After the presentations on the “Wandering”, it seems that Athena has really struck out as a character-- so much so, that I think she is possibly the main character of the book. Ok, yeah, she isn’t the main (rolling my eyes) character, but she is responsible for Odysseus being the main character. Athena is the core of the Odyssey because nearly every act, everything that goes on, is performed through Athena’s lens. We first see her when she meets Telemachus. She comes to Odysseus’ palace disguised as mentor, advising Telemachus to journey to Sparta and Pylos, to both find information about his father, as well as continue the “legacy” of his father (specifically, being able to stand up to his reputation by having his own little “Odyssey”). While Telemachus doesn’t find much information at the end of his journey, he does return home as a man, a true prince, who is capable of his handling his kingdom in his own hands, in the unforeseen future. Before that, when Telemachus has to set out on his journey, it is Athena who sets him up with a ship. She also tells Penelope, who is really worried about her son, in a dream that Telemachus will make it back alive and rejuvenated. And this is just in the Telemachiad.
Athena also convinces the Phaeacian princess to help out Odysseus; she helps him get off of Calypso’s island; she also helps him get to Phoenicians; she tells him when he is back in Ithaca; she “advises” Telemachus to come back to Ithaca; she orchestrates Odysseus and Telemachus in such a manner that they both meet outside the palace in a hut (who just happens to belong to an extremely loyal servant); she makes the plan to get suitors’ brains dashed out; she changes the appearance of characters (and the city of Ithaca itself) nearly everytime we meet her. She just doesn’t bug off- I did a quick search on my ebook, and Athena appears 162 times! So what does this mean, and what is the importance of Athena reappearing in the book so many times?
Athena, as stated before, is the core to this epic, kind of like Lord Krishna in the Indian epic, The Mahabharata. Athena serves as the ingredient to the recipe of a cake. Sure, cake’s really good, but in order to have this cake, you must first have all the necessary ingredients in place. This epic is not about the return of the brave Odysseus-- it is rather the result of Athena playing a game which amuses her. The people and creatures associated are but puppets.
September 5th, 2014
I do agree with your statement that Athena is the director of this story. But, going off of your cake analogy, I think she is more the oven than the ingredients. She tries to make the perfect story, but Odysseus, being human, has flaws. He messes up and angers some of the Gods, especially Poseidon. When baking a cake, no matter how good the oven is, if there is a wrong measurement or missing ingredient, the cake won't taste as expected.
ReplyDeleteOn a side note, although Athena map out what should happen in the Odyssey, she isn't the one battling monsters and outwitting people, that is all the work of Odysseus, which makes him more main character material.
In a way, the Odyssey is structured as a small story which Athena maneuvers into a final battle for her own amusement and also as a way to prove herself above Poseidon by taking Odysseus' side. Perhaps she actually likes the way he acts and the way he conducts himself, or perhaps she is aligning herself with the hero just to anger Poseidon and defeat him in her own way.
ReplyDeleteI like the analogy of Athena to an author or director figure, but there's also a sense of her as an audience: as we've talked about in class, she makes no secret of her impatience to see the slaughter, and it does seem like these suitors are such an affront to her sense of how things should be done, she can't wait to see Odysseus slay them. But it has to be done *right*, in an artful manner. During Book 22, at one point she "coaches" Odysseus, egging him on, and it's quite different from when she's "orchestrating" the plot leading up to this. It's more like a coach on the sidelines, asking whether he's gotten weak over the years, if this is all he can do. She wants a better performance out of him!
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