Odyssey 7.78 · Book 7, lines 78–81
Athena flies to Athens
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ὣς ἄρα φωνήσασʼ ἀπέβη γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη πόντον ἐπʼ ἀτρύγετον, λίπε δὲ Σχερίην ἐρατεινήν, ἵκετο δʼ ἐς Μαραθῶνα καὶ εὐρυάγυιαν Ἀθήνην, δῦνε δʼ Ἐρεχθῆος πυκινὸν δόμον. αὐτὰρ Ὀδυσσεὺς
So having spoken, gleaming-eyed Athena went away over the barren sea, and left lovely Scheria; she came to Marathon and wide-streeted Athens, and entered the close-built house of Erechtheus. But Odysseus
Word by word
The setting
Having guided and advised Odysseus, the disguised Athena leaves Scheria and crosses the sea to her own city, Athens, entering the ancient house of its founder-king Erechtheus. Odysseus is left to enter the palace alone.
A note on this passage
The scene closes with the goddess's departure. Her counsel given, Athena lifts off over the barren sea, leaves lovely Scheria, and comes to Marathon and Athens, sinking into the old house of Erechtheus. A single verb-crowded flight carries her from the fairy-tale island to her real home.
The undercurrent is where she goes. Of all places, Athena withdraws to Athens — the poet's own city, the seat of her cult, named beside her ancient king Erechtheus. For a Greek audience the line quietly plants the goddess back in the world they knew. And it leaves Odysseus without her: from here he must face the palace, and the queen, on his own.
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