Athena's Role In The Odyssey Essay

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

In Homer’s epic poem the Iliad, gods and goddesses play an important role in influencing the lives of humans, and Athena is an important part of the war. The goddess Athena is written mostly as a mortal, where she signifies the personification of war. Both sides of the war know that with Athena, they will not lose. This is probably why she is the most significant minor character. Athena is the most significant minor character because she is brave, wise, and she is a warrior. Athena plays a significant role in the unfolding drama, because both the Greeks and the Trojans know that her favor, they cannot be defeated.

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.

Both Athena and Poseidon are gods, and both are under the rule of Zeus, however they are very different in the way they have interactions with Odysseus. Athena, the gray-eyed goddess help Odysseus on his journey, and also helps Penelpoe and Telemachus with their personal struggles. Poseidon, on the other hand has a grudge against Odysseus for maiming his offspring, the Cyclops. When Odysseus revealed his real name to the Cyclops, the Cyclops called upon Poseidon to curse him and make his journey even harder. In a way, it is like Athena and Poseidon are battling against each others' will. Athena is trying to make sure Odysseus makes it home safe, while Poseidon is trying to make his homeward journey as difficult as possible.

Athena was the Greek Goddess of many ideas, but she was famous mostly for her superior wisdom, her cunning skills in times of war, and her implausible talent for household tasks, such as weaving and pottery. She was celebrated more than any other God in ancient mythology, was the supposed inventor of countless innovations, and her figure gave reason for Greek woman to gain rights long before others of their time. The goddess of war, the guardian of Athens, and the defender of Heroes; Athena’s impact on the lives of Ancient Greeks is outstanding.

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.

Athena appears to Odysseus in the form of Mentor and tries to motivate Odysseus to kill all the suitors off with threats and accusations. She even commands the suitors to through their spears at Odysseus all at once. “At his command,/ concentrating their shots, all six hurled as one/ but Athena sent to whole salvo wide of the mark…” (Ody. 22. 267-269). Odysseus sees that all of his men are untouched by the suitor’s spears, and this action propels him to take charge and lead an attack on the suitors.

Athena is constantly helping Odysseus throughout the book, and making sure he stays safe. She has no regards for Odysseus’ crew members, as she only cares about Odysseus. He tends to think very highly of himself because he is in the God’s favor. When Odysseus is caught up in a bad situation, he often brushes it off like it’s nothing because he knows that Athena will help him. This is not a good mindset to have, because he is not always sure Athena will swoop in and help him out of his mess. Alongside this, Athena only cares for Odysseus, and she only saves him. His crewmembers are not necessarily favored by the Gods, so they might be hurt because no gods are looking out for them. Athena made Odysseus prove his worth in Book 22 of the Odyssey. She had helped him so much along the way, but she finally decided to test him before he killed all of the suitors. Odysseus was frustrated that he had to work for his help from the gods, as he is usually handed assistance from

The role of the goddess is one of a supernatural being, but more importantly one in a position to pity and help mortals. Athena, the goddess of wisdom, is the most prominent example of the role; in the very beginning of the story she is seen making a plea for Odysseus' return home, and throughout the first half of the book she assists him in his journey. She is the driving force behind arranging

In the book the Odyssey, an intriguing trend occurs that isn’t stated in the passage but visible throughout the book is the affection that Athena shows for Odysseus defies that belief by showing that Gods indeed show emotion to mortals. Athena shows affection for Odysseus in various scenes including the beginning scene with Zeus and the encounter she has with Telemachus in book 1. In these scenes she doesn’t show affection directly as Odysseus isn’t there but her behavior exemplifies how much she loves Odysseus. Throughout the book Athena shows a compassionate side to Odysseus by helping him on his journey back home. Her behavior and eagerness to help Odysseus is the main purpose of there being a plot in the

My favorite greek deity is the goddess Athena, also known as Athena. Five interesting facts about her are: No mother gave birth to her, she was Zeus’ favorite child, she is the patron of arts and crafts, she is one of the three virgin goddesses and the city Athens, in Greece was named after her. Athena is widely known for her special power and skill and strategic warfare and she is also widely known for her wisdom. She is a sublime goddess because she is also known as the goddess of the city and is regarded as the protector of civil life. Athena’s symbols are owls and olive trees, the tree is her general symbol but because the owl is her sacred animal it is also regarded as a symbol of Athena. According to the Greeks, Athena was important to

Athena was loved across the ancient Greek world. The citizens of Athens considered her a protector of their city, and rulers sought guidance from Athena in military matters and governmental issues. Athena's is a strong independent women with an extroverted temperament. “represents the goddess of wisdom and civilization--concerned with career, motivated by the desire for achievement, acquiring knowledge, she possesses a keen intellect, concerned with education, culture, social issues and politics.” While she didn’t have any supernatural powers her "power" was the defense of Athens.

a. In the Odyssey, a speech (1:91-94) is delivered by Athena in order to ask for the release of Odysseus from the nymph Calypso when the gods are assembled in the halls of Olympian Zeus (1:50-68). Athena talks to Zeus about what the gods should do if they want Odysseus to return to his native land, that is, to send the quicksilver herald Hermes to Calypso, telling her to let Odysseus go home (1:91-94). Athena is the one who first speaks for Odysseus in the assembly of the gods and suggests Zeus how to help Odysseus. She then puts courage and confidence in Telemachus’ heart, helping him to scatter the suitors in his house and keeping Odysseus’ home safe and peaceful before he comes back (1:336-341). b.

Athena shows sympathy for the agony mortals suffer through in life. Athena exposes the reader to this idea by confessing her concerns to Zeus in the beginning of the story, “but my own heart is broken for Odysseus” (book 1 line 67). We learn from this line that the gods are more than beings of vengeance,

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