Les Aventures de Télémaque

work by Fénelon

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

June 18, 2026

Quick Summary

Les Aventures de Télémaque (The Adventures of Telemachus) is a work by French author François de Salignac de La Mothe-Fénelon, published in 1699. The book follows the adventures of Telemachus, son of the Greek hero Odysseus, as he searches for his father. Guided by the goddess Athena, disguised as Mentor, Telemachus embarks on a journey filled with trials and lessons.12

The work is symbolic, with Telemachus's quest representing Fénelon's ideas on the education of princes and heroes. It became a popular model for novels focused on the moral and intellectual development of young leaders.21

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

2 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

François de Salignac de La Mothe-Fénelon
…Fénelon composed his best-known work, Les Aventures de Télémaque (1699), in which the adventures of Telemachus in search of his father, Ulysses, symbolically express Fénelon’s fundamental political ideas. During the period of his popularity in official circles, Fénelon enjoyed various honours, including his election to the French Academy in 1693…
Read More
…Fénelon composed his best-known work, Les Aventures de Télémaque (1699), in which the adventures of Telemachus in search of his father, Ulysses, symbolically express Fénelon’s fundamental political ideas. During the period of his popularity in official circles, Fénelon enjoyed various honours, including his election to the French Academy in 1693…
Read More

Telemachus
In modern literature
…de Salignac de la Mothe-Fénelon’s Les Aventures de Télémaque (1699), which set the fashion for novels about the education of princes or heroes, is about the trials of Telemachus, who is guided by Athena disguised as Mentor. In Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s poem “Ulysses” (1833), a restless Odysseus outlines his plan…
Read More
…de Salignac de la Mothe-Fénelon’s Les Aventures de Télémaque (1699), which set the fashion for novels about the education of princes or heroes, is about the trials of Telemachus, who is guided by Athena disguised as Mentor. In Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s poem “Ulysses” (1833), a restless Odysseus outlines his plan…
Read More