Greek Gods And Goddesses In Homer's Odyssey

Countless of these tearful songs have been written, describing the image of the woman behind a hero’s victory. In The “Odyssey”, Homer transforms the audience’s perspective about women significantly. All of them, whether beautiful woman or powerful goddesses, are occupied by sorrows. Especially, Penelope and Calypso--the two most influential women in both appearance and the complicated relationship with the guile hero. Although they have very different personalities and backgrounds--one is the queen of Ithaca, and the other is a magnificent goddess. However they are both caught in a same trouble--they expect too much from Odysseus, and they are striving for a hopeless purpose. They both undergo great sufferings, but neither of them is in control

Double standards exist everywhere you go. In society, women and men are held to different standards. Whether it comes to strength, leadership, or appearance, they affect everything and everyone. These contrasting principles also apply to sexual fidelity. Often, men are praised and looked up to to having many sexual relationships. On the other hand, women are shamed for having the same relationships. These double standards are portrayed in literature as well. In Homer’s The Odyssey, we see these double standards applied to its’ story and characters. It was especially applied to Odysseus, the main Greek hero in this epic. Greek epic heros are figures that are meant to represent the ultimate mortal the ideals and common values in Greek culture,

In Homer’s Odyssey, gods and other supernatural beings dominated every aspect of mortal life. All living things and phenomena that occur in the world can be traced back to the gods. Seeing as how gods are responsible for the lives of mortals and the state of the natural world, performing deeds that anger the gods would prove to be disastrous while performing deeds that please the gods would prove to be beneficial. Odysseus’ journey back to Ithaca after the Trojan War was took ten years due to angering gods like Poseidon and Helios. However, it was through Athena’s aid that he was able to make it back home. The gods are beings capable of bringing misfortune or greatness which is why mortals tend to perform sacrifices in honor of the gods due

Instead of being perfect omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent gods, they have limited power and influence, and are often driven by humanistic emotions and desires. While the gods do show concern over some mortals, they don’t make decisions solely concerning the wellbeing or interests of the humans, but instead, like the humans themselves, usually act with their own interests at heart. Athena and Poseidon both acts in accordance to their desires and emotions, and have a biased view on particular humans. Unlike the perfect deities we have in mind when we think of the divine, Greek gods are just immortal beings who are just as fallible and imperfect as the humans they preside

Most societies, both past and present, worship one or multiple deities. The powers and characteristics of these gods vary among cultures, and the personalities of one society’s deities directly influence the culture and beliefs of its people. The discrepancies between the religions of different civilizations can be observed through the literary works of their religion and mythology. The Judeo-Christian God, who is shown in the Bible to be absolute both in power and in judgment, is antithetical to the Greek gods, who are depicted as having human traits and flaws. In Homer’s Odyssey, many gods are shown to act on their own self-interest, keeping favorites among the mortals and conspiring against other gods. Zeus, however, is portrayed as just

The division between humans and gods has always been prevalent and prominent. However, when the actions and motives of these gods are truly analyzed, it will become evident that the gods of Greek Mythology merely behave as humans with supernatural powers. The lives of the gods were motivated the same basic factors of love, anger, and envy. Although their situations with these factors were more drastic due to their abilities, the gods still reacted and behaved similarly to humans.

Science today is way more advanced than back in 650 B.C.E. and we have tools and scientists that explain the natural phenomena that we still deal with today. The Greeks however had a very different way of explaining these natural phenomena. The Greeks used Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, and their gods to explain these phenomena for them. Yan covers these phenomena like Earthquakes which were previously thought to had been caused by the sea god, Poseidon, or that storms were caused by Zeus and that the Sun came up everyday thanks to Helios. Which today are now proved through orbit of the Earth and low and high air pressure. Even though we both had our own way of explaining these phenomena, they varied drastically.

The gods play a big part within The Odyssey to a point where they interact with the characters were they can aide or hinder them. Athena plays an important role within the first couple of books in The Odyssey. Athena goes to Ithica while disguised as one of Telemachus’ father’s old friends named Mentes. As Mentes, she tells Telemachus to get rid of the people from his father’s land and to ask of his father’s whereabouts in Sparta. Why does Athena approach Telemachus disguised? Greek Gods aren’t usually seen unless the God wants you to see them, but why doesn’t Athena want Telemachus to know it’s her? I would think that having Athena disguised as an old friend would have it cut to the chase, because if Telemachus were to be approached by Athena,

It’s the gods’ ways of showing the Greeks the dos and the don’ts. Typically set by Zeus, the upholder of moral values, but any god or goddess can set an example. This could a direct lesson set by Zeus like when he punished Lycaon for breaking the rules of hospitality or Prometheus for trying to outsmart him by first hiding the inedible parts of the sacrifice and then stealing fire from Olympus to give to the humans. It could also be indirect, like a hidden message within a myth. The societal stance against infidelity is an example of this, as it can be seen what the punishments were for Zeus’s many mistresses by

God of the sea, Poseidon is one of the gods in odyssey who had a son called Polyphemus. Polyphemus was one of the Cyclopes whose island, Odysseus went after leaving Troy. Odysseus blinded Polyphemus because he wanted to eat him and his crews, and his actions angered Poseidon. Throughout his voyage, Poseidon delayed him of returning home by providing strong storm on the sea which caused the ship to destroy. Poseidon did not only delay his homecoming, but made him face different dangers and also saved him from the Trojan war.

The movie Pumping Iron follows the story of American bodybuilders throughout the preparation and performance in two notable bodybuilding competitions. The idolization of these individuals seems reflective of the presence and power of the Greek gods in Homer’s Odyssey.

The gods and goddesses didn't like humans in fact they stayed far from them. If the humans wanted to see the gods and goddesses, they needed to travel far such as to the peak of the mountain top and ask their presence. They could only be seen by who they have chosen. I wonder if he has asked for forgiveness maybe he would be granted his life before it all. I love how you pointed out the Greeks worshipped the gods and goddesses despite their disdain for humans. There is a chance Odysseus didn’t ask for fear of rejection. I can only imagine his response anyone saying that he could have been in fear of anything. He wouldn’t hesitate to reject such a notion himself.

In the first chapter of Erich Auerbach’s novel Mimesis titled Odysseus’ Scar, the stylistic properties of the Old Testament and Homer’s The Odyssey are contrasted to show the two foundational styles for ancient epic literature. Auerbach starts the chapter with an analysis of Homer’s use of digression with in book 19 of The Odyssey, when Odysseus’s true identity is discovered by Euryclea, to alleviate suspense within the book. He goes on to discuss how the comparison of the Homeric style with the “equally ancient and equally epic style” (7) of the tale of the sacrifice of Isaac in the old testament demonstrates “the genius of the Homeric style” (7). Auerbach then goes on to discuss how the Bible and Homeric representation of Gods differ in that

In the Odyssey, there were many gods/goddess’ that affected Odysseus. Though there were some in particular that stood out. The Odyssey is a story about a hero named Odysseus, who must go through many challenges; just to get home to his wife. In this essay, it will talk about the three gods/goddess’ that affected Odysseus the most. Them being Hermes, Poseidon, and Athena.

The Iliad, written by Homer, is an ancient Greek epic about the Trojan War, which the divine certainly influences. Unlike how most gods might act or behave in books nowadays, the gods in the Iliad share some uncommon traits. For example helping their favorite morals, the idea of justice and harmony is surely excluded in the portrayal of Greek gods. The divine in the Iliad are characterized as very emotional and somewhat manipulative. 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.