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Many noble women took up weaving, but few treated it with the respect the craft deserved. They didn't comprehend what the technique could really do. They would follow patterns and copy the same images into their tapestries over and over, but they didn't understand it well enough for Athena to take notice. They didn't know how to breath life into every string, carefully selecting each thread and warp style to create something infinitely more grand than the sum of its parts. It was one thing to do what others have done a thousand times; it was entirely different to weave an expression of your soul.
Battle strategies required many of the same skills. Weaving was not so simple that one you could just start without a plan and expect to achieve anything worth mentioning. You had to strategize your stitches far in advance. If blemishes arose, you had to know when to start over or where to fix it, a delicate balance with a process so complex. There were so many moving pieces at play at a loom, just like a battle field. But with weaving, the outcome was always guaranteed if you came up with a good enough stratagem. Which was one of the reasons she enjoyed it so.
Athena bemoaned the fact that so many seemed to miss all of this. There weren't many that were gifted with it. Once in a while, an experienced weaver would do something new, and Athena would take notice. But so many didn't see the art for what it could do in its infinite possibilities.
Which was why the daughter of Icarius was so peculiar. She was a simple girl, really. The daughter of a king with brothers abound. She would be married off to some king in a few years to have a dozen children and be lost to history like so many others.
But one day, Athena saw her. The girl was at her loom, practicing the plain weaving patterns her tutor taught her hours before. But it didn't just stay at a plain weave. She added weft-faced and warp-faced weaves with no seeming rhyme or reason, using her shedding bar far too forcefully. The product didn't even look particularly good. But Athena felt what was going on in the girl's mind. She was thinking through all the possibilities and colors and threads with such passion, generating ideas for future products at a rapid speed. Such complexity for a girl so young.
The final product was rather lopsided, and Athena watched the girl pick up more thread and add supplementary wefts until the project turned into a rudimentary tapestry of what she could only assume was an apple bobbing in the ocean.
The girl was not done yet, as she set the tapestry aside and reset her heading band, starting the process anew. Athena watched her concentrate and strategize on how to execute the ideas swirling around in her little head. She may not have the skill yet, but she certainly had the potential. A few years of practice and Athena was sure she would be making weaves that would make any household proud.
Athena moved on, but knew that this Penelope was someone to keep an eye on.
Athena couldn't leave the girl alone. Not entirely. Athena often picked champions that fit her domains well enough that they could be vessels to spread her glory. And that's the fate she wanted for Penelope. A mind like hers needed her own level of kleos.
But Athena already had two champions, which often needed more of her guidance. Diomedes had cities to reconquer and his father's legacy to uphold. Odysseus had alliances to forge and marauders to fight off his islands. She couldn't check in on Penelope as much, so she would whisper ideas, open Penelope's mind to the possibilities, and leave her to create the magnificent pieces.
Athena was quite pleased with her. She saw that her father began to value her pieces higher and higher as her skill improved. King Icarius' palace had many of her most extraordinary tapestries on proud display. They caught the eye of every visitor. Penelope was the only woman of her household (as her mother was the immortal nymph Periboea), so everyone soon realized the remarkable skill she was able to achieve at an age so young.
Icarius was very protective of Penelope, of that Athena appreciated. It wouldn't do well to have her married off to just any king with a mere moderate treasury. Someone who could easily be pillaged and left destitute, leaving her talents locked up in obscurity rather than cultivated. For Athena's plan to work, Penelope needed to marry well. A talent like hers needed to go to a house that respected Athena's domain. One that would appreciate fine art when they saw it and place high value on what Penelope could provide for the whole dynasty.
With that, Athena realized, Odysseus would be the perfect candidate. He was at about the right age to be looking for a bride, and Penelope was quite pretty. Love was a realm Athena normally left to Aphrodite, but Athena saw great wisdom in bringing two of her favorites together. Odysseus revered Athena's domains, even if he didn't weave himself. He would respect the craft for what it was. And he was always looking for ways to increase Ithaca's standing on the world stage. Marrying a fine Spartan princess would do wonders for him.
