Athena: Watching over Odysseus and His Family

One of the female characters in “Odyssey” is Athena. Athena is the daughter of Zeus and the goddess of wisdom, purposeful battle, and the womanly arts. In the “Odyssey” she is portrayed as a helper and guardian of Odysseus and his family. Athena assists Odysseus on his journey home, and Telemachus (Odysseus’s son) on his journey as well. She is also a master of disguise, clever, and wise. This we see

Athena has a great interest in Odysseus and tells him everything he should know on his journey home so he can come back alive. For instance, when Odysseus reveals himself to the suitors, she makes their spears miss him while they are in a fight. “But Athena made their shots all come to nothing, one man hitting the doorpost, another the door, another’s bronze-tipped ash spear sticking into the wall. ”(Book 22, lines 272-275). She also releases him from being trapped on an island for seven years, and she influences his son to keep faith that his father is still alive.

Divine intervention is often an integral part of ancient epic poetry as seen in Homer's The Odyssey. The role of the goddess Athena was an essential part of Odysseus's journey back to Ithaka. Athena also played a vital part in Telemakhos's life before the return of his father. Even Penelope is impacted by the help of the "grey-eyed" goddess, often inspiring Penelope to hold off the suitors as well as putting her to sleep when a situation became too difficult. Athena demonstrates that she is a critical component of development within the father Odysseus and his son Telemakhos as well as guiding Penelope as a beautiful mother waiting for the return of her husband.

Explanation: The gods are trying to do whatever they can to try to let Odysseus get return home to Ithaca. In addition the gods like Athena are helping Telemachus and Odysseus. This is foreshadowing that Telemachus and Odysseus will meet because of the help of the gods.

The most powerful female force in The Odyssey is the goddess Athena. She, more than anyone else, brings about Odysseus’ homecoming. The poem opens with her pleading with Zeus to take pity on Odysseus. Zeus issues the command to Calypso to free Odysseus. Athena guides Odysseus every step of his voyage to Ithaca. She tells Odysseus that it is she “who always stands beside [him], shields [him] in every

Odysseus tells Athena, whom he believes is a shepherd, a false account, of how he came to Ithaca, primarily since he needs to keep his identity a secret, familiarize himself with the situation on Ithaca and formulate a plan to execute the suitors. He perceives that he has arrived in a mist-shrouded and unknown land. And thus secondarily, he needs to present a feasible reason for being alone and stranded with copious amounts of treasure for safety reasons as well as to allay suspicion in relation to his identity. Athena affects how he tells his lie because he can see and listen to her. To manipulate her more effectively, Odysseus exploits these factors to produce a story specifically tailored to the information Athena provides.

In Athena’s first appearance she is badgering Zeus about when Odysseus will be allowed to return home, “My heart breaks for Odysseus, / that seasoned veteran cursed by fate so long- / far from his loved ones still, he suffers torments / off on a wave-washed island rising at the center of the seas,” (1 57-60). After years of torments, she is still begging Zeus to have pity on Odysseus and to bring him home. She has not lost vigor or strength. Her demeanor is not one of desperation, rather it is persistent. She has not lost faith in Zeus or the fates in her ten years of advocacy for this man. She is an immortal, and time does not mean to her what it means to Odysseus.

Athena, the goddess of wisdom and battle, is the most powerful and influential non-human being in The Odyssey. Athena was the one to start Odysseus’s journey home. By stating that her heart broke for Odysseus, who was away from home for 20 years and had suffered much, Athena was able to convince Zeus to make Calypso release Odysseus, although it was against Poseidon’s wishes. Also, Athena could be credited with helping Telemachus become a true man instead of the boy he used to be. Disguised as Mentes, Athena’s advice to Telemachus about the suitors and his mother was to either drive the suitors away or throw his mother out of the house and take over the house. After this, Telemachus, for the first time, stood up to the suitors and told them to leave, or he would call the gods and Zeus would punish the suitors. However, as benevolent as she may seem, she is additionally unforgiving. When she had decided that all the suitors shall die, she stuck to it. Even when Athena told Odysseus to beg

In this book the little girl who we all know as Athena even gives Odysseus advice, ?A cheerful man does best in every enterprise, even a stranger? (Book 7). The interference by Athena shows how much she likes Odysseus and how much she wants him to make it home to the suitors.

