Who She Is
Athena is the bright-eyed goddess, daughter of Zeus, who protects Odysseus and his house. It is she who sets the return in motion in the council of the gods and who guides it closely to the end, almost always in disguise, in the figure of a guest, an old friend, a girl, a shepherd, or a woman. The poem shows her acting at the edges, with a dream, a badly thrown ball, a mist, a piece of advice, and leaves the rest to people. She and Odysseus recognize each other as equals in cunning.
Trajectory
In Book I, Athena opens the action in the council: she grieves over Odysseus, held on the island of Calypso, asks Zeus why he has forgotten him, and proposes to go down to Ithaca to give courage to his son. She reaches the door of the house disguised as Mentes, chief of the Taphians and an old guest of the family, and gives Telemachus the advice that moves him: call the assembly, go to Pylos and Sparta, think about how to kill the suitors, because he is no longer of an age for childishness. Athena flies off like a bird, and the text says she leaves strength and courage in him.
οὐδέ τί σε χρὴ / νηπιάας ὀχέειν, ἐπεὶ οὐκέτι τηλίκος ἐσσι.(1.296-297), you should no longer keep up with childishness, since you are no longer of that age.
ὄρνις δʼ ὣς ἀνόπαια διέπτατο·(1.320), and like a bird she flew up.
In Book II, she pours grace over Telemachus so that the people admire him in the assembly. After the assembly, she appears on the beach in the figure and voice of Mentor and encourages him: few sons resemble their father, but his ardor is enough. Then she goes through the city in the figure of Telemachus himself, gathering companions, asks Noemon for a ship, pours sleep over the suitors, and boards with him.
παῦροι γάρ τοι παῖδες ὁμοῖοι πατρὶ πέλονται, / οἱ πλέονες κακίους, παῦροι δέ τε πατρὸς ἀρείους.(2.276-277), for few sons are like their father; most are worse, and few are better than their father.
In Book III, at Pylos, she tells Telemachus to set shame aside and puts courage in his chest. She prays to Poseidon for the Pylians. When Telemachus doubts, she rebukes him: a god saves a man easily, even from far away, but not even the gods free from death what fate has marked. She leaves in the form of a bird of prey, and Nestor recognizes her as the daughter of Zeus who honored Odysseus at Troy. Nestor, moreover, attributes the disaster of the Achaeans' return to her wrath.
Τηλέμαχʼ, οὐ μέν σε χρὴ ἔτʼ αἰδοῦς, οὐδʼ ἠβαιόν· / τοὔνεκα γὰρ καὶ πόντον ἐπέπλως, ὄφρα πύθηαι / πατρός, ὅπου κύθε γαῖα καὶ ὅν τινα πότμον ἐπέσπεν.(3.14-16), Telemachus, you no longer need shame, not even a little; for this is why you sailed the sea, to learn of your father, where the earth covered him and what fate it brought him.
θαρσήσας· αὐτὴ γὰρ ἐνὶ φρεσὶ θάρσος Ἀθήνη / θῆχʼ, ἵνα μιν περὶ πατρὸς ἀποιχομένοιο ἔροιτο / ἠδʼ ἵνα μιν κλέος ἐσθλὸν ἐν ἀνθρώποισιν ἔχῃσιν·(3.76-78), taking heart, for Athena herself put courage in his breast, so that he would ask about his absent father and so that he would have good fame among men.
Τηλέμαχε, ποῖόν σε ἔπος φύγεν ἕρκος ὀδόντων. / ῥεῖα θεός γʼ ἐθέλων καὶ τηλόθεν ἄνδρα σαώσαι.(3.230-231), Telemachus, what a word has escaped the fence of your teeth! A god, if he wishes, easily saves a man, even from afar.
ὦ φίλος, οὔ σε ἔολπα κακὸν καὶ ἄναλκιν ἔσεσθαι, / εἰ δή τοι νέῳ ὧδε θεοὶ πομπῆες ἕπονται. / οὐ μὲν γάρ τις ὅδʼ ἄλλος Ὀλύμπια δώματʼ ἐχόντων, / ἀλλὰ Διὸς θυγάτηρ, κυδίστη Τριτογένεια, / ἥ τοι καὶ πατέρʼ ἐσθλὸν ἐν Ἀργείοισιν ἐτίμα.(3.375-379), friend, I do not expect you to be bad and without strength, if the gods follow you as guides while you are so young. For this is none other of those who dwell in the Olympian halls, but the daughter of Zeus, the most glorious Tritogeneia, who also honored your noble father among the Argives.
