Editing Telemachy (section)

==Foreshadowing in the ''Telemachy''==
The Orestes paradigm treated above is perhaps the most overt example of [[foreshadowing]] events in the ''Odyssey''{{'}}s later books. The stories told about Odysseus serve a similar purpose. In the ''Telemachy'' both Nestor and Menelaus praise Odysseus for his cunning. In telling of his own detour in Egypt, Menelaus emphasizes how the use of cunning and subterfuge were instrumental in his return to Sparta. It was only by hiding under a seal skin that he was able to ambush and capture Proteus, the only one who can direct Menelaus how to reach home. Although the scheme was not of Menelaus' devising, it does demonstrate that while the battlefield inspires bravery from its heroes, wily cunning also has its place when the situation demands. These recollections of stealth and subterfuge point to the tactics that Odysseus will eventually employ upon his return to Ithaca.