Masters or Children? Greek mythology is always a major part of the Greek culture. These myths gave birth to numerous art works and countless stories. The Odyssey which is one among all these tales is also deeply influenced by the Greek culture. Since the book originated from that ancient time period, it tells a lot about this ancient civilization. In The Odyssey, Odysseus went through countless trials on his journey home. He received multiple helps as well as challenges from both the immortals and mortals. However, the mortals are like servants of the immortals. Throughout the book, the people sacrifice tributes, worship, and pray to the gods, in return, the gods grant people power and fulfill their desires based on the gods’ mood. The gods …show more content…
Though these ancient civilizations had very different religious, they did share one common thing. The role of religious/gods played a big role in their histories and culture, including the Greeks. In most religious, the existence of gods is to give an explanation of the world they lived in. There are gods that control nature, life, or even death. This idea of the god’s role is being emphasized in The Odyssey. For example, in Book 3 Line 56, Nestor said, “‘All men need the gods.’”. This demonstrates how god isn’t just an interpretation to nature but also play a spiritual role in the people’s heart. Knowing that the gods are explanations to the natural thing such as wind or rain, we can tell that the gods are very important to the people like how importance earth is to …show more content…
The Greeks worship and sacrifice thing to the gods, while fearing them. For example, Eumaeus said, “‘Never for that will I respect you, treat you kindly; no, it’s my fear of Zeus, the god of guests, and because I pity you.’”(Book 13 line 439~441). This demonstrates that not only the gods set some rules of the society, they also have people to follow these rules through fear. Those that don’t follow the rules might have to face the wrath of the gods. People worship the gods while hold fear toward them. This sounds kind of contradictory because in some religious, gods are holy and powerful, but not something they are afraid of such as Jesus or Buddha. Nevertheless, it is understandable that people are being afraid of the gods. These gods can be as merciless and capricious as some slave owners. For example, in Book 13 line 181 to 212, Poseidon punished the Phaeacians for aiding or hosting Odysseus after receiving the permission and support from Zeus, “‘If any man ... pays you no respect—just pay them back. The power is always yours. Do what you like. Whatever warms your heart.’”(Book 13 line 163~166). This shows how little care they have toward the mortals. Zeus who was believed to “guards all guests and suppliants,” actually go against what he is known for and support Poseidon to punish the Phaeacians for being a good host. This also shows how childish the
While Odysseus and his men were leaving the island of Thrinacia they were hit by a thunderstorm. “the son of Saturn [Zeus] raised a black cloud over our ship, and the sea grew dark beneath it.” (Homer). Zeus struck down upon Odysseus’ ship because they had disrespected Helios by consuming a couple of his sacred cows which didn’t make him happy. Helios reported them to Zeus demanding that they be punished for their actions and Zeus complied by killing everyone but Odysseus.
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.
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 Odyssey is an epic poem written by the blind, illiterate poet Homer. It takes place in ancient Greece and tells of a man’s journey home from war. The topic, intervention of the gods, is seen throughout the book numerous times as the gods who are in favor of Odysseus lend a helping hand. It is well-known that the gods are very important to the Greeks. In this epic poem, The Odyssey, Homer demonstrates the importance of the positive and encouraging intervention of the gods in Greek culture; the brave actions, encouraging words, and cunning strategies of Athena as she assists and guides Odysseus on his journey back home.
They associated each of their gods with a different aspect of life or nature. For example Zeus was the king of the gods, Athena was the goddess of wisdom, Dionysus was the god of wine, and the list goes on. The ancient Greeks erected massive temples to these gods for worship. Each god or goddess had his or her own temple for sacrifices or offerings. They Greeks believed sacrifice was necessary to appease the gods and keep everyday life fruitful and peaceful.
Throughout history, many different cultures and societies have risen and existed. Each society has different central ideas that are important to it, and each one differed from another. In the Odyssey, the main character, Odysseus, went away to Troy soon after their son, Telemachus, was born. He left his wife, Penelope, with their son thinking he’d be back soon.
