In my Intro I talked a little bit about Athena. Athena is the Greek goddess of war, but specifically of intelligent, cunning warfare. She is also the goddess of weaving (which fits with war...somehow?)
Throughout the Greek myths, Athena is shown to favor and aid heroes who are especially clever.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the books by Homer - a little in the Iliad, but mostly in the Odyssey.
The Odyssey is the tale of a character named Odysseus, and of his journey home after the Trojan War. The war itself lasted for ten years, and Odysseus’ journey home takes another decade - mostly because he accidentally incurred the wrath of Poseidon, the god of the seas. (Not a good thing to do if you’re planning a sea voyage home!)
The Odyssey focuses on Odysseus’ journey home (one could even call it his...odyssey...home!) , but it also tells the story of his son, Telemachus. Telemachus was just a boy when Odysseus left for the war, and has grown into a young man without his father to guide him. The Odyssey also shows the gods watching the hero and his family from their home on Mount Olympus, occasionally helping them (Athena) or hindering Odysseus’ efforts (Poseidon).
However, what makes the Odyssey so interesting to me is the other character that it focuses on. This character is Odysseus’ wife, Penelope. We’ll talk more about her in a minute.
Why does Athena have such an interest in Odysseus and his family? The answer can be found in Homer’s works. Most passages that refer to Odysseus denote him as “clever” or “cunning”. Odysseus is a sneaky warrior. In gamer’s terms, he’s a rogue. He is intelligent and strategic - things that put him under the care of Athena.
However, Odysseus is not alone in his cleverness. His wife Penelope is also quite cunning.
In the Odyssey, Odysseus has been missing for twenty years. Almost everyone assumes that he is dead. Because of this, suitors flock to his home and begin to try and woo Penelope’s hand in marriage - because marrying her would grant them Odysseus’ wealth and power.
Penelope hasn’t given up hope that her husband is alive. To stall the suitors and buy Odysseus time to return to her, Penelope devises a plan. Every day she weaves part of a funeral shroud for her father-in-law. Every night, she pulls out all of her weaving. She keeps this up for years before the suitors catch on.
Penelope is obviously quite a sneaky woman. If that wasn’t enough to make Athena like her, Penelope’s cleverness revolves around weaving - another thing that Athena presides over. Perhaps it is due to this that the goddess aids Odysseus and his family.
In the end, Odysseus returns home. He and his son slaughter the suitors (don’t worry, they totally deserved it), and Penelope is reunited with her husband. Their cleverness (and the help of a certain goddess) has won the day.
I hope you enjoyed this post! Most of the time, Penelope’s intelligence is glossed over in favor of her husband’s, so I felt she deserved a post that discussed how she aided Odysseus. If the post interested you, or if you disagree with anything I’ve said, please email me or comment below. If you have time, I highly recommend reading the Odyssey - it’s a very interesting and entertaining story!
Next post we’ll conclude this set of Greek posts by talking about Fate and the way the ancient Greeks thought of it. I’ll see you guys then!
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