Christopher Nolan's take on The Odyssey has sparked a few different debates, but fans are still wondering whether or not Zendaya's Athena was a manifestation of guilt, or physically aiding Odysseus like Homer's epic poem.
The question was posed in the subreddit r/ChristopherNolan, and given the way she's portrayed in the film... it's more than valid. In the epic poem, she appears as a sort of mentor and protector to Odysseus on his journey home. She disguises him as an old man when he returns to Ithaca, so that he is able to compete in the bow competition for Penelope's affection without revealing himself at first. She also makes a deal with Zeus to stop all of the suitors from killing each other and wreaking havoc on the island.
In the Nolan movie, Athena does appear by his side as a protector of sorts, but she also took the face of her priestess, the one that his men beheaded when Troy was under siege, in order to torment him. Because she only appears to Odysseus, and it seems that no else can see her, I can see why some people think he was hallucinating her out of guilt. However, in Greek mythology, the gods were quite personal when it came to their one-on-one dealings with humans. Athena likely made it so that only Odysseus could see her, as she does in Homer's poem. However, it's Nolan... so anything goes.
"Athena helped provide knowledge to Odysseus that he wouldn’t have known which makes me think she’s not just a manifestation," one person said.
"My take was that Athena was both a manifestation of Odysseus's guilt, and also actually Athena," someone else posited. "Maybe she literally appeared in front of him and chose a form she knew would have that effect on him. I don’t see why it would be outside the gods' ability to appear to one person whilst being invisible to others."
"I think Nolan deliberately left this sort of up to the viewer and in many respects, it could be seen as the linchpin to understanding the movie’s opening line ('a time of apparent magic…')," another viewer wrote. "The text already states people’s recurring story of gods appearing in disguise. The subtext tells us Odysseus’ guilt for his actions at Troy ramped up exponentially with the beheading of the woman in the temple."
"I think it is open to interpretation but – he carried Athena with him, and she was disguised as a priestess who was beheaded as a result of his devastation – so I feel it is more him personifying guilt as well as the object he carries with him," someone else said.
The Odyssey is in theaters now, so you can decide whether or not Athena was real for yourself. For more, check out our The Odyssey review and see where it ranks on our list of best Christopher Nolan movies.
