Power of the Gods

Recently I have been thinking about how the power of the gods affects who I am, and those around me. No doubt that the gods are powerful, but to what extent does intervention become control? I have been feeling like an outsider, due to the fact that I am too powerful to be associated with mortals, but I do not believe in being so powerful that mortals are my pawns. A broad example of this is with Uncle Poseidon and my dad. The grudge from Poseidon directed towards Odysseus appears to be purely out of hate and resentment about Odysseus’ actions towards Polyphemus. However, when the situation is examined closely, one can see that Poseidon’s anger isn’t being directed towards Odysseus, but rather through Odysseus. All of his traps are escapable, and he never attacks the weak. What it really boils down to, in my opinion, is rivalry and jealousy. Poseidon wants to prove himself the greater god, by out testing the others, especially his family and namely his brothers. When Odysseus is pushed around by one god, another god immediately reacts. For example, when Poseidon tries to drown Odysseus many times,  another god intrudes into the situation to help Odysseus. This has happened with Ino and the veil, as well as Zeus selecting Odysseus to live after Poseidon killed his crew. I guarantee if Poseidon was trying to keep Odysseus alive, my father would be trying to kill him. When you are a god, power goes to your head very quickly. I know it might appear from my actions that I am trying to maximize the flux between Odysseus’ ups and downs, but in reality I am just playing along, and trying to be the one goddess who comes out on top. I admire Odysseus for who he is, and rather than changing physical battlefields I change mental ones. An example of this is in Odysseus’ final battle with the suitors. It was a battle that defined him not only as the man of the house, but as the king of Ithaca. I also like to think of this battle as the one that defined me as a goddess, for not only admiring but controlling the mental aspect of a mortal. In this battle, many gods would have strengthened this man, but rather I just spectated. I encouraged him to fight bravely and respectably, and that is what he did. However this is not the only moment the power of the gods was called into question by me. Throughout Odysseus’s last part of his journey, I had to constantly inspire him to continue. I had to place anger in other people, in hopes that they would anger Odysseus as well. Like in other examples, the rest of my family would simply just manipulate Odysseus. I do not believe in this. I believe that free will is something to be earned, but once it is earned it should be cherished. I will miss my journeys with Odysseus, but not to worry, once I find another mortal to help, the blog will know. Who knows, it might even be you.

Jamming

Sup, mortals. I’ve been jamming out lately to a song that really speaks to me about my whole situation with Telemachus and Odysseus right now. “Carry On My Wayward Son”, by Kansas…good stuff. As you know, the original reason I backed Odysseus up on his quest for home was for personal glory. He’s a personal favourite among the gods, and I couldn’t resist the opportunity to get involved. Everyone gets an extra thighbone burned to them, a dad is delivered safely home to his kingdom, and I make a name for myself as an advocate of justice and justice. Win-win situation, if you ask me. But as time has passed, I’ve grown close to them. I almost feel maternal pride as I watch Telemachus grow from a boy to a man under my nurturing. And my heart really goes out to Odysseus as he struggles home (albeit to his dumb bimbo wife, but it’s a sweet notion).  The lyrics go, “Carry on my wayward son, There'll be peace when you are done, Lay your weary head to rest, Don't you cry no more.” I find them extremely applicable to so many situations. In relation to Telemachus, he is wayward in his strong determination to chase down any information about his father to rub in the suitors’ faces. He will find peace once he knows for sure what has become of Odysseus, so he doesn’t have to live his life wondering anymore. After long months of traveling, he can go home without fear of the suitors and wait patiently for his father’s return.

                In application to Odysseus, the lyrics have a similar meaning. Odysseus has a wayward fate: opposite to what is desired or expected. He keeps going, though, despite all the obstacles placed in his way by Poseidon. He knows that when he reaches home, he will chase the filthy suitors from his home and reclaim his wife and kingdom in peace. He finds himself crying at many a banquet, whether discussing his own past trials or his fallen comrades, but soon he can sleep in peace when he knows he is finally on his way home.

                Another section of the song applies well to Odysseus. It is easy to interpret the lyrics “On a stormy sea of moving emotion, Tossed about I'm like a ship on the ocean, I set a course for winds of fortune, But I hear the voices say No!” Many a stormy sea crash Odysseus’s hopes and ships, breaking down his morale time and time again. No matter how hard he tries, something always interferes with the course he sets for home. A literal example of “the winds of fortune” is the bag of winds given to him as a gift to deliver him home. It was a sure-fire, one-way ticket to Ithica…until his dumb, sabotaging crew opened the bag and released the winds. Fate always had a way to twist his plans around and send him on another unfortunate adventure. My favorite line of the song though is surely, “The center lights around your vanity, But surely heaven waits for you.” Good luck, Ody. The gods are with you.(listen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQru7oCdYXA )

Hospitality

Hello again, mortals. I have to say, I must congratulate you on your outstanding sense ofr hospitality. No matter where I visit with young Telemachus on his quest to find information about Odysseus, we are treated with the warmest regards. All over Greece, your kings treat us with courtesy, feeding us and entertaining us before even asking our names. As a goddess, I’m used to all the reverence, showering of gifts, blah blah blah. But being treated with respect and warmth even when I’m disguised as an ambiguous, nameless mortal traveler is impressive, to say the least. King Nestor was the first act of boundless hospitality I encountered; he treated Telemachus just as he would Odysseus. I was surprised though, that he extended the same courtesy to me, a complete stranger, no kin of his friend and partner in battle. He even offered me a place to stay in his castle(which I turned down to sleep in the ship…but hey, it’s the thought that counts). My favorite part was his shock when I turned into an eagle and flew away from him at the end of our visit; he truly had no idea he was in the presence of a goddess. Even after I left, he opened an eleven-year old bottle of wine in my honor. King Menelaus, our next visit, was equally hospitable. Upon our arrival, he fed our horses (that were a gift from Nestor!) and welcomed us into his feast without asking any questions. As a matter of fact, Telemachus or Odysseus were immediately invited into every feast they encountered, even though sometimes Odysseus had half a crew with him. I’m not going to pretend I didn’t have a minor(okay, major) role in some of the welcomes extended to him, but I was just…ENCOURAGING traditional Greek hospitality at times it would have not been so available.

