Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Critical bibliography
- Biographical sketches
- Telemachus, son of Ulysses
- Book I Telemachus and Mentor, in search of Ulysses, arrive on the island of Calypso; the nymph is still bemoaning the departure of Ulysses
- Book II Telemachus' account of Sesostris' wise rule in Egypt
- Book III Telemachus' tale of the cruelties of Pygmalion and Astarbé at Tyre
- Book IV Mentor reproves Telemachus for too easily falling under Calypso's spell; Telemachus continues his narrative
- Book V The story of Idomeneus, king of Crete, who kills his son and is banished. Mentor refuses the Cretan throne
- Book VI Telemachus falls in love with the nymph Eucharis, but Mentor tears him away from Calypso's island; Venus and Cupid are furious
- Book VII Telemachus and Mentor learn of the violent deaths of Pygmalion and Astarbé; Adoam describes the simplicty of the pastoral land of Bétique
- Book VIII Telemachus and Mentor are tricked by Venus into landing at Salente, the new city of the exiled Idomeneus. Salente prepares for war against the Mandurians
- Book IX Idomeneus describes the founding of Salente, the cause of the war with the Mandurians, and his grief in finding Nestor (hero of the Trojan War) on the opposing side
- Book X Mentor acquaints himself with Salente and instructs Idomeneus in the art of governing; he stresses peace, agriculture, and disinterestedness, and the suppression of luxury
- Book XI Idomeneus tells Mentor of his betrayal by the self-loving Protesilaus, and of the latter's efforts to ruin the virtuous and honest Philocles
- Book XII Telemachus, in the camp of Idomeneus' allies, gains the good will of Philoctetes (who had been on bad terms with Ulysses); Philoctetes gives an account of the death of Hercules
- Book XIII Telemachus' quarrel with Hippias; the king of the Daunians attacks the forces of Idomeneus and the allies. Death and funeral rites of Hippias
- Book XIV Telemachus descends into the infernal regions in search of Ulysses; there, in the Elysian fields, he sees the after-life of just kings. He meets the shade of his great-grandfather, who reveals that Ulysses still lives
- Book XV Telemachus defeats the enemies of Idomeneus and his allies, and vanquishes the treacherous Adastrus (who had killed the son of Nestor)
- Book XVI Telemachus refuses to divide the lands of the vanquished Daunians, and lets them choose a good king from their own numbers
- Book XVII Telemachus returns to Salente to discover Mentor's austere reforms in place: the city no longer overwhelms the countryside. Telemachus falls in love with Antiope, the virtuous daughter of Idomeneus
- Book XVIII Despite Idomeneus' pleas, Telemachus and Mentor leave Salente; Mentor gives his final advice about good government to Telemachus, then reveals himself to be Minerva, goddess of wisdom. Telemachus returns to Ithaca, where he finds his recently returned father, Ulysses
- Index
- Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought
Book II - Telemachus' account of Sesostris' wise rule in Egypt
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Critical bibliography
- Biographical sketches
- Telemachus, son of Ulysses
- Book I Telemachus and Mentor, in search of Ulysses, arrive on the island of Calypso; the nymph is still bemoaning the departure of Ulysses
- Book II Telemachus' account of Sesostris' wise rule in Egypt
- Book III Telemachus' tale of the cruelties of Pygmalion and Astarbé at Tyre
- Book IV Mentor reproves Telemachus for too easily falling under Calypso's spell; Telemachus continues his narrative
- Book V The story of Idomeneus, king of Crete, who kills his son and is banished. Mentor refuses the Cretan throne
- Book VI Telemachus falls in love with the nymph Eucharis, but Mentor tears him away from Calypso's island; Venus and Cupid are furious
- Book VII Telemachus and Mentor learn of the violent deaths of Pygmalion and Astarbé; Adoam describes the simplicty of the pastoral land of Bétique
- Book VIII Telemachus and Mentor are tricked by Venus into landing at Salente, the new city of the exiled Idomeneus. Salente prepares for war against the Mandurians
- Book IX Idomeneus describes the founding of Salente, the cause of the war with the Mandurians, and his grief in finding Nestor (hero of the Trojan War) on the opposing side
- Book X Mentor acquaints himself with Salente and instructs Idomeneus in the art of governing; he stresses peace, agriculture, and disinterestedness, and the suppression of luxury
- Book XI Idomeneus tells Mentor of his betrayal by the self-loving Protesilaus, and of the latter's efforts to ruin the virtuous and honest Philocles
- Book XII Telemachus, in the camp of Idomeneus' allies, gains the good will of Philoctetes (who had been on bad terms with Ulysses); Philoctetes gives an account of the death of Hercules
- Book XIII Telemachus' quarrel with Hippias; the king of the Daunians attacks the forces of Idomeneus and the allies. Death and funeral rites of Hippias
- Book XIV Telemachus descends into the infernal regions in search of Ulysses; there, in the Elysian fields, he sees the after-life of just kings. He meets the shade of his great-grandfather, who reveals that Ulysses still lives
- Book XV Telemachus defeats the enemies of Idomeneus and his allies, and vanquishes the treacherous Adastrus (who had killed the son of Nestor)
- Book XVI Telemachus refuses to divide the lands of the vanquished Daunians, and lets them choose a good king from their own numbers
- Book XVII Telemachus returns to Salente to discover Mentor's austere reforms in place: the city no longer overwhelms the countryside. Telemachus falls in love with Antiope, the virtuous daughter of Idomeneus
- Book XVIII Despite Idomeneus' pleas, Telemachus and Mentor leave Salente; Mentor gives his final advice about good government to Telemachus, then reveals himself to be Minerva, goddess of wisdom. Telemachus returns to Ithaca, where he finds his recently returned father, Ulysses
- Index
- Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought
Summary
Telemachus recounts the manner in which he was taken in the Tyrian vessel, by the fleet of Sesostris, and carried captive into Egypt. He describes the beauty of that country, and the wisdom of the king's administration. He proceeds to tell how Mentor was sent as a slave into Ethiopia: that he himself was reduced to the condition of a shepherd in the desert of Oasis: that Termosiris, priest of Apollo, consoled him in his distress by teaching him to imitate the example of Apollo, who had been formerly a shepherd under King Admetus; that Sesostris had at last been informed of all the wonders he had wrought among the shepherds; that, convinced of his innocence, he had recalled him to his court, and promised to send him safe to Ithaca: but the death of this king involved him in fresh disasters; that he was imprisoned in a tower upon the seashore, from which he beheld the new king Bocchoris lose his life in a battle against his own subjects, who had rebelled, and were assisted by the Tyrians.
“The Tyrians, by their pride, had attracted the resentment of King Sesostris, who reigned in Egypt and conquered so many realms. The riches they had acquired by commerce, and the strength of the impregnable city of Tyre, which was built in the sea, had inflated the hearts of those people.
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- Fénelon: Telemachus , pp. 15 - 28Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1994