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Athena And Poseidon In Homer's The Odyssey

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An honorable trait that’s valued in our society today is the ability to look at a situation from multiple perspectives, which is shown multiple times throughout the Odyssey. Athena and Poseidon didn’t do this. For instance, Athena devoted her role in the story to help get Odysseus home from Troy after twenty years of being away, while Poseidon believed he needed to suffer and ultimately stay away from home longer. “Olympian Zeus,/ have you no care for him in your lofty heart?/ Did he never win your favor with sacrifices/ burned beside the ships on the broad plain of Troy?/ Why, Zeus, why so dead set against Odysseus?” (1.73-7). Athena wanted Odysseus to come home and was willing to help him get home and convinced Zeus to help her due to her positive perspective on Odysseus being away from home. …show more content…

Odysseus blinded Poseidon’s one-eyed son, Polyphemus, and since then, Poseidon spent his time creating roadblocks in Odysseus’s journey home. “Just look at him there, nearing Phaeacia’s shores where he’s faced to escape his noose of pain that’s held him until now. Still my hopes ride high-- I’ll give that man his swamping full of trouble!” (5.317-20). Zeus saw these two sides of the gods’ feelings towards Odysseus and created an equilibrium. He allowed Athena to help Odysseus to get home and Poseidon was allowed to punish Odysseus but he couldn’t kill him. For instance, after Phaeacia sailed Odysseus home, Poseidon’s original plan was to destroy the Phaeacian ship within eye range of Odysseus then block Phacia’s port with mountains, essentially killing them all. However, Zeus changed this plan to destroy the Phaeacian ship near Phaeacia, and not blocking the port. He was able to trick Poseidon into punishing the Phaeacians rather than

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Odysseus receives guidance, and help, from mainly Athena, the daughter of Zeus. She helps Odysseus and his son, Telemachus, throughout the whole book. Often, she disguises herself as the Mentor or another person. Athena was also the one god who spoke up for Odysseus and his son during the council of the gods. Although Odysseus does gain support from a few of the other gods, at the same time, he becomes an enemy to others, such as Poseidon, so having Athena on his side helps him to further move towards his end goal to return home.

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However, the enforcer was just as shrewd; he “seized Odysseus’ little son and put him directly in the path of the plow,” forcing Odysseus to blow his cover and save his son (Hamilton 251). Hamilton is offering this anecdote to present the reader with an example of Odysseus’ cunning personality and shrewd character, which a certain powerful goddess, Athena, took a particular liking towards. However, the sea god Poseidon was upset with Odysseus for assisting in the downfall of Troy through his cunning idea to build a Trojan horse. Hamilton later introduces how, whilst Odysseus may not have suffered nearly as much as others in the Trojan war, “he suffered longer than them all” when Athena “included him … in her wrathful displeasure” and drove him so far off his

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In The Odyssey, by Homer, Athena influences the lives of Odysseus and his family. In Greek mythology, gods challenge and control mortals. Gods also provide support to mortals and thus, mortals depend and act on behalf of the gods and their decisions. Athena, daughter of Zeus, is the goddess of wisdom, and both Telemachus and Odysseus benefit from her power. Athena possesses the ability to disguise herself and others, and this skill allows her to give advice and guidance.

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Poseidon’s influence is shown in the quote, “We are from Troy, Achaeans, blown off course by shifting gales on the Great South Sea…” (661, 249-250). These two quotes show how both of the gods used as alter egos for Odysseus have cruel sides. Athena, whom is usually known for her tactics and wisdom, believes that killing the suitors would be the right thing to do. By today's standards, what the suitors did was unacceptable, but not worthy of death. Their behaviors were unprecedented and rude, but not to the extent of death.

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She figured that the people would appreciate peace, fertile soil, and the wealth that came with olives(William Smith). Poseidon was such a cruel and evil go that I would even go as far to say that he could be considered a

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Odysseus blinded Poseidon’s son, Polyphemus. Poseidon vowed to get revenge for his son so throughout the entire story, Poseidon tries to prolong Odysseus’s journey. Luckily, Athena finds Odysseus charming and is always there to help him and his son. Athena helps Telemachus find his father and once he does, the duo

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However, Zeus saw the two sides of the gods’ feelings towards Odysseus. “‘Great Odysseus/ who excels all men in wisdom... it’s the Earth-Shaker, Poseidon, unappeased,/ forever fuming against him..’” (1.78-83). Zeus created an equilibrium so that Poseidon could take out his anger on Odysseus through punishment, and Athena receives the duty of making sure Odysseus gets home to Ithaca.

