The Aventures de Télémaque (1699) is the best-known work of François Fénelon (1651-1715) and one that exercised enormous influence over eighteenth-century letters, politics and economics, both in France and well beyond. Exploiting a gap in Homer’s Odyssey, the narrative recounts the adventures of Telemachus, son of Ulysses, and his guide Mentor, who is Minerva, goddess of wisdom, in disguise. Visiting countries such as Egypt, Tyre, Cyprus, Betica and Salentum, and examining their political and economic conditions, the young and curious Telemachus undergoes an educational journey, that is, a moral and political apprenticeship through which he learns the attributes of a virtuous ruler. …
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Citation: Della Fontana, Aris. "Télémaque". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 09 May 2021 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=16095, accessed 23 November 2024.]
