What is Athena’s true intention? We all know that Athena adores Odysseus and Telemachus. She blesses Odysseus during the invasion of Troy and guides Telemachus on his journey. As phrased by Mr. Mitchell, Athena “digs Odysseus.” However, it is not clear why she is helping them after abandoning Odysseus on Calypso’s island for seven years and allowing the suitors to torment Telemachus for most of his life.
One theory I have is that Athena feels remorse for abandoning Odysseus; after all, she is responsible for him. As consolation for Odysseus, Athena decides to free him and helps mold his son into a hero. If Odysseus had made it home in time, he would have been the one teaching Telemachus the ways of a hero, so perhaps Athena wants to develop Telemachus to make up for lost time due to Odysseus’ absence. There also seems to be an urgency for Telemachus’ development which has to do with his father’s arrival to Ithaca. It could be that Athena plans to have Telemachus ready to help Odysseus on his quest to take back Ithaca from the suitors. As for Odysseus, Athena has some sort of feeling for him. She says, “To outwit you/ in all your tricks, a person or a god would need to be an expert a deceit. You clever rascal! So duplicitous, so talented at lying...” (XII. 292-311). Athena is, in a way, flirting with Odysseus, which is essential to why she feels remorse for abandoning him.
Another theory is that Athena acts as an author and is creating a good story. She did have seven years to free Odysseus, so why didn’t she do so during that time? The book says that she only proposes the idea when Poseidon was absent, but surely Poseidon didn’t attend every Olympus meeting. She probably had several opportunities to propose to free Odysseus. The theory suggests that letting Odysseus suffer for seven years creates suspense for his journey home. Furthermore, even when Odysseus is freed, he has to go through another arduous journey back to Ithaca. Athena could have teleported him back to Ithaca with her all-powerful abilities. She didn’t have to let Odysseus travel from island to island just to make a full circle back to Calypso’s island. In addition, Athena could have granted Telemachus the traits of a hero. He wouldn’t have had to set sail to Pylos and have angry suitors waiting to kill him when he gets back. Perhaps Athena wants to create an exciting story about how a long-lost warrior reclaims his throne with the help of his son.
The ideas presented provide contrasting perspectives on Athena’s actions. In one theory, she is a benevolent god who just wants to help Odysseus and his family. She provides Odysseus a passage back to Ithaca and develops Telemachus in the process. The other theory makes her out to be a puppet master, trying to create an exciting story for the reader. It’s hard to identify Athena’s real motives, as both of the theories are very plausible.
I feel like both aspects of Athena helping Telemachus and Odysseus are part of the story. Athena is nice to Odysseus and Telemachus because she feels bad, but just letting Odysseus arrive home and then have the gods banish the suitors wouldn't be interesting. Gods don't just use their powers to magically make things okay for one person. They will help and construct a story, but ultimately the person has to act on that plot.
ReplyDeleteNice post! Athena is definitely a complicated character. It seems like the gods' intentions are all kind of obscure. I think that Athena definitely likes Odysseus and Telemachus, but she also wants to create an interesting and complicated adventure. In my post, I wrote about how the gods may behave the way they do because they might just be bored and looking for entertainment by manipulating the humans. I think Athena's actions are probably determined by a mix of both your theories.
ReplyDeleteAnother way to look at it is that Athena is itching for a good story--she "digs" Odysseus as a character (his style, utilizing trickery and deception and "testing" his subordinates, certainly resembles her own), and she wants him to be at the center of a good revenge story. Part of the requirement for that story is that he suffer--the homecoming is dramatic because he's been gone so long, and some in the kingdom can plausibly argue that he's not coming back. He's parked on Calypso's island for just long enough to allow the crisis at home to come to a peak, just as he's ready to reenter the scene and bring revenge. If he'd returned five years ago, there's be no reason for revenge, and it wouldn't be the "heroic" bloodbath we (and Athena) are about to witness.
ReplyDeleteWhen reading the Odyssey, I've seen the gods as being "narrative forces" as much as anything. Each one can literally rewrite the plot, and each one has some idea of what they want the story to be. Athena wants an epic where the trickster comes home and uses devious strategy to commit mass murder. Poseidon wants Odysseus to suffer, and the Phaeacians to honor him. Zeus as much as anything seems to play the role of an editor/reviewer -- "Yeah, Poseidon, what you've got is pretty good, but imagine this: the ship turns to stone right in front of them, and then they get trapped by a mountain."
ReplyDeleteI think it also fits with the gods' lack of empathy and morality: the mortals are just characters in a story, why care?
Athena's character is certainly one of the hardest to pin down in this book. She feels like more of the author than Homer, who simply recites a story she designed, but at the same time, she jumps in to interact with the characters. I think what's weirdest to me is how much emotion she feels about the characters - she hates the suitors, loves Odysseus, pities Penelope - she cares a lot more than if she saw them as simply pawns in "her" epic. But she controls to much to simply be an invested audience member.
ReplyDeleteWeird side note, but I see her most as some extension of Odysseus' character, or perhaps the other way around. Linking the two characters together seems to be the best way I can reconcile her conflicting roles.
Athena definitely likes Odysseus; she mentions multiple times that she digs Odysseus's style. I do agree that she feels bad for Odysseus, which contributes to some of the motivation behind her actions.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I believe that Athena has more of a puppet master role in the story. Throughout all of the chapters, we see Athena pulling the strings, making sure things lineup so Odysseus and Telemachus can complete her plan. We also see Zeus tell Athena that she''s the one who planned everything, so it's up to her how the story will end.