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Roles of greek gods in the iliad and odyssey
Roles of greek gods in the iliad and odyssey
Roles of greek gods in the iliad and odyssey
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“Nine days the arrows of god swept through the army.” (Homer, The Iliad, 1.61) The Iliad written by Homer portrayed the war between the Achaeans and the Trojans. In addition to the mortals fighting each other gods also intervened in the war between the two sides, the gods in The Iliad played very significant roles in the battles; they brought divine powers on to the mortal sides of the war, Greek gods embody many human characteristics, there are many themes in The Iliad that construct the interventions of the gods, lust, jealousy, revenge, anger, pride, and favoritism are some of the reasons why the gods of Olympus got involved in the Trojan War. The gods of Olympus used humans as their puppets while the gods engaged themselves in conflict against each other. Lust is one of the major themes in the interference of the Trojan War; Aphrodite goddess of beauty and lust is to blame for the beginning of the Trojan War. The goddess promised Paris the prince of Troy the most beautiful woman in the world if he chose her as the fairest of them all. At the beginning it was Zeus who was suppose to pick between the goddesses but Zeus passed up the chance and used Paris as the puppet to choose between the goddesses. The choices Paris was to choose from were Hera, Athena and Aphrodite; all three goddesses had to bribe the young prince with favors. Hera queen of the gods promised him power over all of Europe, Athena bribed him with the victory of the Trojans leaving Sparta in ruins and Aphrodite assured him the most beautiful woman on earth. Paris blinded with lust chose Aphrodite as the “fairest of them all” leading to the downfall of Troy. The “most beautiful woman on earth” happened to be Helen of Sparta, having a god promise him his priz... ... middle of paper ... ...ll gods partaking in the Trojan War; a majority of the gods in Olympus chose sides between the Trojans and the Achaeans, intervening with the battle. Major gods such as Apollo, Aphrodite, and Artemis joined the side of the Trojans while Athena, Hera, and Poseidon joined the Greeks. Pride is a critical topic among the gods because none of the gods wanted to lose the war. Each god had different opinions on which side should win the war; Apollo wanted the Trojans to win the battle due to his anger towards Agamemnon and the Achaeans fighting against Athena “[…] [B] ut Phoebus Apollo spotting her from Pergamus heights – the god grim set on victory for the Trojans – rose to intercept her … (7.23- 25) Favoritism is another theme in the role of gods interfering in the Trojan War; most of the gods up in Olympus favored a mortal on either side of the war. Hera
I AM ABOUT TO WRITE A BOMB PAPER ON ATHENA. One of the people regarded to be the most wise said regarding issues with someone, “To praise is not enough, I should have praise myself, not suffer my divinity to be despised unscathed” (Kolphone) proved to also be incredibly arrogant and quick to anger. This person was the Goddess Athena. Many of the greek gods could cause problems both with the people they protected and with each other. Their conflicts, whether won or lost, are part of what formed greek culture. The gods gave the Greek morals to follow and tools to aid daily life. Out of the many gods few are remembered today, like Athena. The ones remembered are the most influential of them all. Athena is one of the most influential and recognized gods of Greek mythology for giving the people both her position as a goddess, the morals or rules she taught through her actions, and innovations to for work and pleasure.
Homer clearly and precisely depicts the religion and the ethics of the Achian and Trojan societies in The Iliad. During the time of the Trojan war, religion played an important role in the societies. Sacrifice, prayer, and rituals were all equally significant, and the superiority of the gods and the fates above humans was a standard of society. The gods were sacred deities to whom one had to bestow honor and respect. Within the society, honor, glory, and fame were desperately sought by warriors striving to achieve enduring notoriety. One's word represented a considerable commitment to be acted upon. Religion and ethics are prominently displayed in the characters throughout The Iliad due to their importance in Greek and Trojan society.
