Goddess · Character in Homer’s Odyssey
Athena Pallas
Odysseus' unwearied divine patron
Partisan, inexhaustible, fond of disguise; manages everyone, including the gods.
She argues his release before Zeus and then shadows father and son the whole way home, appearing as the Taphian chief Mentes, as the steward Mentor, as a shepherd boy, as a girl at the washing-place. She is the one who turns Odysseus into a beggar, and the one who stops the blood feud at the end.
Bonds
- Athena guise of Mentor — borrows his shape and voice
- Athena patron of Odysseus — steadies his nerve, crowns him with beauty
- Athena aids Odysseus — calms the winds, disguises him
- Athena patron of Telemachus — watches over his journey unseen
- Athena aids Penelope — grants her a deathless beauty
- Athena patron of Nausicaä — sends the dream about the washing
- Athena daughter of Zeus — petitions him as 'Our Father'
Appears in
- Book I Visit of Athena to Telemachus
- Book II Departure of Telemachus from Ithaca
- Book III Interview of Telemachus with Nestor
- Book IV Conference of Telemachus and Menelaus
- Book V Departure of Odysseus from Calypso
- Book VI Odysseus Discovered by Nausicaä
- Book VII Reception of Odysseus by Alcinoüs
- Book VIII Festivals in Honor of Odysseus
- Book XIII Arrival of Odysseus at Ithaca
- Book XV Return of Telemachus
- Book XVI Odysseus Discovering Himself to Telemachus
- Book XVII Return of Odysseus to His Palace
- Book XVIII Combat of Odysseus and Irus
- Book XIX Odysseus Recognized by Eurycleia
- Book XX The Last Banquet of the Suitors
- Book XXI The Bending of the Bow of Odysseus
- Book XXII Death of the Suitors
- Book XXIII Odysseus and Penelope After the Slaughter
- Book XXIV Conclusion
Scenes
- Athena pleads for Odysseus — Book I. Athena begs Zeus, plans to send Hermes
- Athena arrives as Mentes — Book I. Telemachus welcomes disguised Athena
- Telemachus questions the stranger — Book I. Telemachus laments, asks his guest’s name
- Athena counsels a voyage — Book I. Athena urges Telemachus toward Pylos, Sparta
- Prayer to Athena — Book II. Telemachus prays by shore, Athena answers
- Athena Readies the Ship — Book II. As Telemachus, Athena dulls suitors’ wits
- Sailing Through the Night — Book II. Crew embarks, Athena sails by night
- Prayer to Poseidon — Book III. Peisistratus seats them, Athena prays
- A Warning on Fate — Book III. Nestor probes suitors, Athena warns
- Libations at Nightfall — Book III. As night falls, Athena calls for libations
- Athena Vanishes — Book III. Nestor keeps Telemachus, Athena vanishes
- Household Retires — Book III. Nestor vows sacrifice, household retires
- Battered Against the Rocks — Book V. Wave dashes Odysseus, Athena guides him
- Athena’s Dream Visit — Book VI. Athena urges Nausicaä to wash robes
- Bathing and Transformation — Book VI. Odysseus bathes, Athena makes him radiant
- Prayer to Athena — Book VI. Odysseus prays, Athena stays unseen
- Athena Meets Odysseus — Book VII. Disguised, Athena shrouds Odysseus in mist
- Waking in a Strange Land — Book XIII. Odysseus wakes, fails to recognize Ithaca
- Athena Unveiled — Book XIII. Athena reveals herself, praises his cunning
- Hiding the Treasure — Book XIII. Odysseus kisses earth, hides treasure
- Plot Against the Suitors — Book XIII. Athena details siege, disguises Odysseus
- Athena’s Warning — Book XV. Athena warns Telemachus of ambush ahead
- Athena Transforms Odysseus — Book XVI. Athena bids Odysseus reveal himself
- Athena reassures him — Book XX. Athena vows to guard him, lulls him asleep
Athena is named in 108 of the poem’s scenes; these are the twenty-four that carry the most of the name.