Divine intervention is a major component in heroic narratives. The Odyssey presented many examples of the gods intervening in the lives and fates of the story's mortals. Odysseus was portrayed as the hero in The Odyssey, but I seek to show that Athena, the goddess of war and wisdom, was the central force in the story. Athena had close bonds with Odysseus and other characters, and guided both father and son through obstacles that might have prevented Odysseus from returning to Ithaca. Without Athena's intervention, The Odyssey could have been very different.
             In the first assembly of the gods, Athena mentioned Odysseus' exile on Calypso's island. She was very concerned about his fate, and the gods devised a way to return him home. It was her concern that instigated his eventual return to Ithaca. The gods had control over his fate, not him. Athena asked the assembly, "If now the blessed gods indeed would end the wanderings of Odysseus, let us send the keen-eyed Hermes to Calypso's isle" (1.111). I believe that if Hermes had not been sent by the gods, due to Athena's concern, Odysseus would not have seen Ithaca again. It was not in his power to escape; his gods held that power.
             Athena seemed to set off many chain reactions that helped Odysseus, rather than Odysseus doing things that would aid him. One chain reaction involved Athena posing as a mentor to Telemachus. She wisely instructed him how to rid the house of suitors, and it was after her words that he took out a ship to seek word of his father. It was her influence that initially began to prepare Ithaca for his return. "Within his heart she'd set resolve and strength and memories more intense- more bent upon his father- than before" (1.13). Had she not given strong advice to Telemachus, he would have been unprepared for his father's return and the stand against the suitors. Telemachus may have never even thought to pe...