Analyzing Odysseus Attributes In Homer's The Odyssey

A commonly heard expression many have likely heard when they were young: “Moms have eyes on the back of their heads.” This expression aligns with Athena’s glaucopis quality in The Odyssey, where she demonstrates her all-seeing quality by overseeing the events involving Odysseus and Telemachus. The Odyssey is an epic poem attributed to Homer, around the late eighth to seventh century BCE. Homer uses many epithets to allow for easier memorization and characterization of characters in his Epic poems. Athena deserves the epithet term Glaucopis because through assisting Odysseus and Telemachus, she proves how all-knowing and all-seeing she is. The Odyssey recounts Odysseus' strenuous journey back to Ithica following the Trojan War. Shortly after

Faced with the troubling situation, Athena guides Telemachus to maturity by sending him on a journey to find out about his father, Odysseus. Through this journey, Telemachus can earn fame and mature to stop the suitors. During Telemachus’ journey, he encounters Nestor, king of Pylos and a good friend of Odysseus, who can provide information to Telemachus. However, to talk to Nestor, Telemachus must first approach him, a struggle for the naive Telemachus, who was fearful of making speeches. To encourage Telemachus, Athena tells him, “Learn what advice he has in mind for you. Supplied him yourself, and he will tell you the truth” (3.18-20). Athena displays Glaucopis by saying this since she can encourage Telemachus to find out more about his father but also allows Telemachus to earn good favor with Nestor, earning himself fame. Telemachus also received praise for his eloquence, from Nestor pointing out his similarity to Odysseus, famous for having a silver tongue. Providing, Telemachus with greater confidence in his abilities and feeling more closely connected to

First greet the queen Arete with her name”(7.51-54). After saying this, Athena provides information about Queen Arete’s ancestry. With this advice, Athena delivers a straightforward way for Odysseus to navigate Phaecian customs. By initiating Odysseus' contact with Queen Arete, Athena enables Odysseus to obtain a positive outcome by establishing a relationship with someone with high influence. Odysseus’ relationship with Queen Arete will pave the way for Odysseus to make it back home to Ithica. Furthermore, by providing information about Queen Arete’s ancestry Athena has prevented Odysseus from embarrassing himself. In orchestrating this plan, Athena displays her insight and foresight, embodying the epithet Glaucopis to ease Odysseus’ path to return to Ithica. In Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, Athena proves that she embodies the epithet Glaucopis as she slowly curates a way to guide Odysseus and Telemachus. She accordingly displays glaucopis traits by mentoring formerly naive Telemachus to become manlier, by displaying him a challenge to find information about Odysseus as well as seamlessly weaving the perfect way for Odysseus to return to Ithica with