”Athena, that he would lead the Trojans to victory against the Greeks and lay Greece in ruins”(Hamilton 255).This shows how Paris would have lead the Trojans to win the war.It also states “ she is a fierce and ruthless battle-goddess,”(Hamilton 24).This shows how Athena would help Paris with the war.
In the Odyssey, the gods play a significant role in the fate of the mortals for Odysseus to find his family after fighting at Troy, and his long journey home. There was belief in destiny by not just Odysseus, but the gods in the story too, and in the story, they are able to change the destiny of a human. Odysseus’ journey from Troy back home to Ithaca was remarkably longer than planned, due to many antagonists this took 10 years, but relying on fate and love got him through this voyage.
This is mainly because the Gods are closely connected to the idea of destiny. After Aeneas destroys the town of Troy, he leads the survivors in search of a new town in Italy. Aeneas and his crew of men are seen travelling from Troy across the Mediterranean Sea to Italy by Juno. She absolutely hates the Trojans because she is holding onto a grudge from a past beauty contest. Paris, a Trojan prince, picked Venus over her and another goddess, Minerva. Because of this outcome, it forces Venus and Minerva to choose the Greeks’ side during the Trojan War. The Trojans are supposedly bound to become the Romans, who eventually end up destroying Carthage which is Juno’s favorite city. She ends up scheming with the god of winds and together they send a brutal storm. This windstorm forces the Trojans to take refuge in the town of Carthage. In the town, Aeneas meets Dido, who recently lost her husband. With the help of gods and goddesses, the two fall in love. The soldiers end up settling in with Aeneas in Carthage. While all of this is happening, Jupiter starts to get worried that Aeneas is losing his sight on going to found a new city in Rome. Mercury is sent by Jupiter to Earth to tell him that he needs to get moving on the quest, and so Aeneas and his men take off. After he leaves, Dido ends up killing herself. When
In Stanley Lombardo’s translation of Homer’s ancient Greek epic Iliad, the gods and goddesses intervene in the Trojan war and make a difference in the outcome of events, such as breaking the truce between the Trojans and the Greeks, providing distractions for the Greeks’ advantage by using the art of seduction, and deceiving the enemy by disguise. Throughout the entirety of Homer’s Iliad, Hera and Athena create an influence in their favored sides’ lives by their actions and words. From the beginnings of the Trojan War to the end, Hera and Athena’s intentions to destroy the Trojans are evident as they help their follower’s win the war by recruiting Poseidon, who encourages the Greeks they will be victorious. The two go as far as to betray one
The war originated from a quarrel between the goddesses Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite over a golden apple. Zeus ordered Hermes to lead the three goddesses to Paris, the prince of Troy. He had a prophecy that he would be the downfall of troy. Paris could not decide which goddess to choose so the goddesses tried to bribe him. Athena offered him wisdom, skill, and ability. Hera offered him political power and Asia. Aphrodite offered him love and Helen. Aphrodite made Helen, one of the most beautiful women fall in love with Paris who took her to
Eris initiated the fight with Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite, which started the Trojan War. She asked who was more beautiful. Paris was the judge, and each goddess offered him a bribed. Hera offered him a kingship, Aphrodite offered marriage to Helen, and Athena offered him victory in war. Helen was the most beautiful women, so he chose Aphrodite. This decision started the Trojan War. Hera and Athena was on the side with the Greeks, and Aphrodite on the Trojans. Ares was Athena’s half-brother. They were war gods, but Ares was more violent while Athena involved skills over violence. They were sworn enemies because they both fought during the Trojan War, Athena with the Greeks, and Ares with the Trojans. While in battle, Athena wounded him. Ares
By the ethical standards proposed in the modern day society (Hume and Schopenhaeur believe that it is a fundamental mistake to conceive ethics and morality as forms of law) through human rights groups and even, idealistically, human nature, the treatment of mortals by the immortal gods and goddesses in the Iliad is unethical and wrong despite the “helping” of Achilles by Athene or Hector by Apollo. The gods are perpetrators in the waging of war against their male/female counterpart deities- their mortal counterparts merely fighting for them by proxy. The behaviour of the gods cannot be condoned as ethical even in context of the Homeric ages- their behaviour is depicted by Homer as amoral and uncaring. Plato developed religion in the true sense of the word, as a consequence of behaviour not in accordance with the human soul. As mentioned, the gods do not perform a perfunctory role of “gods” with religious hindsight. However, religion is “morality touched by emotion” (Matthew Arnold) and with no standards set for behaviour by the immortal beings the characters within the Iliad, mortal or immortal cannot be expected to indulge in ethical behaviour.