In Book IV, she makes a phantom in the figure of Penelope's sister to console her, and the phantom assures her of her son's return and refuses to say whether her husband is alive. In Menelaus's house, the accounts recall that it was Athena who led Helen away from the horse when she called the chieftains by name.
οὐ μέν τοι κεῖνόν γε διηνεκέως ἀγορεύσω, / ζώει ὅ γʼ ἦ τέθνηκε· κακὸν δʼ ἀνεμώλια βάζειν(4.836-837), I will not tell you about that man straight through, whether he lives or has died; it is bad to speak empty words.
In Book V, she opens the council with a complaint: no one remembers Odysseus, who ruled like a father. Zeus returns her plan to her. On Odysseus's voyage, she holds back all the winds except Boreas, inspires him to cling to the rock, gives him judgment, and at the end pours sleep over him.
ὡς οὔ τις μέμνηται Ὀδυσσῆος θείοιο / λαῶν οἷσιν ἄνασσε, πατὴρ δʼ ὣς ἤπιος ἦεν(5.11-12), since no one remembers divine Odysseus, among the peoples he ruled, and who was gentle to them as a father.
In Book VI, she appears in a dream to Nausicaa in the figure of a friend, speaking of the coming marriage. She arranges the rest from the edges: she makes the ball fall into the whirlpool, so that Odysseus wakes, puts courage into Nausicaa, who stays when the maids flee, and, after the bath, finishes transforming Odysseus into a figure worthy of notice. To his prayer in the grove, she answers without showing herself, out of respect for her uncle.
Ναυσικάα, τί νύ σʼ ὧδε μεθήμονα γείνατο μήτηρ; / εἵματα μέν τοι κεῖται ἀκηδέα σιγαλόεντα, / σοὶ δὲ γάμος σχεδόν ἐστιν(6.25-27), Nausicaa, why did your mother bear you so careless? Your clothes lie there unattended, gleaming, and your wedding is near.
ἔνθʼ αὖτʼ ἄλλʼ ἐνόησε θεά, γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη, / ὡς Ὀδυσεὺς ἔγροιτο, ἴδοι τʼ ἐυώπιδα κούρην, / ἥ οἱ Φαιήκων ἀνδρῶν πόλιν ἡγήσαιτο(6.112-114), then the goddess of gleaming eyes, Athena, devised another plan: that Odysseus should wake and see the girl of lovely eyes who would lead him to the city of the Phaeacian men.
ὡς δʼ ὅτε τις χρυσὸν περιχεύεται ἀργύρῳ ἀνὴρ / ἴδρις, ὃν Ἥφαιστος δέδαεν καὶ Παλλὰς Ἀθήνη / τέχνην παντοίην, χαρίεντα δὲ ἔργα τελείει, / ὣς ἄρα τῷ κατέχευε χάριν κεφαλῇ τε καὶ ὤμοις(6.232-235), as when a skilled man overlays silver with gold, one whom Hephaestus and Pallas Athena taught every kind of craft, and who completes graceful works; so she poured grace over his head and shoulders.
αὐτῷ δʼ οὔ πω φαίνετʼ ἐναντίη· αἴδετο γάρ ῥα / πατροκασίγνητον· ὁ δʼ ἐπιζαφελῶς μενέαινεν / ἀντιθέῳ Ὀδυσῆι πάρος ἣν γαῖαν ἱκέσθαι(6.329-331), but she did not yet appear to him face to face, for she felt shame before her paternal uncle, who fiercely raged against godlike Odysseus until he reached his land.
In Book VII, she appears to Odysseus as a girl with a jug, says the people do not tolerate strangers and tells him to enter in silence, but gives him courage at the door. She teaches that Queen Arete is the key to the return, and covers him with mist so that no one will insult him.
ἀλλʼ ἴθι σιγῇ τοῖον, ἐγὼ δʼ ὁδὸν ἡγεμονεύσω, / μηδέ τινʼ ἀνθρώπων προτιόσσεο μηδʼ ἐρέεινε. / οὐ γὰρ ξείνους οἵδε μάλʼ ἀνθρώπους ἀνέχονται, / οὐδʼ ἀγαπαζόμενοι φιλέουσʼ ὅς κʼ ἄλλοθεν ἔλθῃ(7.30-33), but go in silence, such as you are, and I will lead the way; do not look at any man or ask anything. For these people do not much bear with strangers, nor do they welcome with affection whoever comes from elsewhere.
