<P> In Homer 's Odyssey , Telemachus , under the instructions of Athena , spends the first four books trying to gain knowledge of his father , Odysseus , who left for Troy when Telemachus was still an infant . At the outset of Telemachus ' journey , Odysseus had been absent from his home at Ithaca for twenty years due to the Trojan War and the intervention of Poseidon . During his absence , Odysseus ' house has been occupied by hordes of suitors seeking the hand of Penelope . Telemachus first visits Nestor and is well received by the old man who regales him with stories of his father 's glory . Telemachus then departs with Nestor 's son Peisistratus , who accompanies him to the halls of Menelaus and his wife Helen . Whilst there , Telemachus is again treated as an honored guest as Menelaus and Helen tell complementary yet contradictory stories of his father 's exploits at Troy . </P>
<P> In Homer 's Odyssey , Telemachus , under the instructions of Athena , spends the first four books trying to gain knowledge of his father , Odysseus , who left for Troy when Telemachus was still an infant . At the outset of Telemachus ' journey , Odysseus had been absent from his home at Ithaca for twenty years due to the Trojan War and the intervention of Poseidon . During his absence , Odysseus ' house has been occupied by hordes of suitors seeking the hand of Penelope . Telemachus first visits Nestor and is well received by the old man who regales him with stories of his father 's glory . Telemachus then departs with Nestor 's son Peisistratus , who accompanies him to the halls of Menelaus and his wife Helen . Whilst there , Telemachus is again treated as an honored guest as Menelaus and Helen tell complementary yet contradictory stories of his father 's exploits at Troy . </P>
how old is telemachus at the start of the odyssey
how old is telemachus at the start of the odyssey
twenty
twenty