Odyssey 7.14 · Book 7, lines 14–17
Athena's mist
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καὶ τότʼ Ὀδυσσεὺς ὦρτο πόλινδʼ ἴμεν· ἀμφὶ δʼ Ἀθήνη πολλὴν ἠέρα χεῦε φίλα φρονέουσʼ Ὀδυσῆι, μή τις Φαιήκων μεγαθύμων ἀντιβολήσας κερτομέοι τʼ ἐπέεσσι καὶ ἐξερέοιθʼ ὅτις εἴη.
And then Odysseus rose to go to the city; and around him Athena poured a thick mist, kindly-minded toward Odysseus, lest some one of the great-hearted Phaeacians, meeting him, might taunt him with words and ask who he was.
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The setting
As Odysseus sets out for the town, Athena wraps him in a concealing mist so that no proud Phaeacian will accost or question him on the way.
A note on this passage
Odysseus rises to go, and Athena pours a thick mist around him, meaning him well. The reason is given flatly: so that none of the great-hearted Phaeacians, meeting him, might mock him with words or ask who he was.
The undercurrent is how exposed a stranger is. To arrive unknown is to invite the taunt and the interrogation, and the goddess's gift is simply invisibility until the right moment. Phaeacia is gracious, but even here the unannounced guest needs a god's cloak to cross the last stretch of road unchallenged.
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