Then, ending the council, Telemachus prays to Athena to aid him in uniting his family. Answering Telemachus' prayer, Athena procures a ship, crew and supplies for Telemachus' escape from the suitors. In a similar vein, Telemachus complains to Athena about fearing the arrogant suitors saying, "these men are feasting on my home/ and will soon be the death of me" (Homer 10). This compares with "The Metamorphosis", in which the son reveals fearing his arrogant father, "wearing a smart blue uniform with gold buttons.Gregor remained on the floor.because he was afraid" (Kafka 377). After listening to Telemachus' complaints, Athena refers to Telemachus "acting like a child" because he fails to resist the suitors when they court his mother and eat his food (Homer 11). Telemachus' response to Athena's challenge becomes the starting point of his legacy because he journeys to unite his family in the same fashion as his father. Despite their moments of weakness and in part because of the involvement of the gods, Odysseus and Telemachus will rebound from weakness to satisfy the requisite characteristics of a hero. .
In fulfilling the first requirement of a hero, Odysseus demonstrates his courage by escaping Calypso, battling the sea and outsmarting Cyclops. First, Odysseus escapes Calypso's isle fearing that he will be lost because of he does not know the path to home. Building his own raft, Odysseus sails aimlessly until finding land finally " on the eighteenth day [when] some shadowy hills appeared" (Homer 25). Mirroring Odysseus in his moment of distress, the characters of "The Open Boat" embark aimlessly: "None of them knew the color of the sky" (Crane 355). To clarify, the characters in "The Open Boat" not knowing the color of the sky symbolizes that they were lost. In another demonstration of courage, Odysseus tricks Cyclops by giving him a paralyzing glass of wine.
