Odyssey 3.54 · Book 3, lines 54–56
Athena's prayer: 'Hear me, Poseidon'
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αὐτίκα δʼ εὔχετο πολλὰ Ποσειδάωνι ἄνακτι·
Athena (as Mentor) — κλῦθι, Ποσείδαον γαιήοχε, μηδὲ μεγήρῃς ἡμῖν εὐχομένοισι τελευτῆσαι τάδε ἔργα.
At once she prayed earnestly to the lord Poseidon: Hear me, Poseidon, holder of the earth, and do not begrudge us who pray that you fulfill these deeds.
Word by word
The setting
The cup received, the disguised goddess prays aloud to Poseidon — 'earth-holder' (γαιήοχος) is his standing epithet. 'These deeds' are the errand she and Telemachus have come on.
A note on this passage
Athena does exactly as the young host asked: she prays, and to Poseidon. The prayer opens with the fixed form — the god summoned by name and epithet, then the request framed as a plea not to be begrudged. It is a model of correct address, spoken by the deity who best knows how gods are approached.
And it is a small marvel of tact. Athena is asking Odysseus's persecutor to smile on Odysseus's son and on her own hidden design. She names Poseidon 'earth-holder,' honors his feast, and keeps her true aim wrapped in 'these deeds.' The goddess of cunning prays to her rival with perfect courtesy — the same principle the whole scene has taught, that at the table the forms are kept even across the deepest divisions.
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