Athena’s navigational skills and quick thinking made Odysseus’ victory feasible. She provided a disguise for Odysseus, came up with a battle plan, and kept his anger in check by letting the suitors continue their taunts against him. Athena “had no mind to let the brazen suitors hold back now from their heart-rending insults-she meant to make the anguish cut still deeper into the core of Laertes’ son Odysseus” (Homer page 419). Additionally, she helped Odysseus battle the suitors, “looming out of the rafters high above them, brandished her man-destroying shield of thunder, terrifying the suitors out of their minds, and down the hall they panicked” (Homer page 448). Saving Odysseus’ and his servants’ lives, Athena acted against the suitors and, undoubtedly, won the battle for him by scaring off the suitors who were not already dead.

He then says that he will hit a shot that no man has ever hit before, shooting one of the suitors. “You took my house to plunder, twisted my maids to serve your beds, you dared bid for my wife while I was still alive”, (Odyssey. Book 22. 35-37). After this the suitors realize that they do not have weapons and try to beg for mercy, but they will find none from Odysseus. When Telemachos runs to the storage room to get weapons for the allies of Odysseus, he leaves the storage room door open in which the suitors grab weapons and armour to arm themselves. The suitors back Odysseus and his allies into a corner when suddenly Athena shows up disguised as Mentor. Odysseus recognizes her and calls out for her help, in which the suitors threaten Mentor/Athena with death if they help Odysseus. She turns to Odysseus and tells him to show her his skills before she will help him to see if he is worthy of the help from the goddess. She watches on as Odysseus and his allies pick off the suitors, one by one, protecting them passively when needed. At last Athena’s symbol—the aegis or "great shield"— shines in the air. At the sight of the symbol the suitors start to panic, realizing that Odysseus has godly help, some soon start to beg for mercy realizing that they will not win this fight. Odysseus shows none and it turns into a bloodbath. After the bloodbath Odysseus makes the disloyal maids clean up

Athena assures Odysseus that her plans are successful and that Telémakhos will not meet the same fate. Odysseus shows no signs of hesitation at this point and Athena goes on with the transformation. In this instance, Odysseus overcomes his pride in an instance to gain an opportunity to finally be with his

The Perception of Faithfulness Faithfulness is an essential part of a culture’s beliefs. Staying loyal is praised, and respected by many cultures. This loyalty and devotion is rewarded. In Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, the characters’ faithfulness and loyalty are perceived to be important traits. These traits are portrayed in Athena, the goddess of war, who stays loyal to Odysseus, by assisting him to execute his missions.

Though Athena is a female, she is not known for her beauty or stature, but for her wisdom. Whenever Athena creates her plan to rescue Odysseus, everyone is thoroughly surprised because no one had yet to think of one. The rest of the gods at the assembly had known that Odysseus had been trapped but were not sure of how to rescue him without facing Poseidon’s wrath. The gods did not expect a plan from Athena because she is a female, she is not supposed to be smart or have an opinion. Athena exceeds everyone’s expectations and uses her wisdom to rescue Odysseus. Additionally, Athena proves herself when she gives Odysseus the plan to disguise himself once he reaches Ithaca. Athena constantly saving Odysseus shows her critical thinking which she applies to show her wisdom. Most people do not expect that from her because she is a woman and she cannot be thinking superior to men, but Athena proves that wisdom is one of her prized traits. Because Athena is a female, most people would think of her as beautiful, but she proves her important trait to be wise.

In various encounters throughout the book, Athena, the goddess of wisdom influences the lives of Odysseus’s family in order to improve their fate due to her favoritism for the persistent mariner attempting to return home and respect of his cleverness. Her preference to Odysseus is seen in the beginning of Book 1 stating to her father, Zeus that she is concerned of the whereabouts of Odysseus and pleads for support to deliver him