Orestes

Nestor tells the story plainly when Telemachus arrives at Pylos. Agamemnon came home and was murdered in his bath by his wife and her lover. His son Orestes avenged him. The arithmetic is meant for the boy across the table. Your father’s friend was killed in his own house by men who took his place. The son did what was needed. The model does not have to be spelled out. Athena holds it up too, in her quiet way, when she pushes Telemachus toward action. He is the boy Telemachus is being measured against. Not by name often, but as the silhouette behind every time someone tells Telemachus to stand up.