The characters of Homer's Odyssey are forever at the mercy of the Gods, those immortals who live on the peaks of Mount Olympus and who, at times, walk the lands of earth . Throughout the epic the main characters are visited quite often at crucial moments of the plot. No god visits these characters more than Pallas Athena, the goddess daughter of Zeus, and no character is visited by the gods more than the protagonist, King Odysseus. In Book XIII, after Odysseus's unofficial and long-awaited arrival on the shores of Ithaca, Athena appears before him as a young shepherd. A careful analysis of related scenes throughout the book and of this passage will show that Odysseus knew he was in the presence of the goddess before she revealed herself to him and, in doing so, will shed light on an aspect of their relationship that may have been overlooked. . by the casual reader. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The gods first appear and manipulate the minds of many of the characters in the Odyssey, and most of the time the person is unaware of the god's presence. The presence of Athena, however, is detected on more than one occasion by the characters in the book. The first time the goddess is detected occurs in Book I, when Athena visits Telemachus disguised as an old family friend of Taphos called Mentes. She is there to inspire the prince to go on a journey to find news of his father. When questioned by the suitors in Odysseus' house about the visitor, Telemachus replies: "...The man is an old friend of the family, of Taphos, son of the wise Anchialus. He says his name is Mentes, lord of the men of Taphi who love their oars.”Thus he saidBut in the depths of his mind he knew the immortal goddess. (I, 476-480)Although Athena has disguised herself, she is still discovered by Telemachus. It is unknown whether he is able to detect her in this case because she wants him to, or whether he simply possesses some ability inherited from Odysseus. It doesn't really matter, though, because the point is that Athena can be sensed whether she's in her female form or disguised as something else. Although Athena often appears in disguise at first, she is not shy. She is usually not reluctant to make her presence known and often appears at the end of the meeting as herself. While more than one example of this is available, including the one in Book XIII between her and Odysseus, the particular passage below showing Athena appearing before a group of people seems appropriate: With that the bright-eyed goddess flew away in an eagle shape and flight. Amazement fell on all the Achaeans present. The old king, amazed by what he had seen, grabbed Telemachus' hand and shouted to the prince: "Dear boy, never fear that you are cowardly or helpless, even if it happens to you." at a young age the gods will keep you like this..." (III, 415-421) Athena not only has no problem showing herself in front of the person she is visiting, but she is not even against appearing in front of groups. Here too the king's words Nestor are appropriate because they show that to be the subject of a visit from the gods is to be blessed. Similarly, Odysseus knows that he is blessed because the gods have told him that he is on his last journey home. watch over him to guide him on this last stage of his journey. When Athena appears before him on the shore, she is disguised as a shepherd. He immediately understands that it is her came towards him.... Ulysses, delighted at the sight, when he came towards her, now reaching her with greetings on the wing: (XIII, 251- 259) Although the narrator tells us that Athena is disguised as him, we still see the pronoun"she" instead of "he" as Ulysses approaches the figure. This is a pretty clear contextual clue that supports the idea that Odysseus sees the shepherd as Athena in disguise. As he approaches Athena in disguise, his words give clues that he knows it's her. He says: "I have come to this port, treat me with kindness, no cruelty, please. Save these treasures, save me too. I pray to you like a god, I fall before your knees and ask for your mercy!" (XIII, 260-263). Use the word god. He tells a random shepherd boy that he will fall and pray to him. It seems rather strange that an Odysseus whom the reader has come to know as normally, frankly "presumptuous", would use such flowery language with a shepherd boy. For these reasons it seems that he is simply humoring the great Pallas Athena who has come before him in disguise. In the story that precedes The Odyssey, The Iliad, Odysseus uses his human ingenuity and resourcefulness, traits that Athena is credited with inspiring in men. , to devise the plot that will put an end to the sack of Troy. The similarity between the characters of man and goddess serves to explain one of the main reasons why Odysseus is in Athena's favor. Athena not only takes pity on Odysseus 20 years away from home, but she also sees a small part of herself in him. He expresses this sense of kinship in a passage that occurs when he reveals his shepherd's disguise in Book XIII: "Any man - any god who met you - should be a champion of deceitful lies to surpass you forever - cunning and cunning! You terrible, cunning, ingenious man, never tired of twists and tricks - so, not even here, in your native land, would you give up those cunning stories that warm the clams of your heart! Come, enough of this now. We are both experts in the art of intrigue. Here among mortal men you are by far the best in tactics and in plotting stories, and I am also famous among the gods for wisdom and cunning (XIII, 329-. 339) The idea that Athena likes Odysseus is crucial to creating the context for their conversation. Athena appears before him, in disguise, but he knows it must be her. He is at a crucial point in his journey and it seems obvious that a sort of immortal guide, then makes up a witty story about himself as a foreign fugitive to humor her. It's a kind of game, and after finishing it Athena "smiled and caressed him with her hand" (XIII, 326-7), as if to say "silly boy", you can't fool me. More evidence of their playful and relaxed relationship is seen in the way they talk to each other. Athena says to Ulysses "Ah, but you never recognized me, did you? Pallas Athena, daughter of Zeus - who is always by your side, protects you in every undertaking" (XIII, 340-342). The first sentence is the one to focus on here. The "Ah, but you never recognized me" seems to represent the playful element again. She knows he knew who she was. Odysseus' response reciprocates that sentiment and further demonstrates the ironic way in which they are speaking: "'Ah goddess,' retorted the cold strategist, 'you are so difficult for a mortal to recognize at first sight, however cunning he is - the forms of you you have infinite!" (XIII, 354-356). They both joke with each other, as if they were old friends. The funny thing is, they kind of are. Odysseus is famous for his twenty-year journey, wandering aimlessly, helplessly at the mercy of the gods. She, being a god, played a key role in his life. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Through textual analysis, then, we have demonstrated that Odysseus knew he was in the presence of Athena. Through this exploration, we also explored the relationship between Athena and Odysseus in more detail. We discovered a sort of,.