I really need to figure out how to invent time! Book VII begins with Athene, in one of her disguises, coming to Odysseus as he stands outside the city. She places a mist around him to ward off the townspeople along the journey to King Alkinoös house. He asks for this young girl, Athene, to help lead in the correct direction through the city. She agrees and along the way tells him of the heritage of the king and queen and how he actually must win the praise of Queen Arete, for she is the one looked upon as a god by the people. I find it interesting that we learn Arete is a descendant of none other than Poseidon, he would have been her great-Grandfather. I was also struck by the need for Athene to create a mist around Odysseus as he entered into the city. When we first read of the mist, it says for fear some one of the great-hearted Phaiakians, meeting him, might speak to him in a sneering way and ask where he came from. as they are walking she tells Odysseus But go on in silence the while I lead the way for you, and do not give any of these people your eye, neither ask them questions, for they do not have very much patience with men from the outlands, nor do they lovingly entertain the man come from elsewhere; | Arete in Celsus Library, Ephesus, Turkey Photo by: Nikater This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license. Source: Wikimedia Commons |
I felt like we had been led to believe the people of Phaiakian would welcome Odysseus and that their closeness with the gods would make them civil, compassionate and honor the guest-host relationship. These statements certainly sound the opposite and make it appear Odysseus is entering a hostile environment.