In The Odyssey, Athena plays a major role in helping Odysseus complete his journey. Besides her literal importance in the book,which is helping Odysseus, her symbolism is by far one of the most important. She represents power and feminist strength that causes her to be a main character throughout the story. I believe that her symbolism is one of the most important because her dominance as a female character highlights her importance when helping Odysseus during his journey.
Before analyzing Athena’s symbolism, we must determine how we can interpret symbols. A symbol is a material object that represents something abstract. This means that there is a material object, in this case Athena, whose meaning stretches beyond the literal intentions. …show more content…
Throughout this journey, though, Athena proves herself very powerful, especially for a woman. As we can see in this quote from the Odyssey,
“Think: not one of the people he ruled remembers Odysseus now, that God like man, and kindly as a father to his children. Now he left to pine on an island wracked with grief in the nymph Calypso's home - she holds him there by force. he has no way to voyage home to his own native land, no trim ships in reach, no crew to ply the oars and send him scuddling over the sea’s broad back” (Homer 5.12-19)
Athena convinces Zeus to release Odysseus. But this quote also shows how Athena symbolizes power. Not dominance, necessarily, but power nonetheless. Throughout the story, women are portrayed as seductive and not necessarily important; however, Athena represents an exception to the “norm” during this time period. This is very important to the story because her strength as a woman not only assists Odysseus but basically does all the work. I would consider power as one of Athena’s symbols due to the abnormality of the situation. Of course, Odysseus has power, as does Zeus, as does Hermes, as do the suitors; however, they are all men, It is very common for men to have power, but when a woman has it, especially in this time period, I think that it is a major symbol. Her power is an equal match for the men in the story, which is why it is so …show more content…
One example that he used was Santa. Santa is the metaphorical relationship between the parent and child. When the child learned the truth about Santa, the parent then knew that the bond was growing weaker. To me, however, Athena’s symbolism isn’t a matter of a relationship . It is more a matter of the qualities or characteristics themselves that cannot be learned. Another example Campbell gave was the lotus flower, which represents divine grace and energy. To the people who thought of the lotus as a symbol, nothing else could learn or take upon the characteristics that the lotus already had. The same goes for Athena; for example, I can’t one day decide that I want to have power that rivals everyone. I would have to be born with it. However, one object might mean different things to different people. Just as someone could see Athena as a symbol for INSERT OTHER SYMBOL HERE , someone else might see Athena as a symbol for other reasons, or might not see her as a symbol at all. Symbols are to each their own, but for me, Athena is a symbol for many things that I find necessary in the
Before analyzing Athena’s symbolism, we must determine how we can interpret symbols. A symbol is a material object that represents something abstract. This means that there is a material object, in this case Athena, whose meaning stretches beyond the literal intentions. …show more content…
Throughout this journey, though, Athena proves herself very powerful, especially for a woman. As we can see in this quote from the Odyssey,
“Think: not one of the people he ruled remembers Odysseus now, that God like man, and kindly as a father to his children. Now he left to pine on an island wracked with grief in the nymph Calypso's home - she holds him there by force. he has no way to voyage home to his own native land, no trim ships in reach, no crew to ply the oars and send him scuddling over the sea’s broad back” (Homer 5.12-19)
Athena convinces Zeus to release Odysseus. But this quote also shows how Athena symbolizes power. Not dominance, necessarily, but power nonetheless. Throughout the story, women are portrayed as seductive and not necessarily important; however, Athena represents an exception to the “norm” during this time period. This is very important to the story because her strength as a woman not only assists Odysseus but basically does all the work. I would consider power as one of Athena’s symbols due to the abnormality of the situation. Of course, Odysseus has power, as does Zeus, as does Hermes, as do the suitors; however, they are all men, It is very common for men to have power, but when a woman has it, especially in this time period, I think that it is a major symbol. Her power is an equal match for the men in the story, which is why it is so …show more content…
One example that he used was Santa. Santa is the metaphorical relationship between the parent and child. When the child learned the truth about Santa, the parent then knew that the bond was growing weaker. To me, however, Athena’s symbolism isn’t a matter of a relationship . It is more a matter of the qualities or characteristics themselves that cannot be learned. Another example Campbell gave was the lotus flower, which represents divine grace and energy. To the people who thought of the lotus as a symbol, nothing else could learn or take upon the characteristics that the lotus already had. The same goes for Athena; for example, I can’t one day decide that I want to have power that rivals everyone. I would have to be born with it. However, one object might mean different things to different people. Just as someone could see Athena as a symbol for INSERT OTHER SYMBOL HERE , someone else might see Athena as a symbol for other reasons, or might not see her as a symbol at all. Symbols are to each their own, but for me, Athena is a symbol for many things that I find necessary in the