Analysis Of Athena In The Odyssey English Literature Essay

Analysis Of Athena In The Odyssey English Literature Essay After ten years, the Trojan War is over and the Achaeans head home. Some heroes of the war, like Nestor, come home quickly to find things pretty much as they left them. Others, like Agamemnon, arrive home to find things considerably changed. Still others, like Menelaus, wander around for a time but eventually return home safely. Odysseus, on the other hand, has been having no end of trouble getting home. As the story opens, we find ourselves in the tenth year since the end of the war, a full 20 years since Odysseus first left his home and wife Penelope to sail off for Troy with the rest of the Achaean forces. Since then Telemachus, the son of Odysseus has grown up without a father wondering if he will ever come home. Imagine, if you will, that you are in a world that is not of your own. Hear you can walk freely in any form you want. Every word you speak and every action you take can affect the lives of millions and cost them everything. But if you can bring those people together, an d engage them in the test of their lives you would have been the savior and protector of those people. This is the role of Athena in Homer’s epic â€Å"The Odyssey†. In this essay I will analyze Athena’s major role of protection and guidance throughout the epic, and how her use of disguise and transformation affects their motivation and choices in the epic poem. Athena the goddess of wisdom and strategy, a shape shifter of many forms, and daughter of Mà ©tis and Zeus, plays as significant role throughout â€Å"The Odyssey. While she does occasionally judge human actions, the dominant role she plays is to offer challenge and protection to both Odysseus and Telemachus. The goddess Athena becomes their chief protector, and she is seldom far away from Odysseus or his son. Throughout the epic Athena instills confidence into Telemachus and aids him in his travels and journey into manhood. She continually helps Odysseus, giving him advice and practical assistance. At hena’s role is not just that of helping Odysseus and Telemachus; she also helps in their development as characters, teaching them patience, humility, and restraint. From her first act of assistance to her final peacemaking, she is largely responsible for the development and conclusion of the plot. Telemachus’ daydreams before meeting Athena for the first time: â€Å"à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦sitting among the suitors, heart obsessed with grief. He could almost see his magnificent father, hereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ã¢â‚¬  (B1:L134-136). Growing up without his father Odysseus, the only knowledge Telemachus knows of him are only the stories told to him by his consorts. With all the suitors roaming freely through the great halls of his father’s palace, chasing after his mother Penelope’s hand in marriage, Prince Telemachus is left hopeless to stop them. Athena uses her great skills of strategy and wisdom to quickly find a way to inspire our hero Telemachus to journey to find his father. She shape shifts into Odysseus’ old friend Mentes, and predicts that Odysseus is still alive and that he will soon return to Ithaca.†Take my words to heart. At daybreak summon the islands lords to full assembly, give your orders to all and call the gods to witnessà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ sail in quest of news of your long- lost father,† Athena declared (B1:L315-325). With these words of encouragement, Athena uses her disguise to influence the prince to find his father. If it not for Athena, Telemachus might have taken his father for dead and encouraged his mother to marry one of her suitors.  The journey is also important because the journey of Telemachus plays an important part of him becoming a man on his own.