In the Odyssey, much of the story features Pallas Athena, the daughter of Zeus. As the goddess appears throughout the poem many questions arise regarding her seemingly androgynous nature. Such questions include whether or not Athena possesses a clearly defined gender, and what her ideology on Greek propriety actually is. Furthermore, what role or relevance do these characteristics have within the plot? This paper will discuss these questions through the following thesis: Athena is the only figure in the Odyssey capable of reestablishing order in Ithaca, for she is the only being with a truly androgynous nature. This thesis will be defended through discussion of four aspects of the text: the disruptive force of male and female sexuality, Athenas own persona, her relationship with Odysseus, and the reestablishment of order and propriety in Ithaca.
Sexuality is a disruptive force in the Odyssey, oftentimes conflicting with societal order and propriety. Homeric Greece exists in a patriarchal age in which women, though gaining cultural significance, are considered the weaker sex. Ironically, in the Odyssey women are portrayed as dangerous creatures. Females are over-sexualized in this tale; most women are seductive creatures that threaten to balance and sanctity of the home. One such woman is Agamemnons wife, Clytemnestra. Clytemnestra violates the proper order of society the moment she takes Aegisthus as a loverthis act undermines Agamemnons authority not only within his own house, but also within his whole kingdom. Upon Agamemnons return, the adulterous pair murders the king; this murder underscores the threat that ones home is no longer a haven against the worlds evils. Even in death, Agamemnon comments on his wifes expansive breach of her socially submissive role:
Nothing / Is more grim or more shameless than a woman / Who sets her mind on such an unspeakable act / As killing her own husband. / Women just cant be trusted anymore. (11.415-50, 11.474)
Agamemnon gives voice to the standard male opinion regarding women during the Hellenic age. Female submission is emphasized throughout the text by male domination and phallic symbols. As the oldest male, Telemachus assumes the leadership position in the household during Odysseuss absence. Penelope prudently obeys her sons orders, whatever they may be.
Mother/ ... You should go back upstairs and take care of your work.../ speaking is for men/ Penelope was stunned and turned to go, / Her sons masterful words pressed to her heart. (1.366, 376, 378, 380-1)
This unquestioned authority establishes the notion that however bad things may be in Ithaca, propriety is not altogether lost. The role of female submission is still honored by Penelope. Reinforced by society, a docile Greek womans everyday world contained intense phallic imagery. Indeed, even Penelopes marriage bed, the center of Odysseuss household, is likened to the kings penis in the following passage.
There was an olive tree / Growing on the site, long-leaved and full, / Its trunk thick as a post. I built my bedroom / around that tree/ But I do not know, woman / Whether my bed is still firmly in place, or if / Some other man has cut through the olives trunk. (23. 196-99, 209-11)
In the last lines of this passage Odysseus likens a woman exerting her power and choosing another man to castration, invoking powerful ideas of sexual confusion and tension. Unlike Penelope, Athena resists womens subdued nature with proactive thought and aggressionthe antithesis of the stereotypical female role.
The underlying threat in Odysseuss trials is that his journey will be for naughtthat Penelope has betrayed the sanctuary of his home and the natural order in Ithaca by being unfaithful to her husband during his long absence. Penelope, however, doesnt fall into this archetype. Longing for Odysseus, the Ithacan queen refuses the advances of the suitors and confines herself to her chamber to weep for the loss of her husband. It is here that Athena displays a caring contrast to her bloodthirsty plots with Telemachus and Odysseus by easing Penelopes pain.
[Penelope] wept for Odysseus, / until grey-eyed Athena /
Cast sleep upon the womans eyelids. (16.483-86)
This sympathy for grieving Penelope reminds the reader that for all of her clever war schemes, Athena is still a woman. In this way, the goddess portrays a broad scope of emotions, actions, and ideas that fall into both masculine and feminine domains.
Greek tradition states that Athena is the goddess of wisdom and of war, two domains that appear to have assigned genders. Wisdom is oftentimes referred to as a feminine trait. Indeed, Penelope is widely acknowledged for her wisdom in the Odyssey, even by the suitors: Penelope, Icarus wise daughter, / cheer up (16.469-70). Many men in the Odyssey are famed for their mental prowess, but theres an important distinction; instead of wise, men are described as wily and cunning (11.416, 19.608). Warfare, conversely, is generally regarded as a more masculine course of action: no female warriors appear in this text. The goddesss embodiment of both masculine and feminine ideologies is furthered through Athenas inversion of proper gender roles and her guidance to both sexes.
Even for a goddess, Athenas creation is out of the ordinary. Rather than being a man begotten from a woman, Athena is a woman begot from a man. Motherless, the Owl-eyed goddess spawns from Zeuss forehead and acts as an androgynous being, despite her physical sexuality. This disregard for physical limitations is evidenced through the various disguises Athena assumes throughout the story. When Athena takes her place among mortals, she usually assumes the same sex of whomever shes speaking with: often she speaks to Telemachus in the form of Mentor (2.427, 3,15, and 3.255), while she appears to the princess Nausicaa as Dymass daughter (6.25). The only character that Athena appears before in her natural sex is Odysseus. This is because Odysseus, described by Athena herself as discerning (1.54), isnt blinded by chauvinistic ideals; he appreciates intellect, whether their source is male or female. This mutual respect for the mind becomes the basis of their relationship.
Athena, again challenging female stereotypes, occupies a position of great power within the text. Utilizing this to her advantage, she wants to test the boundaries of human cunning, and Odysseus is the best mortal for the task. Athena pushes Odysseus while aiding the protagonist in his endeavors; to discover the threshold of pain that mankind can endure.
But Athena was not about to let the suitors /
Abstain from insults. She wanted the pain /
To seek deeper into Odysseys bones. (20.310-112)
Even after helping the hero home, Athena urges Odysseus to disguise himself as an unlucky beggar, inciting rage and taunts from suitors in his own home. But, as Athena soon realizes, even the best minds have limits.
With a roar, the great, long-suffering Odysseus / Gathered himself and swept after them / Like a soaring raptor / At that moment (24.559-62)
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