σὺ δʼ ἔσω κίε, μηδέ τι θυμῷ / τάρβει· θαρσαλέος γὰρ ἀνὴρ ἐν πᾶσιν ἀμείνων / ἔργοισιν τελέθει, εἰ καί ποθεν ἄλλοθεν ἔλθοι(7.50-52), go inside, and do not be afraid in your heart; for a bold man turns out better in all deeds, even if he comes from elsewhere.
οὐ μὲν γάρ τι νόου γε καὶ αὐτὴ δεύεται ἐσθλοῦ· / ᾗσι τʼ ἐὺ φρονέῃσι καὶ ἀνδράσι νείκεα λύει. / εἴ κέν τοι κείνη γε φίλα φρονέῃσʼ ἐνὶ θυμῷ, / ἐλπωρή τοι ἔπειτα φίλους τʼ ἰδέειν καὶ ἱκέσθαι / οἶκον ἐς ὑψόροφον καὶ σὴν ἐς πατρίδα γαῖαν(7.73-77), for she herself does not lack good judgment; she resolves the disputes of the women who think well of her, and of the men as well. If she is kindly disposed toward you in her heart, there is then hope that you will see your people and reach the high-roofed house and your native land.
In Book VIII, she takes the appearance of Alcinous's herald and calls the Phaeacians to the assembly, and pours grace over Odysseus so that he will be loved and feared. On the field of games, after the discus throw, she appears as a man who marks the spot of the discus and tells him that even a blind man would be able to tell it apart.
τῷ δʼ ἄρʼ Ἀθήνη / θεσπεσίην κατέχευε χάριν κεφαλῇ τε καὶ ὤμοις / καί μιν μακρότερον καὶ πάσσονα θῆκεν ἰδέσθαι, / ὥς κεν Φαιήκεσσι φίλος πάντεσσι γένοιτο / δεινός τʼ αἰδοῖός τε καὶ ἐκτελέσειεν ἀέθλους / πολλούς, τοὺς Φαίηκες ἐπειρήσαντʼ Ὀδυσῆος.(8.18-23), and upon him Athena poured divine grace, on his head and shoulders, and made him taller and sturdier to look at, so that he would be dear to all the Phaeacians, formidable and respected, and would complete the many contests with which the Phaeacians tested Odysseus.
In Book IX, when Odysseus stays in the Cyclops's cave, plotting how to take revenge, the wish he voices is that Athena grant him glory.
πολλῇ δὲ ῥοίζῳ πρὸς ὄρος τρέπε πίονα μῆλα / Κύκλωψ· αὐτὰρ ἐγὼ λιπόμην κακὰ βυσσοδομεύων, / εἴ πως τισαίμην, δοίη δέ μοι εὖχος Ἀθήνη.(9.315-317), with a great whistle the Cyclops drove the fat sheep toward the mountain; I, however, stayed behind, plotting evils, to see whether I might somehow take revenge, and whether Athena would grant me glory.
In Books X, XI and XII, Athena does not act: Odysseus's account to the Phaeacians is made of episodes without her, and she enters only in passing, as one of the judges in the contest over the arms of Achilles, in Book XI.
In Book XIII, after the Phaeacians leave him in Ithaca, she pours mist around Odysseus so that no one recognizes him before the suitors pay. She appears as a shepherd, hears his lie, and, in the figure of a woman, says that he is insatiable in tricks and that she too is famous for the same. She shows him the harbor, hides the gifts, and plans the slaughter with him, promising to stand at his side. The disguise she gives him also covers his wife and son. She tells Odysseus that Telemachus's journey is so that he may win good fame.
ὁ δʼ ἔγρετο δῖος Ὀδυσσεὺς / εὕδων ἐν γαίῃ πατρωΐῃ, οὐδέ μιν ἔγνω, / ἤδη δὴν ἀπεών· περὶ γὰρ θεὸς ἠέρα χεῦε / Παλλὰς Ἀθηναίη, κούρη Διός, ὄφρα μιν αὐτὸν / ἄγνωστον τεύξειεν ἕκαστά τε μυθήσαιτο, / μή μιν πρὶν ἄλοχος γνοίη ἀστοί τε φίλοι τε, / πρὶν πᾶσαν μνηστῆρας ὑπερβασίην ἀποτῖσαι.(13.187-193), and the divine Odysseus awoke, sleeping on his native land, and did not recognize it, after being away so long; for the goddess Pallas Athena, daughter of Zeus, had poured mist around him, to make him unrecognizable and to tell him each thing, so that neither his wife, nor the citizens, nor his friends would know him before the suitors paid for all their insolence.
