Kayleigh Curran
Olivencia
English 9
15 February 2023
Essay About The Odyssey Greek Poet Homer is considered one of the greatest and most prominent poets who is credited for writing The Odyssey. The Odyssey lays the foundations for Greek history and culture through the classical era. Known for its dynamic style of writing, use of repetition, and similes, The Odyssey demonstrates how ignorance does not always correlate with selective knowledge, but exposure. In the epic, Greek hero, Odysseus, embarks on his journey to his native land, Ithaca. Unbeknownst to him, his son Telemachus, seeks news of his father while his wife with the help of the gods and goddesses. In Ithaca, his wife Penelope, wards off the suitors while grieving over him.
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Rather than bringing Odysseus back from Ogygia, Athena guides Telemachus to embark on a journey to learn of his whereabouts. Athena hopes to inspire adventure and perseverance into Telemachus and prepare him for his future. However, Athena purposely presents herself as other characters instead of in her true form. The first instance of Athena acting as a mentor to Telemachus, she disguised herself as Mentes. She states, “ Your father will not be exiled much longer from the land he loves so well, not even if he’s kept in iron chains. He will think of a way to return – he is endlessly resourceful” (Page 8). Athena encourages Telemachus to start on a journey of self-exploration, helping him in his transition from an immature young boy to a grown adult. She appears as Mentes because he has already established trust with Telemachus, which emphasizes her advice and plan rather than appearing as a goddess to provoke self-discovery. Moreover, Athena plays a significant role in progressing Odysseus’s journey home to Ithaca. She appears in the princess, Nausicaa’s, dreams telling her to go wash her clothes in a river. She guilts her into going by saying, “All your shining clothes have been left lying about neglected, but you may soon be married and need beautiful clothes, not only to wear yourself but to provide for your bridegroom’s party. That is how a bride gains a good reputation with people, which brings great pleasure to her father and her mother” (Page 76-77). Athena questions Nausicaa’s womanhood, pressuring her to wash her clothes where she will inevitably meet Odysseus. Again, Athena presents herself an established character to reinforce her message and evoke action by changing perceived reality. The characters listen to her, unbeknownst that they were in the presence of a goddess. The interactions reveal how an invitation is often needed to invoke change to shift the course
Telemachus could not grow into this type of leader in his current mindset. Through Telemechus' relationship with Athena, the goddess of wisdom, Telemachus received the necessary boost of confidence which sparked his personal growth of making it his Odyssey. Athena told Telemachus that he "[had] to stop acting like a child [and had] outgrown [this immature behavior]" (1.313-314). Athena's wise words had a significant impact that set in motion Telemachus' journey to leadership. Telemachus was moved by what Athena said and realized that "[his] father is not coming home" (1.435).
The Odyssey is a 3,000-year-old epic poem organized into 24 books by the Greek poet Homer. This poem entails the long journey home of Odysseus, the King of Ithaca, after the Trojan War. During Odysseus’ absence, his son Telemachus and his wife Penelope are greatly affected since Odyssey is presumed dead. Throughout Books 1 and 2 of The Odyssey, Telemachus helplessly watches suitors plague his mother and home as Poseidon, the God of the Sea, delays Odysseus’s journey home because he angered him by blinding his son Polyphemus. While Odysseus remains absent, suitors devour his goods and urge Penelope to remarry.
Before Athena appearing as a Mentor, Homer shows Telémakhos as a shy boy who is having difficulties to live up to his father’s legendary reputation. He is shown as detached, lost and confused. Rather than taking an action, Telémakhos kept on complaining about the suitors’ manipulation of Xenia. In order to reach manhood, Athena calls him to action through making him undergo a journey. This journey, through Homer’s words, is not only meant to pave the way for him to mature by the time Odysseus is back, but also to save him from the suitor’s plot to kill him.
