In Book 1 of The Odyssey by Emily Willson, Athena, the daughter of Zeus and the goddess of wisdom and warfare, first meets Telemachus, the son of Odysseus, to encourage him on a journey to find his father and retrieve advice on ways to expel the suitors. She disguised herself as Mentes to appear as a friend to Telemachus. After he kindly welcomed her into his home, she gifted Telemachus hope and information about Odysseus’s whereabouts. After their first encounter, Telemachus has the courage to attempt to remove the suitors from his home. However, due to his age and lack of power behind his name, he could not remove the suitors from his home. Athena then continues to guide him on his journey throughout Book 15. During this point in The Odyssey, Telemachus is in Sparta with Pisistratus, where Athena greets him again, encouraging him to go home to Ithaca. She informs him that the suitors start to win over his mother, Penelope. She also warns Telemachus of the suitors, who plan to kill him on his journey home. She shows the reader the desperation of a grieving wife and how the men will take advantage only for their own interests.

Telemachus knows he does not have power behind his name and will need to earn that power and pride to expel the suitors from his home. In Book 1, on page 117, after the encouragement of Athena, Telemachus exclaims, “You suitors, are taking this too far…it is an order. You have to leade my halls. Go dine elsewhere!” (Wilson, 368,373-374). This is where Telemachus first makes a name for himself and shows his leadership through courage and bravery. Before his encounter with Athena, his tone seemed helpless and polite to whoever entered his home, even if they overstayed their welcome. However, he then embarks on a new journey to make a name for himself. Book 15 shows the aftermath of his voyage, where he has to return home to save his mother from the suitors. On page 353, “my property” (Wilson, 90) is used when Telemauchs states his need to return home. He has more self-confidence after his travels and has claimed his home as his own. His tone has changed from Book 1, where he seemed fragile and helpless, to a confident, assertive man. Telemachus displays leadership by being loyal to his values. Although he is on his journey home, he still believes in hospitality. “Yes, you can join us on board our ship. And what we have is yours; you are our guest” (pg 359, Wilson, 279-281). He was more assertive when welcoming the stranger, compared to the interaction with Athena in Book 1 when he first greeted Athena. Through his travels and adventures, Telemachus proved himself worthy of respect and power.

With the help of Athena, Telemachus was able to gain a name for himself through his adventures and confidence. He made connections with new strangers, took to the sea, and learned to be assertive. In a way, Telemachus followed in Odysseus’s footsteps by earning a name through his adventures and connections with new people. Telemachus felt alienated in his own home before his travels, and after, he felt powerful enough to go home and face the suitors who wanted him dead. Through his new revelations, he still kept his values intact. His loyalty and protectiveness for his mother and his generous hospitality still remained important to him.