Athena continues to show her care giving side after pleading with her father Zeus to free Odysseus which he does after he sent Hermes to tell Calypso to free him and she does which shows that she has a sense of decency despite her sexual ambitions to keep him on her island. After building a raft and sailing out to sea, he continues to receive bad treatment from Poseidon after he conjured up a storm that knocked him down into the water. Watching him being tossed like a rag doll around in the sea, a goddess named Ino, like Athena, showed a caring side for protecting Odysseus by providing him a scarf and with it he abandoned his raft and belongings and “dove headfirst into the sea, stretched his arms and stroked for life itself” (Book V, 411-412). While swimming toward the shore, he also had assistance from Athena who calmed Poseidon’s storm and stopped the winds by “commanding them all to hush now, go to sleep” (Book V, 423) and eventually he would make it toward land.…
In book 7 and 8, Athena alters how Odysseus appears to others. In book 7, Odysseus has arrived in Phaeacia and makes his way to the King’s palace. During his walk, the narrator explains how Athena alters Odysseus’s appearance: “Pallas Athena, harboring kindness for the hero, drifted a heavy mist around him, shielding him from any swaggering islander who’d cross his path… [and] search out who he was” (VII.16-19). Here, Athena tries to help Odysseus by concealing him during his journey by surrounding him with mist. Mist conceals or hides objects that would otherwise be visible. This shows that Odysseus wants to be hidden from other people, and is not ready to be in the public eye yet. The narrator also explains the mist shields him from the islanders.…
Athena's role in the Odyssey is helping Odysseus get home. At first Athena talks to Zeus, they speak about how she pities Odysseus and how he should come home. Her exact words were, "My own heart is broken for Odysseus (Homer 3)." Zeus agreed. That the man,Odysseus, should come home. Then Athena left Zeus and went to see Telemakhos. She left as Mentes,so that when she saw Telemakhos he would not know she was Athena. Telemakhos showed xenia to the xenos and when she was satisfied Telemakhos asked Athena who she was. She told him that her name was Mentes. They then had a conversation about many things, one of which was Telemakhos's father. She had told him that his father is truly not dead but "only detained somewhere on the wideseas, upon some…
To allow Odysseus to get into his home without being recognized Athena disguises him as a beggar, and then as his plan continues he begins to slaughter the suitors. If Athena had not helped Odysseus by causing the suitors to miss their target each time they attempted to fire back at him, then he would have surely been dead fighting against so many puissant men. Without her constant help Odysseus would have never persevered through these tasks he so brashly went through, including this one. Making Athena the true hero of this story.…
When I was deciding on a character, right away I chose Athena. I chose Athena because I believe she is the most interesting (besides Odysseus) character in the book. Speaking of Athena, Athena is a very important character in the first few chapter of the Odyssey. She is the one who puts Odysseus's son on the path to find Odysseus and learn what is his faith. She did this by showing up to Odysseus’s house in human form and convincing Telemakhos to call all of his mothers suitors in front of the gods and try to convince them to leave. When that didn't work “Athena was nearby and came to him, putting on Mentor’s figure and his tone,” and told him that she will find him a boat She told him to sneak out of the house and go down to the docks to…
There are many gods throughout the story the odyssey that helped the men through their very long journey to get home. To start off with there was Athena she was the most influential god towards the men. Athena is the daughter of zeus, she is the goddess of wisdom, purposeful battle, and the womanly arts. She had an eye out for odysseus throughout the whole book watching him and helping him through everything. Specifically his shipwreck in Book 5 and the mismatched battle of Book 22.…
I admire Athena’s strong intelligence, her rationality in quarrels, her ability to bring peace to bad situations, and the fact that her emotions don’t stand in the way of the tasks she needs to complete. I dislike Athena’s terrible jealousy towards others, and her extreme lack of compassion to anyone but her favorites. Athena and I both possess intelligence, rationality, and unemotional stance in certain situations. Athena is one of my most favorites of the Greek gods, and her story is truly one of a…