Every culture and religion has their own gods and believes. We can compare these beliefs with The Illiad and the Bible. We can notice those differences in the character and functionality of the gods. Also with the way humans are connected with them. In The Illiad gods were daily presence in the warrior’s life. The gods had already their destiny planned. For example, when Patroclus died. It was his destiny to die, in his last breath he told Hector: “Hector! Now is your time to glory to the skies … now the victory is yours” Book 16 (Lines 986-987). This is an example of how the gods control the life of the warriors, we can see all the power they have in them. One of the main themes of the book was pride and honor. Those things can be achieved
Religion was deeply intertwined the culture of the ancient Greeks. In their stories, they prayed to the gods to satisfy their needs and offer assistance in their endeavors, and the gods would occasionally appear to select Greeks to give counsel, gifts, or other forms of aid. Alternatively, if the desires or endeavors of a mortal or mortals displeased one or more of the gods, they would also interfere with the fulfillment of their goals. In Homer’s Odyssey, the gods appear to or interfere with both Telemachus and Odysseus, either to help or hinder them in their journeys. Although the gods are responsible the difficulty Odysseus faces returning from Troy, they are equally responsible for motivating and assisting Odysseus and Telemachus in their respective travels. If not for divine interference, neither Odysseus nor Telemachus would have journeys to make.
According to Greek mythology, the reason the Greeks went to war with the trojans was to rescue Helen, who was married to a Greek king. Helen was kidnapped by Paris of Troy. Helen was given to Paris as a reward by the goddess Aphrodite, who Paris chose as the "fairest goddess" of all. Check out the link below. It tells the tale of the "Judgement of Paris", which causes the Trojan War.
The suspected start of the war- over the abduction of Helen, Queen of Sparta- was caused entirely by a godly conflict over who was the most beautiful- Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Paris, son of King Priam of Troy, was selected to judge. He chose Aphro...
After Paris, a Trojan, judged Aphrodite the fairest over Hera, and, after her daughter Hebe was replaced as cupbearer to the gods by a young Trojan boy, she was quite resentful towards Troy and its people. Obviously, she sided with the Greeks and would stop at nothing to express her will. Scheming and manipulating, she even dared to trick her husband, King of the Gods. Hera, along with Athena, who was also passed over by Paris, is seen as the chief divine aid to the Greeks.
It is the underlying theme in works of Greek literature. Mortals became tools of the gods when convenient. The affairs of men were not always at the will of the gods however, in certain instances, the agenda of the gods permitted involvement in the human domain. By mating with mortals, the Olympian gods could produce children who be loyal to themselves and would be stronger and better than ordinary mortals. Hemitheoi, or demi-gods, were the fourth generation of humankind; the heroes of myth, the ones who fought at Troy or killed immortal beasts in order to save another (Zaidman 25). Homer’s epic the Iliad describes the last two weeks of the ten-year battle between the Trojans and the Greeks that has become known historically as the Trojan War. While the poem primarily focuses on the conflict between Achilles and Agamemnon, the use of several Greek gods displaced the purity of the war involvements change the pace of the battle. The story of the Trojan War begins with the story of the apple of discord, the Golden Apple. Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite each believed that they deserved this apple, by virtue of being the most beautiful. Since the goddess could not decide among themselves and Zeus was not willing to suffer the wrath of the females in his family, the goddess appealed to Paris, Prince of Troy. When asked to judge