And so Athena promised to her champion that if he remained pious towards her, she would reward him with the perfect wife. When word spread that Helen was to finally take suitors, she whispered to Odysseus that Sparta was where he would finally be able to claim his prize for his loyalty to her.
She thought she would have to engineer some scheme to weave him away from Helen, who would only cause him more trouble than she was worth, and towards Penelope, but little interference was needed. She arranged a simple meeting where they bumped into each other, and they took on the rest.
Odysseus reacted as expected. He always loved a puzzle, and Athena loved to watch him work through complex problems, like how to marry a girl with an overprotective father breathing down his neck. He went at it with the same fervor he put into his training. After she told him of her approval of the match, it was as if his tunic was on fire. He was enraptured.
Penelope wasn't much different. She approached courtship like she approached weaving. Once Penelope had latched on to what her final product was going to look like, Athena knew the marriage was inevitable. The girl turned people in her way into threads she could wrap into her plans. It was like she was winding threads through a heddle bar, waiting to align the pieces of her plan up so she could push them all to their rightful place with a pin beater. All a part of her careful design.
Penelope knew her father better than most and did her best to plant ideas in his head about the prospective match. She poked her brothers into situations where Odysseus could win them over with his charm. She knew what strings to pull to distract people while she ran off to rendezvous with her Ithacan king in the middle of the night. Athena did her best to make sure all these plans worked. It wouldn't do well to have the girl publicly disgrace herself by chasing after a man she was not yet wed to and waste all her talent.
It took time to wear King Icarius down, but eventually the match went through. Odysseus was able to take Penelope home with him.
Odysseus added many things to his palace to accommodate his new bride. Most importantly, he constructed a new, large loom for her to do as she pleased. It was as tall as a grown man and Athena was excited to see what her favorite weaver could come up with now that she had her own household. Odysseus was her favorite for a reason.
Things were going perfectly.
Of course, it couldn't last forever. Aphrodite and Paris disrespected Athena for the first and last time. She would make sure that all of Troy felt her wrath.
It was amusing watching Odysseus try to get out of the war (faking madness of all things; Athena adored his mind), but she ultimately couldn't let it stand. This was when Odysseus would earn his kleos, and everyone would know who was responsible for sharpening him into finest war general that the world had ever seen.
It was regrettable that Athena hadn't been able to get more than one child out of the pair. She wished she got a whole legion of intelligent warriors out of them to carry on her glory for generations, but it wasn't meant to be. She made a note to pay attention to their Telemachus as he got older and moved on.
Athena unfortunately had to leave Penelope alone for the most part during the war. She still sent her blessings from time to time, but her focus remained on tearing down the city with the man who insulted her. Diomedes and Odysseus followed her wisdom well, but the war still dragged on.
After the war was a different story. There was still much to manage, of course. Diomedes headed out towards Italia and Odysseus had managed to get himself into a pot of trouble that even Athena couldn't whisk away by simply asking. No, her champion just had to insult the Lord of the Seas.
Athena tried to whisper advice to her champions as much as she could, but even she could not refute a prophecy. She would not let Father forget it, though. She made sure to remind him at the proper times so he couldn't move on so easily.
While Odysseus was stuck with the nymph Calypso, Athena turned her attentions back on Ithaca. To her other favorite.
The delay meant that her poor little weaver was stuck for a very long time on her own. She began to weave more than tapestries and robes. She now had to weave her way into politics to keep everything secure for Odysseus' return.
Athena helped where she could. The only way her champion could return victorious was through her help. Though Penelope needed little pressure to keep the throne open for him.
She kept the memory of Odysseus alive. She would not allow Telemachus to take the throne. She took on as much of the role of king as she was allowed to get away with. Athena was so proud. Her raw talent for weaving served her well.