All through The Odyssey, the characters develop in a certain way that interchanges the outcome of the book. Odysseus is able to develop knowledge and wisdom to deal with his men during the battle and the suitors who were frustrating his wife. In addition, he came back home as a hero after the Trojan War. Telemachus developed into a mature man who could deal with any problem in his father’s absence. However, based on the story, it is evident that, Telemachus demonstrates a great change basing upon the times the characters were away from Ithaca.
Athena begs and convinces her father Zeus to release and free Odyssey from the Island. Telemachus believes that his father, whom he has never met, is dead. As he watches the suitor and thinks about his father returning (remember, he thinks that his father is dead) Athena, with permission from her father, is disguise,
He chooses to lie and says he is a man from a land called Krete. However, Athena later reveals her identity to him and informs Odysseus of all the troubles happening in his house with the suitors. This later results in Athena and Odysseus planning on how to deal with the suitors. An example of foreshadowing for the second half of the Odyssey while Athena and Odysseus are discussing the future is when Athena is telling Odysseus that “[n]ow for a while,/I shall transform you; not a soul will know you,/the clear skin of your arms and legs shriveled,/your chestnut hair all gone, your body dressed/in sacking that a man would gag to see...” (13.499-503).
When Athena, disguised as Mentes, tells him that he should go to Pylos for news of his father, he is quick to listen for this reason: “But why wait? Get rid of these thieves. Call the inlanders to assembly… Take a good ship with twenty oars and go abroad for news of your father… [Telemachus responds] I will” (Hinds 9).
Athena disguises herself and reveals to Telemachus that his father is alive but tells him to sail in search of more information, “Do you hear me: As a goddess, yesterday/ you came to us, command me to sail/ across the shadowed sea, that I might learn/ about my long-gone father’s coming home” (32). Athena has Telemachus best interest at heart and by commanding him to find his father she played a big role in helping him shape himself and grow into the man he was destined to be. He takes Athenas’ advice and finally comes to the realization that he needs to stand up to the suitors, “Throughout all those years/ when I was still a boy, you suitors squandered/ the riches that were mine. But I am grown;/ and listening to the words of others, I/ can understand…” (33). Telemachus then sets off to find more information on his father and his possible whereabouts “I’ll come fetch what you’ve prepared.
Using her power of disguise, Athena visits Telemachus and informs him of his father’s whereabouts. Disguised as Mentes, Athena expresses to Telemachus that “great Odysseus is not dead. He’s still alive…” (83). Because of this information, Telemachus feels assured that his father still lives, and searching for him will have a positive outcome. Athena further advises Telemachus how he should proceed with this information and how he should find his father and bring him home.
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
Athena is the greek goddess of wisdom and war. Athena uses her role as a goddess to her fullest potential for good. She sees the need to help Odysseus so she pleads to Zeus for him and in the end Zeus sets Odysseus free. Athena does not stop there, after freeing Odysseus she does everything she can to help him get back to his family. Athena starts my disguising herself and helping Telemakhos realize he might still be alive.
First, we saw this direct interaction between Athena, the goddess of wisdom and Odysseus’ son, Telemachus. Athena took the form of Mentes and appeared to Telemachus, to inspire him to call an assembly and disapprove of his mother’s suitors, and for him to commission a boat and crew to travel to Sparta and the sands of Pylos in search of news of his father (Homer
Telemachus gives a speech to the suitors scolding them for wrecking Odysseus’ wealth. This causes Telemachus to lose faith in his aptitude to accomplish Athena’s plan. “Look how my countrymen-the suitors most of all, pernicious bullies-foil each move I make…” (Fagles 102). Athena is able to persuade Telemachus through her encouraging and sympathetic words. “Telemachus, you’ll lack neither courage nor sense from this day on.”
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).
Through the rigorous actions and strong words of growing Telemachus, The Odyssey is portrayed as not only a story of Odysseus’ journey but also as a coming-of-age story for Telemachus. Telemachus wasn’t always a brave man. When the suitors started invading his house and looking to court Penelope, he was thought of as a little kid by the suitors. Athena had to come down from Mount Olympus “to put some spirit in