Telemachus visits Pylos before Sparta while searching for news of Odysseus. This journey forms the central action of the Odyssey's opening four books, traditionally called the Telemachy.
Guided by Athena, Telemachus leaves Ithaca to ask older survivors of the Trojan War what happened to his missing father. His first destination is Pylos, where he meets Nestor, the aged king and former companion of Odysseus. Nestor cannot say where Odysseus is, but he describes the Greek army's troubled return from Troy and sends his son Peisistratus with Telemachus to Sparta.
At Sparta, Telemachus meets Menelaus and Helen. Menelaus has learned from the sea god Proteus that Odysseus is still alive, stranded on Calypso's island. Pylos is sometimes confused with Sparta because both cities are essential stops in the same quest, but the order is clear: Pylos first, Sparta second.