κερδαλέος κʼ εἴη καὶ ἐπίκλοπος ὅς σε παρέλθοι / ἐν πάντεσσι δόλοισι, καὶ εἰ θεὸς ἀντιάσειε. / σχέτλιε, ποικιλομῆτα, δόλων ἆτʼ, οὐκ ἄρʼ ἔμελλες, / οὐδʼ ἐν σῇ περ ἐὼν γαίῃ, λήξειν ἀπατάων / μύθων τε κλοπίων, οἵ τοι πεδόθεν φίλοι εἰσίν.(13.291-295), he would be crafty and deceitful who could outdo you in all manner of tricks, even if a god came to meet him. Stubborn one, of many devices, insatiable in tricks, you were not going to stop, not even in your own land, your deceits and your sly words, which have been dear to you from the root.
ἀλλʼ ἄγε, μηκέτι ταῦτα λεγώμεθα, εἰδότες ἄμφω / κέρδεʼ, ἐπεὶ σὺ μέν ἐσσι βροτῶν ὄχʼ ἄριστος ἁπάντων / βουλῇ καὶ μύθοισιν, ἐγὼ δʼ ἐν πᾶσι θεοῖσι / μήτι τε κλέομαι καὶ κέρδεσιν· οὐδὲ σύ γʼ ἔγνως(13.296-299), But come, let us no longer speak of this, since we both know tricks; for you are by far the best of all mortals in counsel and in speech, and I am famed among all the gods for my cunning and my schemes.
κνυζώσω δέ τοι ὄσσε πάρος περικαλλέʼ ἐόντε, / ὡς ἂν ἀεικέλιος πᾶσι μνηστῆρσι φανήῃς / σῇ τʼ ἀλόχῳ καὶ παιδί, τὸν ἐν μεγάροισιν ἔλειπες.(13.401-403), and I will dim your eyes, once so beautiful, so that you will look wretched to all the suitors, and to your wife and to the son you left in the halls.
In Book XIV, she does not appear: it was she who sent Odysseus to the hut of the swineherd Eumaeus, because he was the servant who most cared for his master's goods.
In Book XV, she goes to Sparta and finds Telemachus awake. She sends him back, says his mother may marry Eurymachus, justifying it by what she says she knows of women's hearts, and warns him of the ambush, though she says she does not believe it will succeed.
οἶσθα γὰρ οἷος θυμὸς ἐνὶ στήθεσσι γυναικός· / κείνου βούλεται οἶκον ὀφέλλειν ὅς κεν ὀπυίῃ, / παίδων δὲ προτέρων καὶ κουριδίοιο φίλοιο / οὐκέτι μέμνηται τεθνηκότος οὐδὲ μεταλλᾷ.(15.20-23), for you know what kind of heart a woman has in her breast: she wants to increase the house of the man who marries her, and of the children of an earlier marriage and of her beloved husband, now dead, she no longer remembers, nor asks.
μνηστήρων σʼ ἐπιτηδὲς ἀριστῆες λοχόωσιν / ἐν πορθμῷ Ἰθάκης τε Σάμοιό τε παιπαλοέσσης. / ἱέμενοι κτεῖναι, πρὶν πατρίδα γαῖαν ἱκέσθαι. / ἀλλὰ τά γʼ οὐκ ὀΐω· πρὶν καί τινα γαῖα καθέξει / ἀνδρῶν μνηστήρων, οἵ τοι βίοτον κατέδουσιν.(15.28-32), the best of the suitors lie in wait for you on purpose, in the strait between Ithaca and rugged Samos, eager to kill you before you reach your native land. But I do not think they will; sooner the earth will cover some of the suitors who devour your livelihood.
In Book XVI, only Odysseus and the dogs see her before the hut. She tells him to reveal himself to his son and settle the death of the suitors, and then, with the golden staff, restores to him the look of a young and strong man. At the end of the book, she touches Odysseus again and makes him old once more.
