Athena Mentoring Odysseus In Homer's Odyssey

In the epic poem The Odyssey, Athena mentoring Odysseus greatly changed 8th century BCE society’s opinion of him. In the Odyssey, Odysseus is mentored throughout the “books” over and over by the goddess Athena. Most of the times that Odysseus needs help, Athena is there. So, how did this affect society’s opinion on him? For starters, it made them believe he was an epic hero. An epic hero is defined as “a larger-than-life character, traditionally a man, who pursues long and dangerous adventures. Alternately aided and blocked by the gods, he carries the fate of his people on his shoulders. The epic hero is an archetypal character found in works across time and cultures. Odysseus, one of the most famous heroes in Western culture, has shaped our ideas about the traits that a hero should have.” (Orange Literature Textbook Page 1103).

Calypso helped him build a raft after being told to release him from captivity on her island by Hermes. Odysseus then sailed for 17 days before being “pummeled" by storms for 3 days, which then resulted in him swimming to shore. When he finally gets to shore, Athena helps him. “A man in a distant field, no hearthfires near, will hide a fresh brand in his bed of embers to keep a spark alive for the next day; go so in the leaves Odysseus hid himself, while over him Athena showered sleep that his distress should end, and soon, soon. In quiet sleep he sealed his cherished eyes,” (Homer book 5 Lines 87-93). Here Odysseus is being mentored as Athena acting as almost a parent. Although she isn’t directly telling him what to do, she's helping him to sleep and comforting him. The wording “In quiet sleep he sealed his cherished eyes.” shows that he’s finding comfort because of Athena's