Jacques-Louis David - The Farewell of Telemachus and Eucharis - Google Art Project

Eucharis, who does not appear in

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

, was one of the nymph Calypso's attendants in Fénelon's novel ''

Les Aventures de Télémaque :''"Les Aventures de Télémaque" is also the title of a 1922 seven-chapter story by Louis Aragon.'' ''Les Aventures de Télémaque, fils d'Ulysse'' () is a didactic novel by François Fénelon, Archbishop of Cambrai, who in 1689 became tutor to ...

'' (1699), a modern prose epic which incorporates

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

ic themes. In the novel,

Telemachus In Greek mythology, Telemachus ( ; ) is the son of Odysseus and Penelope, who are central characters in Homer's ''Odyssey''. When Telemachus reached manhood, he visited Pylos and Sparta in search of his wandering father. On his return to Ithaca, ...

is shipwrecked on Calypso's island

Ogygia Ogygia (; , or ''Ōgygíā'' ) is an island mentioned in Homer's ''Odyssey'', Book V, as the home of the nymph Calypso (mythology), Calypso, the daughter of the Titan (mythology), Titan Atlas (mythology), Atlas. In Homer's ''Odyssey'', Calyps ...

while searching for his father

Odysseus In Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology, Odysseus ( ; , ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; ), is a legendary Greeks, Greek king of Homeric Ithaca, Ithaca and the hero of Homer's Epic poetry, epic poem, the ''Odyssey''. Od ...

, and there falls in love with Eucharis before leaving her to continue the search for his father. Fénelon, in charge of the education of the prospective heir to the French throne, admonished his readers to see the work "not as a frivolous novel, that is offered here, reader, for your idleness, but a learned

parable A parable is a succinct, didactic story, in prose or verse, that illustrates one or more instructive lessons or principles. It differs from a fable in that fables employ animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature as characters, whe ...

". Its theme of the conflict between duty and love is a persistent one, central in French 17th-century classical theater, but peripheral to the ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...

'' in spite of its erotic episodes. A sub-theme in ''Les Aventures de Télémaque'', that of spiritual education, is summed up within the novel by

Mentor Mentorship is the patronage, influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the perso ...

, who says, "He who has not felt his weakness and the violence of his passions is not yet wise; for he does not yet understand himself and does not know how to distrust himself." (In the tradition of the ''Odyssey'', Mentor was a friend of Odysseus; Odysseus placed Mentor in charge of his son Telemachus when he himself left for the

Trojan War The Trojan War was a legendary conflict in Greek mythology that took place around the twelfth or thirteenth century BC. The war was waged by the Achaeans (Homer), Achaeans (Ancient Greece, Greeks) against the city of Troy after Paris (mytho ...

.) The story is perhaps best known from

Jacques-Louis David Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in ...

's painting '' The Farewell of Telemachus and Eucharis'', painted during David's exile in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

(1818), and now at the

J. Paul Getty Museum The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California, United States, housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa. It is operated by the J. Paul Getty Trust, the world's wealthies ...

. She is also depicted in

Frederick Leighton Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton, (3 December 1830 – 25 January 1896), known as Sir Frederic Leighton between 1878 and 1896, was a British Victorian painter, draughtsman, and sculptor. His works depicted historical, biblical, and clas ...

's ''Eucharis – A Girl with a Basket of Fruit'' ( 1863). She also appears, somewhat elliptically, in

Arthur Rimbaud Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (, ; ; 20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet known for his transgressive and surreal themes and for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism. Born in Charleville, he s ...

's ''Après le déluge'': : : "Then, in the violet wood, budding, Eucharis said to me it was Spring."

Etymology

''Eucharis'' (Εὔχαρις) is from the Greek compoun
εὖ
prefixed t
χάρις
(meaning ''grace'' or ''charm'', the prefix "eu-" denoting ''good'' or ''beautiful''). There may also be a connotation of granting sexual favors (from the verb χαρίζειν - charizein).

External links

Mary Vidal, "David's 'Telemachus and Eucharis' : Reflections on love, learning and history"
in ''The Art Bulletin,'' December 2000. {{Authority control Female characters in literature Literary characters introduced in the 1690s French literature Calypso (mythology)