Question

What is Athena trying to accomplish by saying the following?

"Father Zeus—you other happy gods who never die— never let any sceptered king be kind and gentle now, not with all his heart, or set his mind on justice— no, let him be cruel and always practice outrage."

Answer 1

1.) She wants to punish mankind forever with tyrant kings.

2.) She is manipulating Zeus with irony. If a "just" king, like Odysseus, is punished by the gods, why would any king be just?

3.) She is implicating Zeus's unjust behavior. As king of the gods, he is setting a bad example for mortal kings by ruling poorly.

4.) She is defending Odysseus's questionable reign as king of Ithaca by pointing out that lots of kings are tyrants.