassed [all others] in every kind of stratagem; your father, if truly you are his son.” (Odyssey: 3, lns. 120-123)  For Telemachos, Odysseus’ lofty fame provides an intimidating challenge to aspire to—so much as that Nestor does not presume to outright declare Telemachos Odysseus’ son, despite their resemblance.  Athene, too, expects Telemachos to take action against the suitors—just as his father would in his place.  In Jesus’ case, the expectations of others based on Jesus’ supposed identity becomes clears in the gospel of Luke when Jesus says

For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine; and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The son of man has come eating and drinking; and you say, ‘Behold a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ (Luke 7:33-34)

The skeptics and the Pharisees scrutinize every one of Jesus’ actions and choices because he claims to be the son of God, just as Athene and Nestor look upon Telemachos with high expectations based on his powerful father. 

So both Jesus and Telemachos must live up to high expectations based on the identity of their fathers, both of whom are absent throughout the relevant parts of each work.  Interestingly, one can find similarities even in how they deal with this fact.  Herein lies the value of the comparison: both Telemachos and Jesus feel they must live up to these expectations and prove themselves through their actions.  In Jesus’ case, he must take a two-pronged approach: firstly, living up to the expectations of those who believe in him and secondly, proving himself to those who doubt him.  In Telemachos’ case, he must follow Athene’s instructions and set out in search of his father.  Interesting, a return to Jesus’ response to John’s disciples in Luke 7 makes clear the precise actions Jesus feels he must perform in order to prove himself.  “Go and tell John,” he says, “that the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them.” (Luke 7:22) Thus, both Jesus and Telemachos must live up to the expectations laid before them as sons of legendary characters—Telemachos through his coming of age and Jesus through his signs and miracles. 

Additionally, they are each fated to perform some great deed—Telemachos to return alongside Odysseus and drive the suitors out and Jesus to return alongside God to save mankind and cleanse the world of sin.  Of course, the obvious difference between the two lies in the magnitude of the sacrifice each one makes.  In Jesus’ case, he must give up his life to save mankind and return to his father’s side.  In Telemachos’ case, he must give up his boyhood innocence and finally come of age, returning from his journey as a man alongside his father.  Nonetheless, both of them hesitate at certain points in the narrative; Telemachos laments that the expulsion of the suitors “could never happen... not even if the gods so willed it.” (Odyssey: 3 lns. 226-227)  Similarly, Jesus tries to back down from his fate at the Mount of Olives, when he prays “Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup from me…” (Luke 22:42)  These moments of hesitation reveal the very human insecurities Jesus and Telemachos face in light of their challenging destinies.

            Ultimately, the usefulness of this comparison lies in the human aspects of Jesus’ character that are too often overlooked, but have echoes in Telemachos’ story.  Both Luke and John wrote their gospels in order to spread the Christian religion and belief in Christ, and it seems that each of them carefully selected signs, parables, and metaphors that they felt best represented Jesus’ teachings.  Yet every once in a while, Jesus the man slips through, as full of human insecurities as Homer’s Telemachos.  It seems that without divine intervention, neither of the two men could truly live up to the tremendous expectations set before them.  Thus, Athene steps in on Telemachos’ behalf, revealing herself to Nestor when she goes “away in the likeness of a vulture,” causing Nestor to say “Dear friend, I have no thought that you will turn out mean and coward if, when you are so young, the gods go with you and guide you thus.” (Odyssey: Book 3, lns. 372-376)  Nestor’s faith and confidence in Telemachos are boosted by Athene’s appearance to him.  God does the same for Jesus when he speaks to the disciples; his “voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!’” (Luke 9:35)  Neither man can quite aspire to the level of his father’s power without some divine intervention, which reveals the inherent flaws of their mere humanity.

               This examination of Jesus and Telemachos not only helps clarify the more human aspects of Jesus’ struggle in the gospel of Luke, but also emphasizes the common difficulties humans face in establishing an identity based on their parenthood.  Both of these stories strike a human chord in anyone who has had to live up to the expectations of their parents, or of other people based on their lineage.  These expectations, manifested in Jesus’ destiny to eventually return on a final day of judgment and Telemachos’ destiny to return with Odysseus to drive out the suitors, are almost supernatural—and they require supernatural assistance to achieve them.  If neither Jesus nor Telemachos required such divine assistance, their characters would seem less human—and thus, less empathetic.  Perhaps Luke’s gospel would have done better to have emphasized these human flaws in Jesus more carefully, that potential Christians might empathize more with the suffering of Jesus the human rather than focusing solely on Jesus, the son of God.  Yet though Luke chooses not to focus on these aspects, a comparison with the Odyssey sheds new light on the human struggle of Jesus, providing a handy bridge between these two tales of extreme cultural significance.  For, in order for the myth to be believable, even mankind’s heroes and messiahs must face the same challenges as one another—indeed, our own challenges.