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Poseidon’s son Polyphemus, or the cyclops as he’s referred to in the text, is seeking vengeance for Odysseus’ despicable actions towards him. Perhaps, Odysseus’ fatal flaw hubris got him and his men into this situation in the first place. The Cyclops was drunk when Odysseus and his men sharpened a tool and stabbed him in the eye, to escape, Odysseus suggested they hide on the underside of Polyphemus’ sheep. Polyphemus sought the help of his father, “At this he stretched his hands out in his darkness toward the sky of stars, and prayed to Poseidon…”(Homer 12) Due to the fact that Poseidon is the God of the sea, he has a more than ample opportunity to retaliate.

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Athena is known as the goddess of war. Odysseus was aided by her ideas on how to regain power through her tactical skills. The fact that the goddess warrior was on his side through the journey home, reclaiming his land, and killing the suitors was a huge advantage. Athena is very intelligent in how she strategizes and won wars in the past. Some may argue that Odysseus is the real hero but there were many times throughout The Odyssey where he needed Athena’s protection and input of logical ideas.

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In Book 5, when all of the gods, except for Poseidon, discuss the fate of Odysseus, Athena fights for Odysseus to get her father, Zeus, to intervene and give aid to Odysseus. Athena says to Zeus, “Not one of the people whom he ruled remembers Odysseus nom that godlike man… Now he’s left to pine on an island, racked with grief” (5.12-14). Athena’s use of words such as “he’s left to pine on an island, racked with grief” shows the use of Flattery towards Zeus to feel pity for Odysseus. By getting Zeus to feel pity, this strategy encourages him to favor Odysseus because of Odysseus’ situation.

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Odysseus’ reverence to the gods is shown again after the suitors families and the town learns of Odysseus’ homicide, they come after the royal family. Athena and Zeus come to Ithaca, ordering a peace. Homer describes the event and Odysseus’ reaction, “So she commanded. He obeyed her, glad at heart." (Homer 24.598).

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It was through Athena’s persuasion that convinced Zeus to have Calypso to let Odysseus leave her island. In response to Athena, Zeus said, “You conceived it yourself: Odysseus shall return and pay the traitors back” (Homer, Odyssey, V.26-27). The only reason Odysseus was free and performed the actions that he did after leaving Calypso’s island was all attributed to Athena. Whenever Odysseus appeared to be in a perilous situation, it was Athena who always aided him. “But Zeus’s daughter Athena countered him at once.

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Homer’s The Odyssey follows Odysseus and his journey home from the Trojan War. Although he anticipates a short journey, Odysseus is cursed by Poseidon to suffer ten additional years at sea. On the way home, Odysseus and his crew stop at the Cyclops’s island and encounter Polyphemus, Poseidon’s son, who kills crew members by tempting them with food, and then crushing them. Odysseus tricks the Cyclops by using the pseudonym of Nobody and stabs him in the eye; however he reveals his true name at the last second, thus giving Poseidon someone to blame.

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797 Words | 4 Pages

The conversation between Athena and Odysseus in the middle of book 13 reveals how each of them feels and thinks about the other at this stage in the epic. When Athena is first coming to meet Odysseus, after he has landed on Ithaca, she decides not to appear as herself to Odysseus, but first as a “young man… a shepherd boy”, and she then changes back to herself (13.252). She does this to get an honest opinion from him, as if she had appeared as a god, he might not have been honest with her. She also wants to hear his story, and see if he is actually thinking about her. After he does not “recognize” her because of her “endless” shapes, she is angry with him and accuses him of “never getting tired of twists and tricks” (13.340,56,32).

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Poseidon, Apollo, Athena, Zeus, and Hermes are all Greek Gods that appear in the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer. These gods all play a significant role in The Odyssey by both helping and hindering Odysseus on his 10-year journey home. Homer illustrates the theme of divine intervention in The Odyssey using Poseidon’s wrath, Athena’s providence, and Hermes’ guidance. Poseidon is one of the main gods that appears throughout The Odyssey, Homer shows Poseidon's divine intervention through his wrath on Odysseus during his journey home.

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