Athena is one of the most well known goddesses from ancient Greece. She is Goddess of Wisdom and of War and is a good example of the template used for our modern day female superhero. Often called a feminist goddess, she is described as strong in both her character and body, independent and fierce, wise and rational. The story of Athena’s birth is well known. Zeus consumed the Titan goddess Metis and began to suffer a headache, Hephaestus then splits Zeus’ head open to relieve the ache and out of the wound sprung Athena. If you look close enough, Athena was born of man and woman asexually, but it was often said, even by Athena herself that she was born only of man. This course of action is a denial of the maternal origin and her mother is never seen in ancient myth as a disrespect. The denial of birth and female power to give birth commandeers this power and creates another layer of patriarchal views on the creation of life in the world. She belongs to only her father and sees herself as his greatest and most trusted heir. She was a part of the world in a way the women of her time were not allowed to be, a goddess of both war and wisdom, when the women in society were seen as irrational and unpredictable by the men around them. But she still remains a beacon of what a perfect women should be in their society, virginal, beautiful and loyally pledged to…
Athena is pivotal in assisting Odysseus by aiding in his struggle to return home and in Ithaca. She supports Odysseus throughout the epic. Athena first helps by explaining Odysseus’ predicament to others on Mount Olympus. Athena begs “Olympian Zeus” to “care for him in [his] lofty heart” (Homer 1.72,73). Athena knows that if she is able to convince the other gods and goddess to be on Odysseus’ side it would positively impact his…
Greeks and the Cyclops are both highly significant people in the story of the Odyssey. However, their lifestyles and ways of living are greatly diverse. Not only are their personalities unique from each other, however, their habitats and the environments they live in, also differ. In the end, it is blatant to anyone that Homer is attempting to prove that the Greeks and Cyclops are greatly dissimilar people, and should not be taken as the same.…
For the role of a helper, I decided to take a closer look at Athena. As a goddess, she is the most powerful female character in the Odyssey, and the one most instrumental in Odysseus’ final success. She became Odysseus’s ally because our hero is not only a revered warrior, but also a supreme strategist, a master of intelligent war, the embodiment of the values Athena herself stands for. She pleads with Zeus to take pity on Odysseus and aid him. This shows her strength, for even as a god, she still has to stand up to Zeus, the king of Olympus and her own father. After Odysseus’ release from Calypso, Athena guides him every step…
After using his wit to get past the Cyclops Polyphemus by using the fake name “Nobody”, Odysseus foolishly reveals his plot to the son of Poseidon saying if, “any mortal man asks [him] how [he] got [his] eye put out, Tell him that Odysseus the marauder did it, Son of Laertes, whose home is on Ithaca,” (Odysseus 9 501-504). Odysseus’ hubris results in his mistake of proclaiming his identity to Polyphemus, which in return gets him stranded from home for many years. However, unlike Arachne, Odysseus’ pride has a limit. Just like Arachne, Odysseus’ skills are unmatched by any other human. Despite this, Odysseus knows his limits in not considering himself above the gods. In result, his relationship with Athena is more of a friendship and admirer type roles, rather than Athena and Arachne relationship of being enemies. Athena’s admiration of Odysseus yields him great rewards, as she’s instrumental in his journey back to Ithaca. Despite Poseidon’s anger towards Odysseus, Athena’s power allows her to go against his anger and help him on his…
In Robert Fagles translation of the Eumenides, an unordinary circumstance can be found on page 251, when Athena is defeated by the crisis of Orestes case and calls upon ten citizens to be judges. This seems out of place because Gods do not require help from mortals, rather mortals seeking guidance from the Gods. The case itself appears corrupt from the start due to the fact that an even number of judges are appointed. Athena then announces before the ruling that in the event of a tie, Orestes wins. This paper will seek to reveal why an immortal God would appoint such power into the hands of only ten select mortals.…
Homer’s The Odyssey is a tale about a man journeying home to his family while facing many trials along the way. Throughout the story, there are many themes that illustrated the Greek Society’s beliefs at the time. One of the most prominent themes is how the Greek Gods were portrayed throughout the story. Due to their significant aid to Odysseus’s endeavors, the Gods in Ancient Greek Society were revered as good and pure.…
In a small town in Northern Greece, there once lived a beautiful girl with the name Arachne. Arachne was known for being a very skillful weaver and spinner. However, Arachne was a very vain girl and couldn’t stop boasting about her talent. She claimed that she had learned the skills all by herself and that there was no one else in the world who could weave as well as she could. She even felt that she could compete against Athena, the goddess of skill, and win with ease.…