This picture displays Odysseus and Telemachus fighting the suitors. Odysseus takes on many suitors, leading his wife, Penelope, and his son, Telemachus, to worry about his survival. This picture displays the action in Book 20 of the Odyssey; however, before the fighting, Telemachus helped his father prepare for his attack on the suitors. This picture does not clearly show who Telemachus is; however, I interpret the man kneeling by the person draped in red is Telemachus. Odysseus is wearing red, representing violence and blood, while the man next to him is wearing green, representing a new beginning and growth. This shows Telemachus’s maturing in his leadership. He also kneels beside his father, showing he is his father’s right-hand man. While Odysseus displays an aggressive stance by leaning forward and extending his arrow, Telemachus seems poised but prepared to fight. Telemachus may not be the traditional leader like his father, but he still shows his leadership through his bravery, the support of his father, and his loyalty towards his family.

After conducting research on this piece, the artist, Bela Čikoš Sesija, the picture displays Odysseus killing the suitors. It was stated that Telemachus was worried for Odysseus’s survival, which can be shown in the piece as him kneeling beside his father. While researching this piece, it was hard to find Telemachus’s name among the articles. I believe this is because the Odyssey is highly focused on Odysseus. However, in the interview with Emily Wilson, she describes how she found a new interest when rereading the Odyssey as she got older. She saw a refreshed perspective that showed the importance of Telemachus’s story. Although many articles only focused on Odysseus’s return to kill the suitors, they did mention the contribution that supports Telemachus being Odysseus’s right-hand man. Some state he was loyal to his father in helping him prepare and attempting to expel the suitors through speech. The suitors were said to have laughed at him until they saw the blood on the walls. It was then they “[had] a dramatic difference in expression.”

As I said before, many articles failed to highlight Telemachus’s story. After his journey to find his father and receive advice on expelling the suitors, he became a brave and courageous man. His importance and voice were suppressed in these articles, forcing the readers to have a lack of knowledge of Telemachus’s story. I consider his story of growth and coming of age an influential representation of leadership. He first felt like a stranger in his own home and had taken back his rightful place as an owner of his house.

The picture uses vibrant colors to highlight the significant characters in the piece. In this piece, Odysseus is the man with deep red fabric, while one of the suitors, also in red, is painted in dull colors. It also seems that the suitors are smaller than Odysseus, and even though there are more of them, they seem to be people who are meant to fill space on the canvas. These techniques seem intentional and effective because the main characters truly stand out from the rest of the people who are painted. The painting also shows the lack of women present on the battlefield. Stating that violence was a male-dominated action. Lastly, this piece skillfully highlights Odysseus but similar to the articles, fails to highlight Telemachus’s importance.