Day 36: Enter Athena, Goddess of War and Wisdom

Lines 193-200
ἧος ὁ ταῦθ' ὥρμαινε κατὰ φρένα καὶ κατὰ θυμόν,
ἕλκετο δ' ἐκ κολεοῖομμέγα ξίφος, ἦλθε δ' Αθήνη
οὐρανόθεν· πρὸ γὰρ ἧκε θεά, λευκώλενος Ἥρη,
ἄμφω ὁμῶς θυμῷ φιλέουσά τε κηδομένη τε.
στῆ δ' ὄπιθεν, ξανθῆς δὲ κόμης ἕλε Πηλεΐωνα,
οἴῳ φαινομένη, τῶν δ' ἄλλων οὔ τις ὁρᾶτο.
θάμβησεν δ' Ἀχιλεύς, μετὰ δ' ἐτράπετ, αὐτίκα δ' ἔγνω
Παλλάδ' Ἀθηναίην· δεὶνω δέ οἱ ὄσσε φάανθεν.

While he turned this over in his mind and spirit
He was drawing a great sword from its scabbard,
Then from the sky came Athena, for the goddess,
White armed Hera, sent her there, loving and caring
For them both, in equal measure, in her heart.
She stood behind him and seized the son of Peleus
By his tawny locks, appearing to him alone,
And not one of the others could see this.
Then Achilles stood in wonder, and, turning 'round,
Recognized at once Pallas Athena; her eyes flashing terribly at him.



Those terrible flashing eyes of the goddess of war and wisdom indicate that she is not a being to be trifled with. A popular Homeric epithet for this goddess is "owl eyed", and anyone who has ever seen an owl in the forest at night knows full well the effect of that stare on anyone who wanders too late and too far into the dark and terrible wood...