It is in Book Four of The Odyssey
when Telemachus visits Menelaus and his wife, Helen, whom he has taken back from Troy
after the end of the battle. Telemachus is of course hunting news of his father at the
urging of the goddess Athena, and therefore hopes to find some concrete information
about his father's whereabouts from Menelaus.
Remember that
Menelaus and Odysseus fought on the same side against Troy. It is clear that Menelaus
feels great respect and esteem for Odysseus. He recalls the time when Odysseus saved the
Greeks whilst they were in the horse. Helen had come to the horse to try and tempt the
hidden Greeks into calling out by mimicking the voices of their wives. They would have
succumbed to this temptation if it were not for Odysseus who kept them focussed through
his charisma and leadership.
Therefore, although Menelaus
does not have any information regarding the whereabouts of Odysseus, we can infer from
his memories of Odysseus that he has great respect for Telemachus'
father.
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