The Telemachy (from Greek Τηλεμάχεια, Tēlemacheia) is a term traditionally applied to the first four books of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey. They are named so because, just as the Odyssey tells the story of Odysseus, they tell the story of Odysseus's son Telemachus as he journeys from home for the first time in search of news about his missing father.
The Telemachy as an introduction to the Odyssey
The Odyssey is a nostos that recalls the story of Odysseus' journey home to Ithaca, finally completed twenty years after the Trojan War began. Odysseus, however, does not directly appear in the narrative until Book 5. Instead, the Telemachys subject is the effect of Odysseus' absence on his family, Telemachus in particular. The first four books of the Odyssey give the reader a glimpse of the goings-on at the palace in Ithaca. There are a multitude of suitors vying for Penelope's hand in marriage, consuming the absent king's estate. They have been a terrible drain on the family's wealth, as they have been nearly permanent houseguests while Penelope put off her choice for three to four years. A brooding Telemachus wants to eject the suitors, and in fact announces his intention to do so; but he is not strong enough to act on the threat. Homer thus provides Telemachus with a motive for leaving Ithaca, and the reader with this portrait of Ithaca to place Odysseus' homecoming in context and to underscore the urgency of his journey.
Telemachus' Rites of Passage
Homeric scholarship generally recognizes the Telemachy as the story of its eponymous hero's journey from boyhood to manhood. It is only after having gone through this journey that Telemachus will be equipped to help Odysseus kill the suitors in Book 22. His first step toward Homer's ideal of manhood is a figurative one: in Book 1 Penelope tries to dictate what songs a bard should sing for the suitors. Telemachus (345ff.) admonishes her, and directs her to go back to her room; this signals the first time that Telemachus asserts himself as the head of the household in the Odyssey.
In Book 2 Telemachus further tries to assert his authority when he calls an Assembly and demands that the suitors leave his estate. But since Telemachus is, in his own words (61-2), "a weakling knowing nothing of valor," the suitors refuse, blaming Penelope for their staying so long. Telemachus then announces his intention to visit Sparta and Pylos in search of news about his father. This first journey away from home is an important part of the figurative journey from boyhood to manhood.
In Book 3 Telemachus is schooled in the ancient Greek social contract between hosts and their houseguests. The concept, called xenia, is simple: the host should offer the houseguest anything he wants, and the houseguest should not abuse this generosity, for he might find himself playing the part of host in the future. Nestor, the king of Pylos, exemplifies this social contract. Furthermore, Nestor's storytelling allows Homer to relate myths that fall outside of the Odyssey'''s purview. He reflects on the Trojan War, praising Odysseus for his cunning. Telemachus begins to learn and appreciate what kind of man his father was. The story Nestor tells of Orestes in particular serves as a model for Telemachus to emulate: just as Orestes killed the overbearing suitor who occupied his father Agamemnon's estate, so should Telemachus kill the suitors and reclaim his own father's estate.