Athena in Myth | The Odyssey's Athena: Her Relationship with Zeus and Odysseus Explained

The gods of Olympus have gathered once more. That day's meeting ultimately came around to Odysseus, who still had not reached his homeland.

But it was not Athena who first raised the topic. Let's start with how the meeting began.

At the Olympian Council, Athena Brings Up Odysseus's Story

It was Zeus who spoke first. Humans, he said, blame even the misfortunes they bring upon themselves through their own folly on the gods, and he cited the example of Aegisthus, who took Agamemnon's wife and killed him, only to be slain at last at the hands of Orestes.

Taking up from there, Athena turns the conversation toward Odysseus. She laments his plight, stranded on Calypso's island, pointing out that Calypso is using all kinds of sweet words to make him forget his homeland, and that he was a man who offered countless sacrifices before Troy.

She then asks why Poseidon's anger has still not subsided. Zeus explains the reason: Poseidon is still furious with Odysseus for blinding his son, the Cyclops Polyphemus.

Yet Poseidon alone, Zeus adds, could not go against the current formed by the will of all the other gods, and even so, his torment of Odysseus has not stopped. In this exchange, the two gods' positions become sharply divided: Poseidon clings to his old wound and keeps throwing obstacles in the way as much as he can, while Athena is the one eager to bring that current to a close.

Disguised as a Stranger, Athena Visits Telemachus

As soon as the meeting ends, Athena moves at once. Wearing her gleaming golden sandals and holding a bronze-tipped spear, she descends from Olympus, takes the form of Mentes, chief of the Taphians, and appears at the gates of Odysseus's palace.

To Telemachus, who welcomes the unfamiliar guest, Athena says his father will not be away much longer. The reason: he is cunning enough to find a way out even if he were bound in chains.

She then lays out concrete next steps: hold an assembly and drive out the suitors, go to Pylos to question Nestor, and then go on to Sparta to seek out Menelaus. With that, Athena flies up into the sky like a bird and vanishes, and only then does Telemachus realize that the guest he had just met was a god.

Before Odysseus, Returned After 20 Years, Once Again as a Stranger

The story leaps far ahead, to the moment Odysseus finally reaches the shore of Ithaca aboard the Phaeacians' ship. Yet what greets him is not a familiar landscape but a thick mist.

Out of that mist, Athena appears once more. This time she takes the form of a young shepherd, elegantly dressed and carrying a spear. Odysseus does not immediately reveal who he is, instead spinning a fabricated tale, claiming to be a man from Crete.

Athena's reaction to this lie is fascinating. Rather than getting angry, she marvels with a note of laughter, asking whether there could be anyone else so artfully cunning even in dealing with a god. She then reveals her identity: she is Athena, daughter of Zeus, and she has been watching over his hardships all along.

With her words, she lifts the mist, and the landscape comes into view. Pointing out each landmark in turn—the harbor of Phorkys, the old sea god, the olive tree, the cave of the Naiads, and the wooded Mount Neriton—she confirms that this is Ithaca beyond any doubt.

With a Single Touch of Her Staff, From King to Beggar

Even after confirming his identity, Odysseus could not head straight home. More than a hundred suitors had entrenched themselves in his palace. Here, Athena chooses to transform his very appearance.

With one touch of her staff, wrinkles spread across Odysseus's skin, his golden hair vanished, and the flesh of his body withered. After dimming even his eyes, she dressed him in a worn-out cloak and tattered undergarments, and put in his hands a single staff and a tattered satchel. A man who had been a king moments before had, in an instant, become an old and wretched beggar.

Why She Did Not Send Him Straight Home

Having finished the disguise, Athena instructs Odysseus not to reveal his identity right away. Instead, she tells him to seek out the swineherd Eumaeus first. The reason: his devotion to him remained as exceptional as ever.

As for herself, she says she will go to Sparta and bring back Telemachus, who is staying at Menelaus's palace. Since the suitors remaining in the palace were plotting an ambush against his son, it was also Athena's task to arrange the way for father and son to meet again safely.

The goddess who first raised Odysseus's story in the council hall is, even at the final crisis of his homecoming, orchestrating the situation one step at a time through disguise, mist, and her staff. This orchestration continues until Odysseus crosses the threshold of his palace.

Also Known as Minerva, but Not Quite the Same Story

Athena is treated as the deity occupying the same place as Minerva in Roman mythology. While the broad framework of a goddess symbolizing wisdom and strategy overlaps, the detailed stories contained in the two traditions cannot all be considered identical.

Characters Leading into the Next Story

The story of the god who blocked Odysseus from the opposite side of Athena is covered in more detail in the myth of Poseidon. Where these scenes featuring Athena fall within the overall homecoming journey can be checked in the plot of the Odyssey myth.

If you are curious about the names and family relationships of the Olympian gods to whom Athena and Poseidon belong, you can also explore the names and types of gods in Greek and Roman mythology.