Athena also admired Penelope for not letting her hubris get the better of her like it did so many other mortals. She had the skills of Arachne, but none of the conceit. Penelope always made sure all the sacrifices in her temple were made on time and all together made it easy to bless Ithaca time and time again. She did not boast of her talent beyond what was acceptable for a mortal. Telemachus was raised with proper respect to the gods and their laws. Athena adored this family.
But her position became more and more precarious as time went on. Even as the years passed her by, she was still extraordinarily beautiful. And people noticed. By the time 7 years had passed since the fall of Troy, people were resigning themselves to believe that Odysseus and the rest of the fleet would not return. And with that, Penelope was talked about as a widow. An eligible widow still young enough to bear children.
It felt like Helen's suitor debacle all over again, but this time Athena was utterly dismayed by the choices. As if these simple island nobles were worthy of one of her champions. Some had wealth, but none of the renown Athena knew Penelope deserved.
She put courage into Penelope's heart as she came up with the ingenious technique to delay the marriage. All with a simple weaving. Athena was ecstatic. It was utterly delightful. She made Demeter ensure a plentiful crop to Ithaca for years to come to reward her pupil.
Three years was a long time to put off suitors, but Athena clouded the suitors' minds to not catch on. It wasn't difficult. None of these men knew the first thing about her domains.
But just before the 20 year sentence of Odysseus was finished, a maid squealed the scheme to the wrong ears. Athena thought about stopping it, but ultimately decided that it would serve her purposes. These men were not only abusing Xenia far beyond what it was intended for, they were tormenting Penelope. Athena saw how their fates twisted and ensured that Odysseus would be enraged when he returned. As soon as Penelope was forced to finished her funeral shroud, Athena raced to Olympus to plead with her Father once again that it was time to release Odysseus.
Athena didn't know if Penelope recognized how much Athena was interfering in Ithaca all the sudden. Athena had rarely ever taken a hands-on approach with her. She could tell the girl was in anguish nonetheless. She cried almost every night for Odysseus to return. Athena took to putting her to sleep when she could.
Athena could not explain to Penelope all the intricacies of their scheme. Telling her too early would expose Odysseus. Once everything went according to plan, the two of them would have kleos for generations. And everyone would know that it was Athena who aided them.
And so she put courage in Penelope's heart, and enchanted her to be even more beautiful than usual. She normally hated to be around the suitors, but Athena needed Odysseus to see them all vying for her. So she had Penelope come down and incense all of them. All to whet his wrath and extract the suitors' wealth while she was at it.
Penelope had been doing some scheming of her own. It took little inspiration from Athena for her to pull out Odysseus' old bow as the new challenge. Penelope was just naturally gifted with wisdom. With that last piece in place, victory was in sight.
Athena had Penelope sit out the whole affair, willing her to sleep once more. The girl had been through enough, and it wouldn't do well to have her come down too early.
When the time came for Odysseus to reclaim his wife, Athena made sure to bless him with the beauty and stature that had so many goddesses throwing themselves at him over his adventures. He looked as handsome and young as he did when he left Ithaca. Penelope knew this image of him well, as it had haunted her dreams for years. She even persuaded Eos to delay her arrival so the two of them could make the most out of their reunion.
Maybe Athena could get another kid out of the pair.
Athena kept watch on Penelope. It had been a long time since she had been able to weave anything. While clever, the shroud took up her loom. She couldn't work on any other projects while it lay unfinished.
Her mind had spent so long languishing in a stupor, her heart in agony for the man she loved. She had been unable to think of anything else. But now, her burden was lifted. She was the happiest she had been in a long time.
Athena saw her now, weeks after Odysseus had restored order to his house. She set her loom up, picked up her once familiar heading band, and began to create art once again. It was different than the one she made as a little girl, that first day that Athena saw her. It had skill and prowess and experience unlike anything a youth could accomplish. Penelope now had practiced hands with callouses from years of working at it. But that spark, that drive to create, that passion for the craft; it had remained.
Athena smiled.