This specific image was created in the 1700s by Giuseppe Bottani and depicts when Athena meets Odysseus for the first time and reveals The Island of Ithaca. As the goddess of wisdom, she uses her powers to disguise the entire region where Ithaca is with mist so that she can speak with him first. He discusses his travels far and wide and senses trust from the goddess in front of him. The main thing that he wanted from his travels was to return home, so when Athena revealed his homeland again, he rejoiced. In the image, the art style is very similar between the two people. With taking a quick glance, it can be difficult to tell which character is which in the image. The colors of the image are dulled to emphasize Odysseus’ clothes more than Athena, even though in the book she is the main focus. The landscape shows the terrain of the island and the mist-clearing from Ithaca. The mist is a very important part of the story because it shows that Ithaca had been there all along, it was just covered in mist. Odysseus spent years trying to find his way back home but had to overcome a lesson to finally reach home. Odysseus is observing the area that the island is showing and Athena is visibly pointing in that direction. As this painting was in the 1700s, the depiction of their clothing fits the era and time period but still gets the point across of showing Ithaca. 

In my research, I have found that Athena is presented as a confident, practical, warrior who is clever and wise as she is the goddess of wisdom. The storyline of this image is the lifting of the mist that was on the island the whole time and she is sharing her wisdom with Odysseus. Her role in the story is to be a guide or advocate for greater things and teach Odysseus how to be a human after traveling for so many years and enduring so many things. In this image, she is pointing to the island to show Odysseus that he is finally home. She is appearing as the guide to show him where he is which I think is greatly represented in the image. There is no distinct expression on her face that can allow her to be seen as a certain emotion, but we can depict that she is in the process of telling him he is finally home. 

This image is the most important out of the story of Athena because she is the one who is showing him he is home. This is significant to the story and shows her as a strong female protector. As stated before, Athena is a confident, practical warrior who is full of wisdom, and showing one of the most important parts of the book that includes her is very important. She humanizes Odysseus and nearly humbles him from his travels and teaches him how to be human which is pivotal for the storyline. The image doesn’t focus on some of the things that are in the book like her eyes but rather on her power. The book emphasizes the fact that she is wise by talking about her “glowing eyes,” but this image merely focuses on the power of her and the mist. It really shows her as the goddess she truly is.