Alliance. Trustworthiness. Generosity. Hostility. This mixture of words describes the complicated relationships in The Odyssey by Homer. In the epic poem, Odysseus battles many obstacles on his long journey back home to Ithaca, where he must be reunited with his wife and son and confront the disrespectful suitors. Along the way, he and his son, Telemachus, experience support from the goddess Athena in particular, yet Odysseus also endures hostility from the antagonistic Polyphemus and Poseidon. In The Odyssey, Homer depicts the intimate, sometimes complicated relationships as well as the balance of power between mortals and the gods while showing the importance of loyalty and hospitality to ancient Greek life. The first powerful mortal-god …show more content…
On his way home from the Cyclops’ island, Athena comforts Odysseus and assists obstacles he will encounter. Athena wants Odysseus to finally be able to rest, so she tells him “Odysseus, great strategist, it is time for your son to know the truth; together you have to plan to kill the suitors. Then both of you go into town. I will join you there soon myself; indeed I am itching to fight” (16.167-172). Athena is helping Odysseus plan the final battle on his journey. She is also offering to physically help him fight. This is unusual because most gods do not offer their help to mortals like Athena is. Athena could tell how this journey was having a great impact on his mental well-being, so she: “poured down sleep to shut his eyes so all his painful weariness could end” (5. 492-493). Not only does Athena guide him in fights, she also helps him mentally because she feels pity for him. Odysseus has always been so respectful to the gods, by giving sacrifices to them. Because of his actions, she rewards him. This demonstrates the power of gods and respect, and how their bond was held together by mutual respect. Loyal Athena feels empathy for Odysseus because of his respectfulness towards him and her family, so in return she guides and comforts Odysseus throughout his time …show more content…
Odysseus was used to receiving hospitality back at his homeland, Ithaca, so when he arrived on the Cyclops’ island and did not receive the same treatment, he did not know how to react. But at the end of the day, Odysseus still manages to defeat Polyphemus, who is a god. But then Odysseus faced Poseidon’s wrath because he disrespected his family. Odysseus realized what his fate was going to be when he blinded the water god’s son: “A god may even send a great sea-monster, the kind that famous Amphitrite rears. I know Poseidon wants to do me harm'' (5.421-423). Because of the amount of disrespect towards the gods, Poseidon got revenge by making his journey very tiring and difficult, by sending storms, winds, monsters, etc. Poseidon’s anger is one of the main reasons why Odysseus’ journey took such a lengthy time. The impact of Odysseus’ actions led him to pleading for help from the gods: “I have escaped the salt sea and Poseidon. Even the deathless gods respect a man who is as lost as I am right now” (5.446-449). After Poseidon had sent the monsters and deadly winds, Odysseus had come to realize how much respect means to the gods. The consequences got so severe that he ended up begging the gods to pity and save him. Even though Odysseus beat a
Hero or Zero?: Odysseus’s dependence on Athena throughout the Odyssey In the Odyssey, Odysseus depends almost entirely on Athena rather than using skill to deal with his problems. Odysseus shows this reliance when he is trapped on Ogygia without any way to escape. Athena intervenes to give directions to Odysseus so that he can freely travel on his journey. Also, Odysseus receives, from Athena, free protection, as well as courage for his son Telemachus, without needing to do anything.
This also aligns with the Greek value of family because Athena wants Odysseus to reveal himself to his own son rather than being locked up in someone else's body and depressed after all the events he’s been through so that they could be together again like a
It is without a doubt that some believe loyalty is not essential to maintaining relationships. However, Homer reveals to the reader that through hardships it is helpful to have loyal relationships, which are outlets of trust and support. Homer emphasizes the value of loyalty in all relationships, as demonstrated through the physical and emotional benefits given and received in the strong relationships, especially through adversities, throughout The Odyssey. The relationships between Eumaois, Philotios, and Odysseus, Eurykleia and Telemakhos, and Penelope and Odysseus demonstrate these benefits. Loyalty is emphasized as valuable in relationships because it brings benefits, demonstrated by the rewards Eumaois and Philotios receive from Odysseus for their everlasting loyalty, and the triumph Odysseus feels when he slays the suitors.
