The Odyssey: Book Three

Summary: Telemachos, accompanied by Athene, travels to Pylos where Nestor welcomes them into their ceremony honoring Poseidon, and Telemachos asks him about his father and Nestor tells him the story of Agamemnon and informs him that he does not know the fate of Odysseus.

Paraphrase: Book 3, lines 25-34
Pallas Athene responed to Telemachos: 'You will think of some of the things you should say by yourself. The rest will be provided by the gods. You would not be alive now without the help of the gods.' After saying this, the goddess Athene led Telemachos to the Pylos gathering. The king of Pylos, Nester, was at the gathering with his sons near him, and his servants arranged a meal.

Close reading: Line 30 'and the man followed behind her walking in the gods' footsteps'
I chose this line because it exemplifies the relationship between mortals and the gods in this work. It is repeatedly stated throughout this work that anything that happens is a result of the will of one or more of the gods.  For this reason, much importance is placed upon honoring the gods through ceremony, prayer, and sacrifice as well as upon living your life based on the example of the gods. This constant influence from the gods shapes the actions of all the people present in this story. Most notably, Athene's influence is what pushes Telemachos on his journey. In this line, 'the man' is referring to Telemachos, and 'the god's footsteps' are those of Athene. Without Athene on his and Odysseus side, Telemachos would not have began his journey. At the very beginning of this story, Athene talks with Zeus and the other gods about Odysseus' fate. They decide that he has endured enough hardship and that he deserves to finally come home. This establishes the importance of the gods in this work. Without the will of the gods, this story would never have come to be. This makes me wonder about the level of importance placed upon the individual in this society. With the constant mention of the gods, and with the insistence of characters to give full credit to the gods for all successes, I wonder how genuine the actions of Telemachos and Odysseus can be. If they are always 'walking in the gods' footsteps', how genuine are the actions that they carry out? Without the presence of the gods, how would Telemachos and Odysseus be different?