Notes On The Book ' One : A Hero 's Son Awakens '

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

As Athena guides him to the palace, she warns him about what he must avoid in order to be safe in that neighborhood. She also slips in some advice that he may use in his future endeavors to get home, asserting that "a cheerful man does best in every enterprise-even a stranger." The reader is again reminded of the incredible relationship between Athena and Odysseus in book VIII when Odysseus is speaking with Demodokos about the battle of Troy and Odysseus asks him to "shift [his] theme, and sing that wooden horse Epeios built, inspired by Athena." As the minstrel recalls "how Odysseus came like Ares to the door of Deiphobos, with Menolaos, and bred the desperate fight there- conquering once more by Athena's power" the victory at Troy is again attributed to Athena's role in facilitating Odysseus in the victory.

Reading the Aristotle's work On a Good Wife from Oikonomikos that was written in c. 330 BCE, one may see the reflection of the leading ideas, opinions, and rules in the Ancient Greek society. This work concentrates its attention on the guidelines for the young wives and husbands, their chords, values, and relationships. Reading through a long list of the requirements the wife should meet in order to acquire the respect and understanding of the husband, it becomes clear that the wives were expected to accomplish all the monotonous routine work and keep away from complaints. The author puts a strong emphasis on the importance of the reciprocity of the appropriate treatment in order to make the patriarchal way of life seem more democratic and

The Odyssey by Homer is an epic from Ancient Greece telling the tale of the great warrior Odysseus. It tells of Odysseus going to war and going through many trials to get back to his homeland, Ithaca. On Ithaca are his wife, Penelope, and his son, Telemachus. Throughout the epic, Odysseus faces many challenges and trials in order to get home to his family, and even after he finally does arrive. Through all of the trials, each being extremely difficult, he pushes on to reach his family. This shows there are definitely bonds in the families. Of these, one that is apparent upon multiple occasions is the bond between father and son. Of course, the only father and son relationship isn’t just between Odysseus and Telemachus. There are many other examples of this family relationship, such as Poseidon and Polyphemus. But not only does the father and son relationship play a large role in the Odyssey. All family relations in general play a surprisingly large part in the Odyssey. Throughout the entirety of the story, family appears to be a great stimulus to persevere through the problem, no matter how challenging or fearful. One extreme example is of course is Odysseus. He traveled for 20 years fighting to return to his family, through unimaginable danger and the loss of roughly three crews. Family also appears to cause extreme retaliation and revenge. A superb example is how Poseidon reacts after Odysseus and his crew blind his son, Polyphemus. Another grand example is when Odysseus

Odysseus and Telemakhos are both clear-headed, eloquent, and emotional. These are but three of the traits that they share. They both can keep their head clear in battle, and think quickly to get out of bad situations. They both are able to use their powerful speech to get things to go their way. Both also can become very emotional at times. This shows what a great impact a father has on his son. By setting a good example for Telemakhos, Odysseus guaranteed that Telemakhos would be just as great a man as he

The relationship between Telemachus and his mother is that of a mother and son but also head of household and subordinate member of the household. Up until the beginning of the poem, Penelope had been Telemachus’ authority figure. But as Telemachus starts to mature and gain confidence with help from the goddess, Athena, he becomes the authority figure for Penelope, giving her advice and wisdom. One example is when the minstrel sings a song that reminds Penelope of her husband, Odysseus, and she asks for him to stop singing because it brings her pain to think of him. But

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

Telemachus’s coming of age, however, is incomplete because he lacks the most important masculine influence: a father. He is unable to fully become a man without Odysseus present; he cannot kill the suitors on his own, and feels abandoned and weak without his father. He says of Odysseus, “He’s vanished, gone, and left me pain and sorrow...All of the nobles who rule the islands...are courting my mother and ruining our house. She refuses to make a marriage she hates but can’t stop it either” (Homer 8). The reason Telemachus’s life is so out of control is because his only parental figure is his mother, Penelope. The text portrays Penelope, untempered by the presence of a husband, as the cause of disorder in the home of Odysseus; she refuses to choose a husband, but is too weak to stop the suitors’ advances. A father figure, Odysseus, is needed to create order in young Telemachus’s life, because only a man can impose such order.

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

The Odyssey, written by Homer, tells the story of Odysseus after the Trojan War. It not only includes an insight on the adventures and return of Odysseus, but it also includes the stories of Telemakhos and Penelope. Telemakhos is the courageous son of Odysseus who goes on a quest in search for information about his father’s whereabouts. Penelope is an extremely clever woman who could match Odysseus in his wit. Penelope is able manipulate the suitors that have come to pursue her in Odysseus’s absence. Though Penelope often spends many nights weeping over the absence of her husband, it seems as if she never loses faith in her husband, and she truly believes that he will return to her and punish the suitors that have taken over their

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.

Telemachus, Odysseus’s son, starts off in the book The Odyssey by Homer as an inexperienced, scared young boy due to the lack of presence of a father figure in his life. After many tough experiences, Telemachus develops into a strong, courageous young man. Athena is the most important character who influenced the growth of Telemachus among many other individuals in the book. She helps Telemachus by teaching him, encouraging him, and also enlightening him of what to do. The powerful goddess with “flashing sea-gray eyes” (Homer 2.476), Athena, has had the greatest influence on Telemachus’ growth.

The dashing hero of Homer’s The Odyssey is one who does not go unnoticed by the many women he meets on his arduous journey back to his hometown. In the story, there are three women whose fascination with Odysseus serves as a necessary point for consideration. Between the shallow love of Circe, the queen of Aiaia; the forceful acts of Kalypso, the imperious nymph; and the pure and sincere love of Penelope, Odysseus’ faithful wife; the many lovers that pursue Odysseus each have a unique perspective of the unquestionably alluring [traveler].

Throughout the last few books of the Odyssey, Homer explains to the reader how Odysseus reestablishes his relationships with his family and friends of Ithaka. It’s possible the restoration of his relationship with his son, Telemachus, is the most significant event of all. This reconnection carries out three main purposes. First, it serves to characterize Telemachus' likeness to his father in the virtues of wisdom, humility, patience, and organization. Secondly, it enables Odysseus a chance to coach Telemachus on how to be a powerful ruler like he is. Lastly, Homer uses the reconnection to highlight the importance of a healthy family structure to a society. To be able to understand

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.