Athena is a major character throughout the book of The Odyssey and is known as the goddess of wisdom and battle. Throughout the course of the book, it is evident that Athena has a weak spot for the main character, Odysseus. Odysseus is trying to return home after the Trojan War, as the other Greek hero’s have already done, however he faces multiple challenges a long the way. Fortunately, for Odysseus, Athena was there to guide him through a few of these troubling situations.
Odysseus is talking to Athena when she tells him he has arrived at Ithaca. Odysseus is shell-shocked and come back saying, “But now I beg you by your almighty Father’s name…/for I can’t believe I’ve reached my sunny Ithaca,/ I must be roaming around one more exotic land–/ you’re mocking me, I know it, telling me tales/ to make me lose my way. Tell me the truth now, have I really reached that land I love?” (13. 367-373).
Upon Odysseus arrival to Ithaca, Athena hides his identity to help him defeat the suitors. She turns him into a very old beggar to conceal his identity from everyone, most importantly the suitors. Odysseus reveals himself to his son Telemachus, cowherd and the swine herd. The nurse Eurycleia recognizes him because of a scar he got years ago by a boar’s white tusk. Penelope doesn’t recognize Odysseus at first sight because of the disguise.
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.
Athena: Plot Twister In The Odyssey, Athena is the most influential god and does a lot to change the story. If it weren’t for her, the book would be completely different and probably about Ulysses’s tragic death when he was on his way home instead of him making it home and slaying the suitors. In the chapter, Of What Happened in Ithaca, Athena appeared in the story in the form of Mentes and told Telemachus that he should go seek out his father.
In The Odyssey, both the human characters and the Greek gods and goddesses are responsible for what happened. The plot seems to follow a pattern of humans against humans, gods against humans. The story starts with the Greek gods taking pity on Odysseus and all that he went through. The gods decide it is time for him to go home to see his mourning family. The reason why Odysseus is not with his family is because he enraged a god.
Athena oversaw the useful crafts of man as well as agriculture and sailing. She also looks out for women’s sewing and weaving. (Bulfinch 37) Through her cleverness, Athena happens to be constantly favored by Zeus, Athena is fond of Earth and its people; she often gave them skills useful for crafting. Athena looks out for and greatly cares for people. The Athenians are forever grateful for Athena’s gifts, they honor her through many sacrifices and feasts.
Teenagers know all, but do they? From experiences to knowledge, it is fact that the more years you have spent on this planet the wiser you are. Arguably the person you become is a little glimpse in who your parents are and how they raise you. In these novels, poems and plays, character’s personality’s are embodied in accordance to how strong figures play a role in their everyday life. In the Odyssey, Athena disguises herself as mentes so she can provide Telemachus with her wisdom and truthfulness so he can grow into a mature young man filled with courageousness and bravery.
Athena was the one of many daughters of Zeus. Zeus had an affair with Metis, a nymph. After a prophecy about a child, Zeus swallowed Metis, because he was afraid she would give birth to a child more powerful than him. Athena was born from Zeus after a headache he had.
This was shown when Athena helped Odysseus with a wise plan to win the war with the suitors by changing Odysseus’s appearance. When Odysseus returned to Ithaca, Athena disguised him by turning him into an old beggar. Through this Odysseus gathered information on what is going on in the palace. Athena does not want to do the work for him, as he can learn and grow also through the process. When it was appropriate, she change him back but also enhanced him to be more built, taller and
The Greek goddess Athena is usually portrayed as the strongest, bravest, and most fierce daughter Zeus has. Athena is the goddess of wisdom and peace, and she is known to be symbolized by an owl. Athena is often symbolized by an owl because it signifies how wise and intelligent she was. According to mythology Zeus ate Athena’s mother, Metis, in fear of being overthrown by her future son. Sometime later Athena sprung out of Zeus’ forehead fully grown and in full armor.
Athena, is a very important goddess of many things. She is goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, law and justice, strategic warfare, mathematics, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, and skill. Facts about Athena 1.Athena was the Goddess of War, the female counterpart of Ares. 2.She was the daughter of Zeus; no mother bore her. She sprang from Zeus’s head, full-grown and clothed in armor.
In the epic poem The Odyssey, Homer portrays Greek gods and goddesses as possessing human qualities and faults. Through their actions and emotions, Homer emphasizes the detrimental effects of lust, envy, wrath, and greed in ancient Grecian society. He also never fails to remind readers of the importance of respect for holy figures because of their powerful abilities to create chaos and wonder". Homer wants to prove that gods and humans share a variety of traits, and the only difference is that god don’t allow these flaws negatively to impact their society. To help further his argument, we can compare Greek gods and goddesses to that of Christianity.
Here, Odysseus tells Athena that she is all he has left and through her immortal powers, she is the only god still on his side who can help him in his time of need. Therefore, through Athena’s encouraging words, she is able to make Odysseus feel uplifted and more useful, especially as Odysseus is, at this point, very hopeless and miserably
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).
