The Idea of Male Vulnerability Is So So So Ancient
Emotional vulnerability does not equate to softness.
In this post, I am returning to an idea explored in a previous post on mentoring from Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. But this time, I’m sharing what I’ve learned about male vulnerability from Homer’s beautiful 8th century BC epopee.
Here’s a refresher of some relevant bits of the story:
Menelaus, king of Sparta, wages war against the city of Troy after they took his wife, Helen. Odysseus joins Menelaus in his fight against Troy, leaving his son Telemachus in the care of his wife, Penelope, his good friend Mentor and the swineherd, Eumaeus. (I’ll come back to this section probably in another post).
The siege against Troy lasts a decade and because Odysseus’ journey home takes so long (another decade) no one knows whether he is still alive or not. By the time his son Telemachus reaches manhood, probably in his late 20s, he decides to visit Menelaus to find out what he knows about his father. Menelaus throws a welcome party where Telemachus talks to him about his father. Sadly for Telemachus, the Spartan king doesn’t have any news and believes that Odysseus has perished. At this thought, both men start to weep and are joined by Helen in a public display of emotions.
