Unlikely Heroes

During one of the class discussions that took place over the week, a number of us concluded that Telemachus does not seem to have the mindset, and needs to be told what to do in order to act in a heroic manner. With this in mind, I thought it would be interesting to compare and contrast the interactions between Telemachus and Athena in The Odyssey with Moses's initial meeting with God in The Bible. In both of these situations, the human characters seem to be presented as "unlikely heroes", so to speak, people who need to be giving instructions and motivation by divine power, so that they can protect themselves, as well as the people they care for. 

When we are first introduced to Telemachus, we find him sitting among the crowd of suitors, stuck in the middle of a daydream. He thinks "If only he [Odysseus] might drop from the clouds/and drive these suitors all in a rout throughout the halls/and regain his pride of place and rule his own domains!" (Book 1, lines 135-137). We can see here that, while he wants his house to be free of the suitors, he lacks the courage and strength to do anything about the situation. If he really had a heroic mindset, he would probably be thinking something along the lines of "Hey, these suitors are in my house, and I want them out. I should really do something about that", and then proceed to take action. Instead, he sits and fantasizes of his father suddenly appearing and doing the job for him. Only after Athena tells him "You must not cling to your boyhood any longer-/it's time you were a man" (Book 1, lines 341-342), does he begin to take serious action against the suitors, and being the search for his father. 

Likewise, in The Bible, Moses is faced with the issue of seeing his fellow Hebrews enslaved. Like Telemachus, Moses does not seem to be doing much about the situation. While it is true that he stood up for one man who was being mercilessly punished by an Egyptian, it takes a revelation from God for him to stand up for the entirety of the people (and of course, he flees the country right after slaying the Egyptian. Understandable, but not an action one would expect from a soon-to-be hero). Even after God presents himself, Moses is still hesitant: "who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?" (Exodus, 3:11), he asks God, who responds by saying that he will be with Moses when he goes forth to Pharaoh. When Moses and further assures him by saying "I will be  with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt speak" (Exodus, 4: 13). This is similar to what Athena tells Telemachus before he speaks to Nestor in The Odyssey: "some of the words you will find within yourself,/the rest some power will inspire you to say" (Book 3, lines 29-30). It is interesting how both characters seem to be unable to be strong speakers, as this is an aspect that one would probably expect from someone destined to be a leader. Of course, in the end, both Moses and Telemachus overcome their own doubts, and are able to carry out the orders of their respective gods. 

I'd like to know, was there anyone else who noticed these similarities? Or do you guys think that I'm just making comparisons where there are none?