Athena
Wisdom and strategy
The Odyssey · Quiz
Which Greek god is your parent?
Four scenes from the poem, one divine parent: Athena, Poseidon, Hermes or Hephaestus.
1 / 4
A giant traps your crew in his cave. What is your move?
2 / 4
A sorceress hands you a cup of wine. You…
3 / 4
You hear the Sirens’ song. What do you do?
4 / 4
Your perfect day off?
Child ofAthenaWisdom and strategy
You plan three moves ahead.
You pick a side and work behind the scenes until it wins. People ask you what to do, and you usually know.
What she does for Odysseus: She is his biggest fan. She argues his case before Zeus, disguises herself as Mentor to guide his son, and stands with him in the fight in the hall. (In Samuel Butler’s translation she is Minerva.)
Child ofPoseidonThe sea and earthquakes
Loyal, loud, and you never forget.
You protect your own fiercely, and anyone who hurts them hears about it for a long time.
What he does to Odysseus: He is the reason the trip takes ten years. Odysseus blinded his son, the Cyclops Polyphemus, and the sea god never lets it go. (Butler calls him Neptune.)
Child ofHermesTravel, messages and tricks
You can talk your way out of anything.
Quick, curious and hard to pin down. You know someone everywhere you go.
What he does for Odysseus: He carries Zeus’s order that frees Odysseus from Calypso’s island, and gives him a magic herb that protects him from Circe’s potion. (Butler calls him Mercury.)
Child ofHephaestusFire and the forge
You build things that last.
Patient and skilled, happier with a project than a crowd, and quietly proud of what you make.
His moment in the poem: At a feast in Book 8 the bard Demodocus sings how he caught Ares and Aphrodite in a trap of fine chains he forged, as fine as cobwebs. (Butler calls him Vulcan.)
Just for fun, based on the gods as Homer writes them. Your answers stay on your device.
The four possible parents
Poseidon
The sea and earthquakes
Hermes
Travel, messages and tricks
Hephaestus
Fire and the forge
Watch the whole story
The Odyssey Summary: All 24 Books Explained Simply
More on The Odyssey
Images: John William Waterhouse, Ulysses and the Sirens (1891), public domain · J. M. W. Turner, Ulysses Deriding Polyphemus (1829), public domain · John William Waterhouse, Circe Offering the Cup to Ulysses (1891), public domain · Diego Velázquez, The Forge of Vulcan (1630), public domain · Mattei Athena, Louvre; photo by Jastrow, public domain · Artemision Bronze (Zeus or Poseidon), National Archaeological Museum, Athens; photo by Jebulon, CC0 · Hermes Ingenui, Vatican Museums, public domain. Via Wikimedia Commons. Video thumbnails: Book Explained on YouTube.
Related books explained
The Iliad by Homer (translated by Samuel Butler): reviews, endings and guides
also by Homer (translated by Samuel Butler)
Beowulf by Anonymous (translated by J. Lesslie Hall): reviews, endings and guides
anglo-saxon epic poem (verse translation)
The Art of War by Sun Tzu: reviews, endings and guides
ancient military strategy classic (lionel giles translation, public domain)
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky: reviews, endings and guides
classic novel (project gutenberg #2554, constance garnett translation)
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde: reviews, endings and guides
gothic novel, philosophical fiction
The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel: reviews, endings and guides
personal finance / psychology