opened and the ships are blown back where they started. Aeolus casts them out this time: "O least of living creatures, out of this island! Hurry!/ I have no right to see on his way, none to give passage/ to any man whom the blessed gods hate with such bitterness./ Out. This arrival means you are hateful to the immortals" (The Odyssey, Book X, lines 72-75).
Athena is the one god who has faith in him and who serves as his protector and champion. Odysseus in The Odyssey is very much a real character. He is both human and bigger than life. He is a hero, but he also has human flaws that make him interesting and that can also be seen as the source of many of his troubles. He has a good deal of pride, and he is also filled with curiosity about the different people he and his men meet and other strange things they encounter on their way home. He insists on exploring the island of the Cyclops even though he is warned not to do so, a result of a combination of pride and curiosity that leads to his wanderings for the next thirty years. He is also the one who insists on exploring the island of Circe, endangering his men once more. He is highly intelligent and manages to overcome many obstacles because he can see through to a solution, but there are forces in the world greater than himself. The despair he feels at the beginning of the story derives from his realization that he has come across something he cannot control or challenge, and Athena has to instill in him the will to do so. His courage is never in doubt, nor is his fighting ability. However, as noted, he is not always as careful of his men a
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