                I must also say, though, that the instances of inhospitality seem much worse in comparison to the norm of Greek values. Calypso was overbearing in her hospitality, to the point of making it a hostage situation. Not going to lie though, as much as Odysseus wept for his wife and anguished over her fidelity, he got pretty comfortable there too. And Circe…that chick is a whole new level of crazy. Turning her guests to pigs? Really? That’s only slightly worse than Queen Helen drugging everyone at her feast just because they were tearing up a bit. I understand the good intention, but another effective solution would have been to change the discussion topic away from fallen comrades and bloody carnage in war. The hosts are not always at fault for an abuse of hospitality, though. A prime example can be made of the suitors wasting away Odysseus’s palace. Come uninvited, eat and drink inconsequentially, and treat the hand-maids like dirt; they are more like swine than the actual pigs trapped in Circe’s halls. I suppose being a goddess does give me an upper hand in the whole ‘hospitality’ game, but I do have to give the Greeks credit for consistency in my encounters. Five stars, guys. 

Cunning and Disguise

So since my last post life with Odysseus has been going swimmingly. I am constantly shocked by his actions, and how ingenious they are. However, even the most well thought out plot needs some smoke and mirrors. It is up to me to pull the strings. So far I have taken on so many forms, I am losing track of who even I am. As a recap to this point in my life, I decide my first course of action should be to ensure a continued family heritage of being a warrior, so I needed to Telemachus, Odysseus’ son, more of a man, instead of a boy. What kind of coward, at over age 20, whines about his mother unfaithfulness? There is no plot to dispose of these suitors, but rather pray and hope something works out. I disguised myself as Mentes, a good friend of Odysseus, someone Telemachus would easily trust. My goal was to inspire the boy to not give up hope on his father, therefore leading to the clearance of the suitors. In disguise, I inform him of the fact that his father is alive, and will be coming home to Ithaca within a month. I advise him to go on a trip, but in the meantime, I am already in a different disguise. The boy needs a crew to man a boat, thus in turn teaching him leadership. Therefore at night I turned into Telemachus himself to gather a very steadfast crew for him. I follow the boy on his journey, which takes him to Pylos, as I instructed him to do. I come along in the disguise a Mentor once more, only to hear the king Menelaus talk about my involvement in the family. As a sign of respect, I shed my disguise in front of the town’s people to turn into an eagle, whose form I use to watch over the ship and the crew of Telemachus. As I am watching over them, I sense distress in the family. Penelope, Telemachus’ mother, worries that the suitors plan to kill Telemachus. Trying to maintain this balancing act, I appear to her in a dream as her sister. I once again have to make a promise that I will watch over and ensure the protection of her son. One thing about Greek people is that one promise can go a far way. Their society is inherently built upon trust, as carefully illustrated time and time again with my flawless disguises building towers of fake trust. During this time is when the real fun begins. I asked my father, Zeus, if he could do more to aid Odysseus. Once again, I was brushed off like a know-nothing little girl. This is the core of the reason why I am helping Odysseus. Yes, he is a good Greek man, yes, he won the battle of troy, and yes I do care for him as a mortal, but until I can prove myself to my family, then none of that means anything.

Introduction

I am Athena. Let’s just get that out of the way. Since I am a goddess, I would only assume that everyone is reading this. But, just in case you are not aware, I am Pallas Athena, daughter of Zeus, virgin goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, law and justice, just warfare, mathematics, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, and skill. Life is a goddess is…well, interesting. It is just like being a mortal, except I live forever and I am perfect. So my life has not been extremely interested so far, but recently it has been quite entertaining. Before I get to any of that drama let me just say why I am starting this blog. Recently my fun things in my life are ending. The Trojan War was amazing to watch, but that was ten years ago. However, since there is still a world quite frazzled out there, I am doing the right thing and reassuring all of you that everything is going to be alright. In fact, I am thinking about maybe, “interacting” with all of you. This will be my branching out to understand what you guys expect of me.

Recently, I have taken a particular interest into a mortal by the name of Odysseus. My family has known this man for quite some time now, with his dedication to the worship of them. However, some of my family does not feel very favorable towards this man, namely my uncle Poseidon. Ever since Odysseus punctured his poor son’s only eye, he has taken distaste for our friend. My feelings about the situation are directed toward the accomplishments of this “mere mortal.” He was the one whose ingenious tactics directly correlated with the result of the Trojan War. So, acknowledging these accomplishments, I got to some thinking. If I could, enhance one’s life that would be a good thing, right? If by chance I gain off of a generous deed, there could be no wrong doing? I am thinking about embellishing Odysseus’s life a little bit. If he just so happens to fall a little, I’ll just pick him back up even greater. Now exploitation would be a rash term to label this as. I would like to think of it as just drama, nothing more nothing less. Mortals sometimes get clouded in their way of thinking, so this mortal should be lucky that I have chosen to enhance his train of thought. Now don’t get me wrong, my respect for this man has not yet been countered by another, however he is only a man. Some might call this step in the future as an elaborate act to dissuade Odysseus from loving Penelope to me, but please, I have no interest in mortals. All I want is respect from my family, is that too much to ask? My family values glory more than anything else, so if I am responsible for the glory of the greatest man on earth, this should be more than enough to ensure my proper place on Mount Olympus.