Gods In The Iliad

Regardless of what occurs, it 's all the doing of the gods. Humans are like puppets; they have the freedom of choice however their decisions are constantly interfered by the gods. The god’s are given respect due to their extreme power, as mortals know, if offended a god, one would most likely have to face severe consequences. Nonetheless, the gods are not all powerful, as they have emotions that drive them hence weakens them. In Ancient Greek society, having the gods in your favor played a critical role in peoples daily lives, as the gods would extremely influence decision, have significant power over one’s fate, and have direct involvement in the lives of humans.

The relationships between the Greek gods and mortals have always been complicated. The gods can be generous and supportive, but also harsh and destructive towards the humans. They claim to be all powerful beings with unlimited power and influence, but in truth, they are far more human than they are perceived. They meddle with human lives, not because they are wise, but because of their own selfish reasons. In Homer’s The Odyssey, gods like Athena and Poseidon interfere with humans to satisfy their own desires, showing that they are just as imperfect and flawed as the mortals that they rule over.

One time this happens is when “Zeus … [thunders] and [strikes] our [Odysseus and his crew’s] ship with his bolt”(Homer 159). Zeus’s decisive factor in the story also gives him the ability to determine Odysseus’s future in almost every situation. In other words, Odysseus’s heroic stature is greatly affected by Zeus in many situations, which tells how much power and authority Zeus has. Overall, Odysseus’s heroic stature is both positively and negatively affected by Zeus. All in all, Athena and Zeus are the main influences of Odysseus’s heroic stature.

Some may argue that Odysseus is the real hero but there were many times throughout The Odyssey where he needed Athena’s protection and input of logical ideas. This was shown when Athena helped Odysseus with a wise plan to win the war with the suitors by changing Odysseus’s appearance. When Odysseus returned to Ithaca, Athena disguised him by turning him into an old beggar. Through this Odysseus gathered information on what is going on in the palace. Athena does not want to do the work for him, as he can learn and grow also through the process.

Gods, across all culture are often seen as the ultimate all powerful, all-knowing, divine, fair and kind figure. Unlike many other Gods, Greek Gods and Goddesses are unique in a sense they possess human like behaviour, such as anger, jealousy, seeking revenge, being vengeful. Al though they may appear as a divine figure, they often possess contradictory character traits, mostly human like behaviours. They get married, have kids, fall in love, they even fight over power and punish those who defies them. Hence, Greek Gods and Goddesses are more comprehensive because of their human like nature.

Throughout the story of Odysseus’s journey told by Homer, there are many defining examples of interaction between humans and their gods. The gods primarily interact with humans by either siding with or against them. The gods would often side with humans since they wanted to help them such as Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, helping Telemachus, Odysseus’s son, whereas the gods seeking revenge such as Poseidon, who sought revenge on Odysseus for slaying his son Polyphemus, would turn against them. While actual interaction between gods and humans seems to be a rather risible idea, there was much guidance given to humans by the gods throughout the Odyssey.

They are allowed to interfere with humans in certain ways to certain extents, they have rules, and by punishing/rewarding humans, they create an order of morals/hierarchy so they serve a purpose as well. This presentation of the gods reveals that the Greeks see them as powerful, smarter, and "magically" significant beings. I think that the story shows that they see the Gods to be like us, but with power and authority. I think that it shows the Greeks believe that pridefulness is wrong/punishable as well. Along with pride, I think that there were themes of piety, lies and deciet, and justice so I believe that the Greeks may have seen the Gods as a way to enforce good behavior/a moral code of good, although they show to be ignorant, act "bratty", and can be decietful which may be believed to cause humans to be bad.

He overcomes the challenge of the Cyclops by thinking wisely. The Trojan warrior plots a cunning plan to sail past the manipulative sirens. To defeat the disrespectful suitors, he thinks to have patience instead of attacking right away. A normal person can have a lot strength. It takes a hero to be able to use that strength wisely so it can benefit

Antony’s thirst for ultimate power also drives his desire to remove Brutus and Cassius, but does this by swaying the crowds to riot, driving them out of Rome, and causing a disastrous war with many deaths. In the end, Antony is successful in revenging

Roman heroes must cope with obstacles that are set before him by opposing forces, whether they be man or god. He is also aided in his journey by his patron god or goddess and his deceased relatives. The Virgilian hero, according to Rosenberg, represents the forces of order, self-discipline, rational thinking, and constructive behavior. On the other hand, the non-Virgilian hero acts as a deterrent using the forces of disorder, passion, irrational thinking, and violence (p. 259). He is hindered along the way by Juno, the sea, a passionate woman, another storm, and Juno again by influencing the people of Latium.

Earlier in the text Archidamus, a Spartan, explains that the Spartan’s slowness in decision making is due to their “clear-headed self-control” (27.84). However, they do not exhibit this quality when Alcibiades easily manipulates them into trusting him. He begins his argument by asserting that others have done “worse things” in the past than deserting their country in a time of need. However, instead of actually citing what instances he is referring to, he compensates for his lack of evidence by telling his audience that he was a better “[leader] of the city as a whole” (127). Alcibiades is manipulating his “evidence” into seeming more substantial than it truly is by telling the audience that these “others… have incited the mob to worse things” (127).

We can’t possibly change our fate and neither can Achilles when Agamemnon stole Breisis from him. That one act of impoliteness could have very well been the reason that initiated the Trojan war, one that was destined to happen with or without the small maltreatment that Agamemnon showed Achilles. The Trojan war was a savage fate for both the Achaeans and the Trojans, who both equally lost many of their own, including the loved ones. Fate is written in rock, but the acts of kindness, sadness, anger and hatred, can strongly affect the path we choose that leads us to the final

Even in Eshu’s story it is implied that Eshu started the fight amongst the Gods, and most likely went on a journey to appease more to his own ego than for the sake of others (Hyde 112). These instances show that tricksters might be the creators of chaos, but when it favors to their agenda then they can quickly remedy the problem. This backs up the claim that the trickster is not the villain in mythology stories. This is what I feel is the most significant about the tricksters, and also the reason why I feel drawn to these three particular figures. The gods also recognize how the trickster can remedy problems, albeit the fact that the problems might not even be caused by them.