Transcript Odysseus and Athena - Mrs. Tully's Website for Students

Rhetorical Analysis
The Odyssey of Homer
Book 13, Lines 482-99
Odysseus and Athena
Book 13, “One More Strange Island”
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
…the man of ranging mind, Odysseus, cried:
“So hard beset! An end like Agamemnon’s
might very likely have been mine, a bad end,
bleeding to death in my own hall. You forestalled it,
goddess, by telling me how the land lies.

6. Weave me a way to pay them back! And you, too,
7. take your place with me, breathe valor in me
8. the way you did that night when we Akhaians
9. Unbound the bright veil from the brow of Troy!
10. O grey-eyed one, fire my heart and brace me!
11. I’ll take on fighting men three hundred strong
12. if you fight at my back immortal lady!”
13. The grey-eyed goddess Athena answered him:
14. “No fear but I shall be there; you’ll go forward
15. under my arms when the crux comes at last.
16. And I foresee your vast floor stained with blood,
17. spattered with brains of this or that tall suitor
18. who fed upon your cattle.”
SOAPStone 1

Narrator
 Speaker:
 Occasion: Odysseus has landed on Ithaka,
awakened, and met Athena (disguised as a young
shepherd). She has revealed herself as Pallas Athena
and helped him hide his treasure in a cave.
 Audience: Reader or listener
 Purpose: To introduce the interaction between these
characters
 Subject: The relationship between Odysseus and
Athena
 Tone: Informational and complimentary
SOAPStone 2

 Speaker: Odysseus
 Occasion: Odysseus has just realized that Athena
has given him the most important help he will need
on Ithaka—an advance report of the situation in his
home concerning Penelope and the suitors.
 Audience: Athena
 Purpose: To find a plan to fight the suitors
 Subject: The dangerous situation in Odysseus’ palace
 Tone: Grateful, excited and determined.
SOAPStone 3

 Speaker: Athena
 Occasion: Odysseus has just requested her help and
expressed appreciation and resolve
 Audience: Odysseus
 Purposes:
 To help Odysseus determine the best strategy to plan
his revenge against the suitors.
 To disguise Odysseus to keep him safe until he can
strike against his enemies.
 Subject: Guarantee of victory for Odysseus
 tone: Reassuring and prophetic.
Metaphor: A figure of speech in which one thing is
equated with something else—a comparison of two
unlike things.

“Weave me a way to pay them back! “
(Literally, help me develop an intricate plan to punish the suitors.)
…breathe valor in me
the way you did that night when we Akhaians
Unbound the bright veil from the brow of Troy!
(Literally, the fall of Troy was as dramatic as the loss of liberty for a
woman who, enslaved at the fall of Troy, loses the headdress which
marked her as a wife protected by her husband.)
…fire my heart and brace me!
(Literally, inspire me with the intensity and destructive power of
fire.)
Hyperbole- A boldly exaggerated statement that
adds emphasis without intending to be literally true,
also called overstatement.

…O grey-eyed one, fire my heart and brace me!
I’ll take on fighting men three hundred strong
if you fight at my back immortal lady!”
The grey-eyed goddess Athena answered him:
“No fear but I shall be there; you’ll go forward
under my arms when the crux comes at last.
And I foresee your vast floor stained with blood,
spattered with brains of this or that tall suitor
who fed upon your cattle.
Epithet- a picturesque tag or nickname associated
with a certain character


…the man of ranging mind, Odysseus, cried:



“So hard beset! An end like Agamemnon’s
might very likely have been mine, a bad end,
bleeding to death in my own hall. You forestalled it,

goddess, by telling me how the land lies.




Weave me a way to pay them back! And you, too,
take your place with me, breathe valor in me
the way you did that night when we Akhaians
Unbound the bright veil from the brow of Troy!

O grey-eyed one, fire my heart and brace me!

I’ll take on fighting men three hundred strong

if you fight at my back immortal lady!”

The grey-eyed goddess Athena answered him:





“No fear but I shall be there; you’ll go forward
under my arms when the crux comes at last.
And I foresee your vast floor stained with blood,
spattered with brains of this or that tall suitor
who fed upon your cattle.”
Rhetorical appeal: Ethos

Ethos (Credibility), or ethical appeal, means convincing by the character of the
author. We tend to believe people whom we respect.
Athena has credibility for Odysseus because she has helped him many times before.
Therefore, Odysseus can believe her prophecy and be comforted by her
reassurances.






The grey-eyed goddess Athena answered him:
“No fear but I shall be there; you’ll go forward
under my arms when the crux comes at last.
And I foresee your vast floor stained with blood,
spattered with brains of this or that tall suitor
who fed upon your cattle.”
Rhetorical appeal: Pathos


Pathos (Emotional) means persuading by appealing to the reader’s emotions. Language
choice affects the audience's emotional response, and emotional appeal can effectively be
used to enhance an argument. In the Odyssey, some characters are emotional when they
speak, while others try to evoke an emotional response in the audience.

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

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




“So hard beset! An end like Agamemnon’s
might very likely have been mine, a bad end,
bleeding to death in my own hall. You forestalled it,
goddess, by telling me how the land lies.
Weave me a way to pay them back! And you, too,
take your place with me, breathe valor in me
the way you did that night when we Akhaians
Unbound the bright veil from the brow of Troy!
O grey-eyed one, fire my heart and brace me!
I’ll take on fighting men three hundred strong
if you fight at my back immortal lady!”
Rhetorical appeal: Logos

 Logos (Logical) means persuading by the use of
reasoning. Giving reasons is the heart of
argumentation.
 The grey-eyed goddess Athena answered him:
 “No fear but I shall be there; you’ll go forward
 under my arms when the crux comes at last.
 And I foresee your vast floor stained with blood,
 spattered with brains of this or that tall suitor
 who fed upon your cattle.”
Works Cited

 Hexter, Ralph. A Guide to the Odyssey. New York:
Vintage/Random, 1993.
 Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. Robert Fitzgerald. New York:
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1998.
 Lattimore, Richmond. The Odyssey of Homer. New York: Harper
Collins, 1975.
 Lund, N. “AP English Glossary of Literary Terms.” Oxford
Tutorials. Web. 18 October 2012.
 McIlvain, John. “The Odyssey:Themes.” The Odyssey Guide.
Least Tern. 6 March 2005. Web. 18 October 2012.
Themes
 Respect for the Gods:

 Athena admires Odysseus and aides him throughout
 Odysseus trusts Athena and respects her strength, judgment
and guile.
 Revenge
 Revenge serves as a strong motivator throughout the
narrative.
 Intelligence over Strength
 Odysseus uses intelligence to defeat the suitors who
outnumber him greatly. Athena, the goddess of wisdom,
assists Odysseus (and Telemakhos) as they seek revenge.