Athena's Role In The Odyssey

Athena uses her role as the puppeteer to allow the entire epic to slowly unfold. Without Athena there would be no epic about Odysseus returning home from the brutal Trojan War for the reader to enjoy and the term “odyssey” would not be used to describe a long journey. Athena is the key to the entire story; consequently The Odyssey is her story. The Odyssey is Athena’s story because she plays the role of the puppeteer that causes the events to take place.

Odysseus’s Traits Throughout the Odyssey, the main character Odysseus goes on an epic adventure with his focus being to get home to his wife Penelope, and his son Telemachus. He faces many obstacles dealing with characters such as the Cyclopes, Poseidon, Aeolus, Athena, Helios, Calypso, Zeus, Hermes, Scylla, and Circe. Odysseus’s men are some of the most valuable people to him throughout the Odyssey. He always puts himself in front of danger for them to protect them even though they all died from an unexpected turn of events soon before he returns home. When Odysseus comes home he greets his twenty year old son and straightens things out on his homeland, Ithaca.

Since the beginning of time, children have grown and matured. Their development may come from many influences from people all around, some having a more significant impact than others. In Homer’s epic, The Odyssey, Telemachus, the young prince of Ithaca, is troubled with a missing father, Odysseus, whom he has never seen in his lifetime. He spends his childhood living with suitors, who beg for his mother, Penelope's, hand in marriage. He watches them drain his riches, eating and living gratuitously.

Odysseus has grown from the man he was before, as now he finds comfort and safety in obeying the gods when in the past he did not consider their wishes. Odysseus has only returned due to Athena and he has recognized that and his compliance is founded in his appreciation and respect for her. Odysseus is now a hero due to the obedience he now has to the gods, founded in a sense of humility. Through Odysseus’ experiences on his journey, he learns the value of obedience and dangers of arrogance and ultimately, become a hero through the lessons learned.

Athena alters Odysseus and Telemachus’ physical appearances several times. For example, in the beginning of the book, Athena “lavished a marvelous splendor on [Telemachus].” Presumably, this change is so that he might gain respect from the elders in the council. Athena’s altering of appearances often fools the vast crowd.

The Odyssey by Homer is an exemplary story that teaches life lessons to those going on a journey for themselves. It illustrates how the challenges and obstacles one may face can help someone become a better leader. The Odyssey highlights one man, Odysseus, a man filled with excessive pride, experiencing the wrath of the god Poseidon. He expects to arrive at his home, Ithaca, safely to reunite with his wife, Penelope, but unfortunately faces many temptations and setbacks. Due to the challenges he faces, it prevents him from arriving home as early as he thought he would.

In the odyssey many my think that Athena is caring, wise, strong but she really like that to a few people. To start off,Athene is caring in the odyssey. Stated from the book, “The goddess placed a soothing hand on his shoulder”(homer , the author of the Odyssey 60).As many may believe that this defense that Athene is caring by soothing Odysseus ,but she only really does this to Odysseus. Furthermore,Some say that Athene is effectively wise.

My own fame is for wisdom among the gods --deceptions too.” (The Odyssey 13.379-384.) She acts as his advisor and protector, aiding him constantly through his journey to return to Ithaca. She even addresses the other gods about Odysseus’s situation, and “if it... pleases the

Another time she helped Odysseus was when she protected him from the suitors' arrows. Without the providence of Athena Odysseus wouldn't have survived the events of The Odyssey. In book 1 of The Odyssey it says how "The story of Odysseus begins with the goddess Athena appealing to Zeus to help Odysseus, who has been wandering for ten years on the seas, to find his way home to

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.

Even though people typically believe that the main hero of Homer’s the Odyssey is Odysseus himself, the true hero of the Odyssey is Penelope. Even though her entire story isn’t told in the epic poem, you can still tell that she went through struggles and trials just as her husband Odysseus did. Along with going through trials, she comes up with witty ideas in order to overcome them. She is very clever, and she also plans long-term. She is loyal to Odysseus and faithfully waits for his return.

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 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.

She is portrayed as the average Greek woman, but in reality is very cunning. Though both these women are two different characters, their roles are similar, and they both are equally powerful. They are cunning; teach Xenia; develop Odysseus’ character; and an important role in their families. Athena is the cunning Goddess who guides Odysseus back to Ithaca for his family and countrymen without letting him know her reality – she disguises herself every now and then to help him by testing him and his knowledge.

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).