Whether if it is through Athena’s words of wisdom that lead him to the correct direction, or in this particular scene, Hermes’s instructions for overpowering the dreadfully beautiful witch, the gods continue to favor Odysseus and make him an outlier of men, forever exempt from death and failure. He is “Odysseus, great Laertes’s son, known for [his] cunning throughout the world, and [his] fame reaches even to the heavens”(9.21-23) He is a man whose abilities are given by the gods and his life is blessed by Zeus himself. In some essence, Odysseus is sculpted to become the leader he is today, a respected and charismatic hero who is welcomed by his men with tears of joy and cries of relief, even before his birth and the start of the trojan war. Odysseus is predestined to be the hero blessed by the gods.
In Homer’s Epic Poem The Odyssey, Odysseus struggles against gods, mythical creatures and his own weaknesses in order to return home to Ithaca. Odysseus washes up on the shores of Phaecia and is taken in by the Phaeacians after having his ship overthrown by Poseidon. The Phaeacians questions who Odysseus is, and Odysseus recalls his encounters with gods and mythical beasts after trying to get back home after fighting in the Trojan War. He speaks of tales of how he was cursed by Poseidon by blinding Polyphemus, his encounters with Circe and Calypso, his venture to the land of the dead to see Tiresias, and how all his men died because they ate the cattle of Helios.
Odysseus seems to have brought his misfortune onto himself as in the case of his encounter with the Cyclopes. He makes the foolhardy decision to tell Polyphemos his name and setting Poseidon ,and Fate in a certain sense, on a course for vengeance against the man who blinded his son - “Hear me, Poseidon who circle the earth, dark-haired. If truly I am your son, and you acknowledge yourself as my father, grant that Odysseus, sacker of cities, son of Laertes, who makes his home in Ithaka, may never reach that home; but if it is decided that he shall see his own people, and come home to his strong-founded house and to his own country, let him come late, in bad case, with the loss of all his companions, in someone else’s ship, and find troubles in his
Despite the almost constant peril Odysseus faces, he is able to survive due to the balance between strength, a typically masculine characteristic, and his remarkable wisdom and craftiness, feminine attributes. Athena expressed her fondness for Odysseus many times during his adventures. “At the same time Odysseus set off towards the city. Pallas Athena, harboring kindness for the hero, drifted a heavy mist around him, shielding
It was through Athena’s persuasion that convinced Zeus to have Calypso to let Odysseus leave her island. In response to Athena, Zeus said, “You conceived it yourself: Odysseus shall return and pay the traitors back” (Homer, Odyssey, V.26-27). The only reason Odysseus was free and performed the actions that he did after leaving Calypso’s island was all attributed to Athena. Whenever Odysseus appeared to be in a perilous situation, it was Athena who always aided him. “But Zeus’s daughter Athena countered him at once.
A variety of different archetypes play a significant role in The Odyssey. Initially, we see the ally role come into play when Aeolus gives Odysseus and his men a boost. He gives them wind that would take their ship back to Ithaca smoothly without any trouble. ‘’The gentle west wind that would take the ships home to Ithaca’’ (Cross 52). We can see Aeolus being an ally because he gives them a substance that could potentially take them back to Ithaca.
(). After reaching the suitors who had overrun his kingdom, Odysseus once again takes the aid of Athena to defeat them. Homer describes, “So she commanded. He obeyed her, glad at heart.” ().
In The Odyssey, by Homer, Athena influences the lives of Odysseus and his family. In Greek mythology, gods challenge and control mortals. Gods also provide support to mortals and thus, mortals depend and act on behalf of the gods and their decisions. Athena, daughter of Zeus, is the goddess of wisdom, and both Telemachus and Odysseus benefit from her power. Athena possesses the ability to disguise herself and others, and this skill allows her to give advice and guidance.
Another time she helped Odysseus was when she protected him from the suitors' arrows. Without the providence of Athena Odysseus wouldn't have survived the events of The Odyssey. In book 1 of The Odyssey it says how "The story of Odysseus begins with the goddess Athena appealing to Zeus to help Odysseus, who has been wandering for ten years on the seas, to find his way home to
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.
Like Poseidon, Zeus would affect Odysseus’ journey and bring him off course. Odysseus goes to the land of the Cicones and raids it, and steals many things. This is what causes Zeus to be mad at Odysseus. Afterwards, when Odysseus is sailing away he explains to Homer how “...doomed appeared to us, dark word of Zeus for us, for our evil days”(Homer 684). Since Odysseus and his men did malicious actions Zeus intends on punishing them.
Even after this, Athena feels like she deserves more credit for Odysseus’ journey home than he gives