οὐ γάρ πω πάντεσσι θεοὶ φαίνονται ἐναργεῖς, / ἀλλʼ Ὀδυσεύς τε κύνες τε ἴδον, καί ῥʼ οὐχ ὑλάοντο(16.161-162), for the gods do not appear clearly to everyone; but Odysseus and the dogs saw her, and they did not bark.
ἤδη νῦν σῷ παιδὶ ἔπος φάο μηδʼ ἐπίκευθε, / ὡς ἂν μνηστῆρσιν θάνατον καὶ κῆρʼ ἀραρόντε / ἔρχησθον προτὶ ἄστυ περικλυτόν· οὐδʼ(16.168-170), now speak the word to your son and do not hide it, so that, having fitted death and doom for the suitors, you two may go to the famous city;
In Book XVII, she pours grace over Telemachus in the city and, in the hall, urges Odysseus to beg bread from the suitors to learn who is just and who is lawless, and warns that not even so will he save any of them.
γνοίη θʼ οἵ τινές εἰσιν ἐναίσιμοι οἵ τʼ ἀθέμιστοι· / ἀλλʼ οὐδʼ ὥς τινʼ ἔμελλʼ ἀπαλεξήσειν κακότητος.(17.363-364), and he would know which of them are righteous and which lawless; but not even so was he going to save any one of them from misfortune.
In Book XVIII, she increases the limbs of Odysseus in the fight with Irus. She binds Amphinomus to his fate, after his warning, and puts in Penelope the desire to appear before the suitors, adorning her and giving her sleep. She also makes the suitors keep insulting the beggar.
νευστάζων κεφαλῇ· δὴ γὰρ κακὸν ὄσσετο θυμός. / ἀλλʼ οὐδʼ ὣς φύγε κῆρα· πέδησε δὲ καὶ τὸν Ἀθήνη / Τηλεμάχου ὑπὸ χερσὶ καὶ ἔγχεϊ ἶφι δαμῆναι.(18.154-156), nodding his head, for his heart foreboded evil. But not even so did he escape his doom: Athena also bound him to be overcome by force beneath the hands and spear of Telemachus.
τῇ δʼ ἄρʼ ἐπὶ φρεσὶ θῆκε θεὰ γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη, / κούρῃ Ἰκαρίοιο, περίφρονι Πηνελοπείῃ, / μνηστήρεσσι φανῆναι, ὅπως πετάσειε μάλιστα / θυμὸν μνηστήρων ἰδὲ τιμήεσσα γένοιτο / μᾶλλον πρὸς πόσιός τε καὶ υἱέος ἢ πάρος ἦεν.(18.158-162), in her mind the goddess of the gleaming eyes, Athena, set the thought of appearing before the suitors, in the daughter of Icarius, the prudent Penelope, so that she might stir the suitors' hearts as much as possible and be more honored by her husband and son than she had been before.
In Book XIX, she holds the golden lamp before Odysseus and Telemachus as they carry the weapons in, and the hall shines. She diverts Penelope's attention when Eurycleia recognizes the scar, and afterward pours sleep over her.
In Book XX, she comes to the bedside of Odysseus when he is not sleeping, rebukes him for trusting a mortal who knows less than she does, and promises that he would take the cattle of fifty companies. She does not let the suitors refrain from outrage, so that the pain may sink deeper into Odysseus. In the end, she makes the suitors laugh with mouths not their own.
αὐτὰρ ἐγὼ θεός εἰμι, διαμπερὲς ἥ σε φυλάσσω / ἐν πάντεσσι πόνοις. ἐρέω δέ τοι ἐξαναφανδόν· / εἴ περ πεντήκοντα λόχοι μερόπων ἀνθρώπων / νῶϊ περισταῖεν, κτεῖναι μεμαῶτες Ἄρηϊ, / καί κεν τῶν ἐλάσαιο βόας καὶ ἴφια μῆλα.(20.47-51), but I am a goddess, who guards you through all your labors. I will tell you plainly: even if fifty companies of mortal men surrounded us, eager to kill us in battle, you would drive off their cattle and their fat sheep.
μνηστῆρας δʼ οὐ πάμπαν ἀγήνορας εἴα Ἀθήνη / λώβης ἴσχεσθαι θυμαλγέος, ὄφρʼ ἔτι μᾶλλον / δύη ἄχος κραδίην Λαερτιάδην Ὀδυσῆα.(20.284-286), but Athena did not let the proud suitors altogether hold back from the heart-piercing outrage, so that grief might pierce even more deeply the heart of Odysseus, son of Laertes.
