Athena appeared in the book Odyssey as a strong supporter of well-known Greek hero Odysseus. She was not only the first goddess who mentioned Odysseus suffering in Calypso’s island, but also the only one who took care of Odysseus all the time during his homecoming journey and revenge in his homeland. Odysseus found unusual favor with Athena. This favor was expressed by explicit actions that other mortals also know about it. For example, Nestor had said these words to Telemachus: “Ah, if only grey-eyed Athena chose to love you / the way she did glorious Odysseus / In the land of Troy! I have never seen / A god show love so openly / As Athena did to him. You could see her / Standing at his side!” (3. 242-247)
However, why Athena, the beautiful …show more content…
The goddess help him in almost every challenge Odysseus faced in the Odyssey:“For Athena poured grace and made him taller / And more heavily muscled, so that he would be / Welcomed by the Phaeacians”, (8. 18-20) “grey-eyed Athena inspired him” (5. 430) Without Athena’s help, “He would have been cut to ribbons and his bone crushed” (5, 429). In this reason, he had to be polite and respectful and listened to the goddess. “The goddess / Lifted her brows, and Odysseus understood. / He went out of the hut, past the courtyard’s great wall, / And stood before her” (16. 174-177). His obedience was showed up clearly here for the goddess could gave him instruction by lifting …show more content…
I thought the answer was yes. I believed that there were three times Odysseus was discontent about Athena. The first time was when they firstly met in Ithaca, Odysseus complaint about the goddess absence for these years: “I know this, though: you were always kind to me / When the army fought at Troy. / But after we plundered Priam’s steep city, / And boarded our ships, and a god scattered us, / I didn’t see you then, didn’t sense your presence / Aboard my ship or feel you there to help me” (13. 325-330) He was not happy about Athena left him alone for twenty years because her wrath about the Greeks, he suffered a lot without help. The second time was when Athena told Odysseus she sent his son to finding him. This time, Odysseus’s love to his son made him question the goddess: “You Knew. Why didn’t you tell him? / So he could suffer too, roving barren seas / While my wife’s suitors eat him our of house and home?” Odysseus questioning here not only showed his love to Telemachus, it also expressed he took his son’s safety as more important than the possibilities of making a god unhappy. The third time was when Odysseus, Laertes and Telemachus were fighting with relatives of the suitors. “With a roar, the great, long-suffering Odysseus / Gathered himself and swept after them” (24. 559-560) I believed Odysseus was angry about them and willing to kill them at first. However, when Athena decided he should “restrain yourself” (24, 566), “The
However, why Athena, the beautiful …show more content…
The goddess help him in almost every challenge Odysseus faced in the Odyssey:“For Athena poured grace and made him taller / And more heavily muscled, so that he would be / Welcomed by the Phaeacians”, (8. 18-20) “grey-eyed Athena inspired him” (5. 430) Without Athena’s help, “He would have been cut to ribbons and his bone crushed” (5, 429). In this reason, he had to be polite and respectful and listened to the goddess. “The goddess / Lifted her brows, and Odysseus understood. / He went out of the hut, past the courtyard’s great wall, / And stood before her” (16. 174-177). His obedience was showed up clearly here for the goddess could gave him instruction by lifting …show more content…
I thought the answer was yes. I believed that there were three times Odysseus was discontent about Athena. The first time was when they firstly met in Ithaca, Odysseus complaint about the goddess absence for these years: “I know this, though: you were always kind to me / When the army fought at Troy. / But after we plundered Priam’s steep city, / And boarded our ships, and a god scattered us, / I didn’t see you then, didn’t sense your presence / Aboard my ship or feel you there to help me” (13. 325-330) He was not happy about Athena left him alone for twenty years because her wrath about the Greeks, he suffered a lot without help. The second time was when Athena told Odysseus she sent his son to finding him. This time, Odysseus’s love to his son made him question the goddess: “You Knew. Why didn’t you tell him? / So he could suffer too, roving barren seas / While my wife’s suitors eat him our of house and home?” Odysseus questioning here not only showed his love to Telemachus, it also expressed he took his son’s safety as more important than the possibilities of making a god unhappy. The third time was when Odysseus, Laertes and Telemachus were fighting with relatives of the suitors. “With a roar, the great, long-suffering Odysseus / Gathered himself and swept after them” (24. 559-560) I believed Odysseus was angry about them and willing to kill them at first. However, when Athena decided he should “restrain yourself” (24, 566), “The