Odyssey 3.229 · Book 3, line 229
The goddess answers
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τὸν δʼ αὖτε προσέειπε θεά, γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη·
Then the goddess addressed him in turn, bright-eyed Athena:
Word by word
The setting
A single-line reply formula. Athena is present disguised as Mentor, Odysseus's old friend, but the narrator names her openly as the goddess for the reader's benefit.
A note on this passage
The reply formula, but with the mask half lifted. The line names the speaker as θεά, 'the goddess,' and γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη — though to everyone at Nestor's table she is only Mentor. The narrator quietly tells the reader who is really speaking.
The poem lets us see double. Telemachus hears his father's old comrade; we hear Athena. Her answer to his despair carries a weight he cannot feel — the correction comes not from a wise elder but from the very power that decides whether men come home.
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Odyssey 3.229 — The Great Library Project interlinear edition · greatlibraryproject.com/book/odyssey/3.229/