In Book XXI, she puts into Penelope's mind the idea of the contest of the bow, the beginning of the slaughter.
τόξον μνηστήρεσσι θέμεν πολιόν τε σίδηρον / ἐν μεγάροις Ὀδυσῆος, ἀέθλια καὶ φόνου ἀρχήν.(21.3-4), to set before the suitors, in the halls of Odysseus, the bow and the gray iron, the prize of the contest and the beginning of the slaughter.
In Book XXII, she comes into the hall as Mentor and rebukes Odysseus, but holds back full victory to test the strength of him and of his son, and sits on a beam in the form of a swallow. Then she raises the aegis, and the suitors flee.
ἦ ῥα, καὶ οὔ πω πάγχυ δίδου ἑτεραλκέα νίκην, / ἀλλʼ ἔτʼ ἄρα σθένεός τε καὶ ἀλκῆς πειρήτιζεν / ἠμὲν Ὀδυσσῆος ἠδʼ υἱοῦ κυδαλίμοιο. / αὐτὴ δʼ αἰθαλόεντος ἀνὰ μεγάροιο μέλαθρον / ἕζετʼ ἀναΐξασα, χελιδόνι εἰκέλη ἄντην.(22.236-240), so she spoke, and did not yet grant full victory to either side, but still tested the strength and might of Odysseus and of his glorious son. She herself, springing up to the beam of the smoke-blackened hall, sat down in plain view, resembling a swallow.
δὴ τότʼ Ἀθηναίη φθισίμβροτον αἰγίδʼ ἀνέσχεν / ὑψόθεν ἐξ ὀροφῆς· τῶν δὲ φρένες ἐπτοίηθεν.(22.297-298), then Athena raised the aegis that destroys mortals, high from the ceiling; and their minds were struck with terror.
In Book XXIII, she pours beauty over Odysseus after his bath and, when the two recognize each other, holds back the night at the edge of the world and keeps Dawn in the Ocean. In the morning, she hides the men in the night as they leave the city.
In Book XXIV, she asks Zeus whether the war goes on, and Zeus reminds her that the plan of vengeance was hers, but sets the terms of peace. Athena comes down, rouses Laertes and puts strength into him, and in the figure of Mentor cries out to the Ithacans to end the war. She seals the pact in the last line of the poem.
ἡμεῖς δʼ αὖ παίδων τε κασιγνήτων τε φόνοιο / ἔκλησιν θέωμεν· τοὶ δʼ ἀλλήλους φιλεόντων / ὡς τὸ πάρος, πλοῦτος δὲ καὶ εἰρήνη ἅλις ἔστω.(24.484-486), and let us bring about a forgetting of the killing of sons and brothers; let them love one another as before, and let wealth and peace be abundant.
ἴσχεσθε πτολέμου, Ἰθακήσιοι, ἀργαλέοιο, / ὥς κεν ἀναιμωτί γε διακρινθῆτε τάχιστα.(24.531-532), hold back from the grievous war, Ithacans, so that you may be parted most swiftly, without bloodshed.
Themes Embodied
Athena embodies Home, exile, and return as a work of care: the return is Zeus's decision, but she is the one who brings it to completion. She also embodies Revenge, which the poem presents as her project, and Family, because the two men she guides are father and son. She embodies Truth and lies, because she disguises herself all the time and because she approves of Odysseus's taste for trickery.
Athena never does alone what the poem attributes to her. Each step of the plan is taken by someone with reasons of their own: Nausicaa washes clothes because of the marriage, Telemachus answers the advice and goes, the servants recognize their master on their own. Divine help is measured. She does not give full victory all at once, she tests father and son before raising the aegis, and she hides from her uncle Poseidon until Odysseus sets foot on his homeland. One can read this as careful protection that respects the action of men, or as the measured dosage of someone who uses people for a plan already decided. The text supports both.
Relationships
- Odysseus: the protégé whom she recognizes as an equal in cunning.
- Telemachus: the young man she sends to grow up, and to whom she appears as Mentes and as Mentor.
- Penelope: the queen whose dreams, desires, and test she directs, without revealing the plan to her.
- Zeus: the father, who returns her plan of vengeance to her and dictates the terms of peace.
- Poseidon: the uncle, out of respect for whom she keeps herself hidden from Odysseus until he reaches his homeland.
- Nausicaa: the girl she uses, through a dream, to open the way to the Phaeacian court.