And down she swept from Olympus’ craggy peaks
and lit on Ithaca, standing tall at Odysseus’ gates,
the threshold of his court. Gripping her bronze spear,
she looked for all the world like a stranger now,
like Mentes, lord of the Taphians.
– Homer
The Odyssey, Book 1, lines 119-123. Athena, disguised as Odysseus’ friend Mentes, flies to Ithaca to talk to Telemachus. Mentes is king of the Taphians and a friend of Odysseus. Athena shows herself to be a master of deceitful disguises throughout The Odyssey.