The Odyssey tells another story running alongside that of Odysseus’s homeward journey: the coming of age of his son, Telemachus.
Homer’s poem devotes its opening four books to the young prince left behind on Ithaca, whereas Christopher Nolan’s film constructs an interwoven, non-linear narrative that sees Telemachus – portrayed by Tom Holland – play a central role throughout the story.
When his father, Odysseus, departs for Troy, Telemachus is still an infant. By the time The Odyssey begins, he has grown into adulthood in a kingdom in the throes of chaos. In his father’s absence, can he establish himself as the rightful heir before the suitors with designs on his mother, Penelope (Anne Hathaway), destroy his family and seize the throne?
Warning: this article contains spoilers for the new Christopher Nolan movie
Was Telemachus a real person?
There is no archaeological or documentary evidence beyond Homer’s Odyssey that Telemachus was a real historical figure. Like Odysseus, he is absent from the surviving Linear B tablets, and no independent tradition confirms his existence.
The strongest argument against his historicity is literary. Telemachus is a character constructed by Homer to fit a narrative. His journey within the story serves the needs of the plot, rather than being an attempt to preserve historical memory. Even if the character of Telemachus does encode distant memories of one or more real young aristocratic men, there’s no reason to think that Homer modelled him on one specific historical person.
Nevertheless, the world Telemachus inhabits is grounded in the realities of Mycenaean Greece. The uncertainty surrounding his inheritance reflects a genuine problem in hereditary monarchies: the absence of a king created a power vacuum that needed to be filled by a capable male heir.
As the story of Telemachus shows, that was easier said than done. Although everyone acknowledges him as Odysseus’s son, that fact alone does not secure his position. Powerful noblemen occupy his father’s palace, consume his family’s wealth, and openly compete to marry his mother.
Does Homer use Telemachus to show a recurring political problem rather than a single historical prince? It’s possible. Throughout the Bronze Age, and especially in times of war, heirs would often have inherited unstable kingdoms in which ambitious rivals tested young successors’ authority before it was fully established.
When Odysseus finally returns to Ithaca, Telemachus proves himself worthy of his father’s trust. Together they plan the destruction of the suitors, with Telemachus fighting alongside Odysseus rather than remaining a passive observer.
As with Odysseus, the safest conclusion is that Telemachus is not a recoverable historical individual but a literary character built around recognisable problems of dynastic succession, aristocratic politics and the transition from youth to kingship.
How is Telemachus depicted in Christopher Nolan’s movie?
Tom Holland portrays Telemachus as a courageous prince who clings to the notion that his father may still be alive, and desperately tries to find him. He forms a close bond with his father’s loyal swineherd, Eumaeus (John Leguizamo), practises combat with his advisor, Mentor (Ryan Hurst), and stands up to the boorish suitors who spend their days drinking in Ithaca’s palace.
As in Homer’s poem, Telemachus sets sail from Ithaca with a crew of oarsmen and meets the Spartan king Menelaus (Jon Bernthal), with whom Odysseus served during the Trojan War. Menelaus tells the prince of his father’s exploits, and provides him with hope that Odysseus might still be alive, even though the two leaders went in separate directions following the conclusion of the campaign.
Though these episodes broadly correspond with Homer’s epic, other details of Telemachus’s journey are altered or omitted altogether. Unlike in the poem, the prince is not seen meeting King Nestor in Pylos; instead, his main encounter away from Ithaca is with Menelaus and his wife, Helen (Lupita Nyong’o). Similarly, when Antinous (Robert Pattinson) and the other suitors hatch a plan to kill Telemachus, the action unfolds inside a temple – another sequence unique to Nolan’s adaptation.
One of the biggest changes, however, comes in the film’s closing scenes, when Telemachus is shown ascending the throne of Ithaca. This is not because Odysseus has died; rather, the king abdicates and enters self-imposed exile with Penelope, sailing into the unknown to honour his fallen comrades.
Here, Nolan appears to have taken inspiration from Dante Alighieri’s Inferno, in which Odysseus (known by his Latin name, Ulysses) gets bored of Ithaca and heads west on one last fateful journey.
What does Telemachus reveal about Late Bronze Age Greece?
Beyond reflecting the challenges of hereditary monarchy, Telemachus’s role in the Odyssey tells the audience much about Late Bronze Age Greece.
First, it depicts his education. Instead of receiving formal instruction, Telemachus learns by travelling between royal courts and observing older rulers. This mirrors what is known of aristocratic societies throughout the ancient world, where leadership was acquired through experience, personal relationships and participation in elite networks.
Through the eyes of Telemachus, the audience sees the central importance of the royal household. The palace is the centre of political authority, economic production and social order. Once the suitors establish themselves within it, they are impossible to remove without violence.
Telemachus also reflects the Greek belief that leadership must be earned as well as inherited. To claim his rightful place, Telemachus must learn to speak confidently in public, travel independently, make difficult decisions and, ultimately, risk his life beside his father.
His relationship with older rulers also highlights the value placed on experience. In their interactions with Telemachus, Nestor and Menelaus embody wisdom accumulated through age, demonstrating that young aristocrats should learn from established leaders before assuming power themselves.
The poem also presents filial loyalty as a defining virtue. Telemachus refuses to abandon hope that his father will return, even when others assume that Odysseus is dead. The son’s determination to preserve his father’s household points to the Greek ideal that family honour extends across generations.
Finally, Telemachus shows that adulthood is measured less by age than by conduct. It is only by confronting the suitors, defending his household and standing alongside Odysseus that he proves himself worthy of inheriting his father’s kingdom and reputation.
Don’t miss our upcoming podcast series exploring the history of Homer’s Odyssey, featuring award-winning classicist and author Daisy Dunn. HistoryExtra members can listen to all four episodes from Sunday 19 July.