Poseidon, Apollo, Athena, Zeus, and Hermes are all Greek Gods that appear in the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer. These gods all play a significant role in The Odyssey by both helping and hindering Odysseus on his 10-year journey home. Homer illustrates the theme of divine intervention in The Odyssey using Poseidon’s wrath, Athena’s providence, and Hermes’ guidance. Poseidon is one of the main gods that appears throughout The Odyssey, Homer shows Poseidon's divine intervention through his wrath on Odysseus during his journey home.
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. Athena favors Odysseus since he reminds her of herself. He portrays the same cunning, guile, and intelligence as she does; Athena had confided to him that “two of a kind, we are, contrivers, both,” comparing how similar they are. “Of all men now alive,” she says, “you are the best in plots and story telling.
These concepts can even be applied to ancient societies in Greek mythology. Many gods were blinded by the desire of having authority over others or being feared by their competitors and fellow civilians. The god’s persistent angst over this idea of sovereignty consumed them and morphed them into beings filled with vain. The gods are figures of tyranny because of their obsession of power leading to the perpetration of sociopathic acts such as Cronus killing his father, Uranus, Athena challenging Arachne causing Arachne’s death, and Aphrodite scheming against Psyche. One god that made it his cardinal ambition to achieve and maintain high power was the son of Uranus and Gaea, Cronus.
Greek mythology has been one of the most complicated subjects in the field of religion and mythology. This is due to the complex relations and interactions which exists in the history of Greek gods and the humans who lived in ancient Greece. Different versions of the existence and the establishment of the superior beings were developed, which at times created suspense for readers through their interactions. The various tales which exist explain the various connections between different gods, how they relate to one another, the ideological order in which they came into existence as well as the interactions they had with humans. These tales form the basis of various religious beliefs and practices since it is perceived that it is through the interactions of the gods that humans came into existence, a situation which created the dependent relationship between mortals and gods.
In the epic poem The Odyssey, Homer portrays Greek gods and goddesses as possessing human qualities and faults. Through their actions and emotions, Homer emphasizes the detrimental effects of lust, envy, wrath, and greed in ancient Grecian society. He also never fails to remind readers of the importance of respect for holy figures because of their powerful abilities to create chaos and wonder". Homer wants to prove that gods and humans share a variety of traits, and the only difference is that god don’t allow these flaws negatively to impact their society. To help further his argument, we can compare Greek gods and goddesses to that of Christianity.
The Resemblance of Gods and Humans Throughout all religions, gods have always been seen as superior in every way possible. 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.
Divine intervention, or the role of the gods, plays a predominant role in the development of the eventual fate of the main characters; Odysseus, his son, Telemachus and his wife, Penelope. Homer is able to effectively incorporate the employment of divine forces as facilitators in destiny, as well as efficiently engage the readers through his vivid description of the various predicaments faced by Odysseus. Divine intervention is a phenomenon widely used in mythological epics. The gods play protagonistic and antagonistic roles; they essentially toy with the character until his fate is evident. Homer utilizes this right from the very beginning; we see Athena coming to the aid of Odysseus when Zeus refuses to have sympathy for him due to the fact that most heroes blame the Gods for their doom;
The belief system and the presence of God is one of the things many cultures and people have taken for granted. In Homer’s Odyssey, there is a presence of the gods which makes mortal to have the ability to talk to them, see them and even feel their presence around them. In this epic, what fascinated me is how the gods showed love towards odyssey throughout his journey. In the Greece empire, the power of the gods is the most constantly praised which Looking at the roles of the gods, Athena, goddess of wisdom and a daughter of Zeus admired the courage and faith in odyssey. Athena pleaded with his father by saying: father Zeus, whose power is supreme, if the blessed gods really do want Odysseus to return to his home, we should send Hermes, our quicksilver herald,