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The Odyssey relationship between gods and mortals
What is the role of gods in the odyssey
The Odyssey relationship between gods and mortals
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Importance of the Gods in Homer's Odyssey In Ancient Greek Culture, there were countless gods. They ranged from all mighty Zeus, king of the gods, to Eris, Goddess of discord, and Dionysos God of wine and revelry. Some Gods and Goddesses, like Zeus and Athena, favored Odysseus and Telemachius, helping them on their journey. While others, like Poseidon, gave them serious trouble along the way. The causes of some of these feelings towards the protagonist may be clear, but others aren't so clear. But if one looks closely at the personalities and other characteristics of the gods and goddesses, their reasoning becomes more apparent. The Gods played an important part in everyday Greek society. They controlled everything. Ilithyia was in charge of birth. The God Mors was in charge of death. Along with Mors, were the Fates. Clotho would spin the string of life, Lachesis would measure it, and Atropos would cut it and the person would die. In The Odyssey, the gods had great influence over the characters. Athena would provide protection for Odyssey and Telemachus, preventing harm from befalling them. She also would provide them with assistance. She helped Odysseus out of many tough situations, including Odysseus' shipwreck. She also often helps Telemachus--as when she sends him off to Pylos and Sparta to earn a name for himself--but she has the most affection for Odysseus. Athena is confident, practical, clever, a master of disguises, and a great warrior, characteristics she finds reflected in Telemachus. Despite this, there are gods who try to harm Odysseus and Telemachus. Poseidon despises Odysseus for blinding his son, the Cyclops Polyphemus, and constantly hampers his journey home. He sends them violent storms during their sea voyage. Why the gods act the way they do, only they know. But in some cases, like Poseidon, they had good reason to. Odysseus blinded Poseidon's son, and even though Poseidon doesn't seem like the loving and affectionate type, he loved his son, and he had every right to be upset with Odysseus. Other gods may favor Odysseus because he is just a really good person. The Gods work in mysterious ways. They are in charge of everything, and they can be manipulate human behavior, but some humans, like Odysseus, can in turn, manipulate the Gods, causing them to favor them over others.
The Ways the Nazis Tried to Eliminate all Jews in Europe The Nazis used many methods to eliminate all the Jews in Europe from 1941 onwards. They used concentration camps, ghettos, death camps. Auschwitz Group (murder squads) and the Final Solution. The Final Solution was the plan to annihilate all the Jews out of Europe.
... in deceptiveness and similarity with her: “Two of a kind, we are, contrivers, both. Of all men now alive you are the best in plots and storytelling. My own fame is for wisdom among the gods-deceptions, too” (8. 379-383). It is as if though Athena represents these qualities heavenly, whereas Odysseus represents them on earth. Athena further exclaims to Odysseus, “Whoever gets around you must be sharp and guileful as a snake; even a god might bow to you in ways of dissimulation. You! You chameleon! Bottomless bag of tricks!” (8. 371-375). It is of no surprise that by Odysseus and Athena gathering forces and wit in this journey, nothing could stand in their way and Odysseus’s homecoming. Thousands of years later, the Odyssey stands proof to that.
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She later sparks a flame inside of Telemachus to embark on his journey to find his father. At the first destination Telemachus arrives at, Athena appears once again in the court of King Nestor. She appears in the form of an eagle to represent that she is beside Telemachus in his righteous journey to find his father. When hearing of her son’s departure, Penelope becomes extremely distraught. In an attempt to reassure and comfort her, Athena appears as a “glimmering phantom” and says these comforting words, “Take heart, and don’t be so afraid. The guide who goes with him is one many men pray for to stand at their side, a powerful ally- Pallas Athena. And she pities you in your grief, for it is she who sent me to tell you this” (Homer 342). There are many motivators for Athena in The Odyssey. Some could argue she relates with Penelope, and provides protection for her household throughout the years. Others may say she is enamored with Odysseus because of their relating character traits. Athena basically takes on the motherly role of watching over both Telemachus and Odysseus. She monitors both of the men’s journeys, and allows them to go through tribulations in order to grow emotionally and spiritually. Brian Lower a literature professor from Union College wrote,” Athena allows Odysseus to experience the storm, but not die. She knows that it will make him stronger for it. There is an
I’ve noticed that the characters tend to blame the gods for problems that occur in their life. The characters are not taking in to a count for the consequences of their own actions. The choices that are made can cause sorrow and pain to another. This can cause tension and fights between characters. It’s stated in the beginning of the book by the god Zeus how the humans blame the gods for their recklessness behavior. This tells me that the gods are not favored by the characters throughout this book. With the gods having higher power the characters think that they can control everything that happens. Telemachos blames the gods for his father’s disappearance. He is grieving in pain and he needs someone to blame for why Odysseus never came back.
At one point, when in conversation with his aquatances, Zeus, the king of the gods, groans how mortals seem aware of this instability in regards to their gods and goddesses when he says, “Ah how shameless—the way these mortals blame the gods. / From us alone, they say, come all their miseries, yes, / but they themselves with their own reckless ways, / compound their pains beyond their proper share” (Homer I.37-40). What he is suggesting is that the gods are not acting in aggressive (or for that matter benevolent) ways out of random desire—they are either provoked or evoked and react accordingly. Nonetheless, this means that for a character like Odysseus who invokes strong feeling among the gods, he is subject to the utmost goodness and at the same time, the most powerful
Have you ever wondered why Hitler treated the Jews so badly? I have and this is why I think he treated the as bad as he did.I think people treat others badly because of people being different.Hitler did not like the Jews because of their differences. This is like the brown eyes vs blue eyes experiment. They picked on each other because of their differences in eye color. With Hitler’s hate of Jews he used and blamed the Jews for their problems to help gain power. Another example is how African Americans were discriminated against because of the color of their skin.
In every journey the hero also has a mentor. In this story Athena, the gray-eyed goddess of wisdom, has taken on this role for both Odysseus and Telemachus. Athena was by Odysseus’ side as a guide for much of the beginning of his Journey. Athena also is a guide to Odysseus when he’s not even aware o...
...o all guests saved Odysseus and helped him return home to his wife, son, and kingdom. Even though people from many different kingdoms and islands took Odysseus in their home and showed him great kindness on his return home, the individual who helped him most was the goddess Athena. In many occasions Athena assisted Odysseus. One such example is when Odysseus was fighting of the suitors and they threw spears at him. "Re-forming, the suitors threw again with all their strength, but Athena turned their shots, or all but two (p 566)." Another instance which Athena aided Odysseus was when she disguised him as a beggar on his arrival to his homeland. "Would even you have guessed that I am Pallas Athena, daughter of Zeus, I that am always with you in times of trial, a shield to you in battle (p 444)." "Your goddess-guardian to the end in all your trials (p 539)."
In The Odysseus, thing are very different the gods, don’t interferes into the mortal affair, unless ask to. Such like when the Cyclopes invoke the wrath of his father Poseidon when he was blinded by Odysseus. Also the gods don’t see the mortals as pawns or pets. In fact the mortal have very little respect from the gods. (Many of Odysseus man being slay or the big bloodbath at the end when Odysseus return home.) Only if like by a god that a mortal have their respect. Athena never kill any of Odysseus love one, in other to motive him. Like Zeus did with Patroclus to provoke
In The Odyssey the gods are responsible for controlling many aspects of where the story goes, but the people still have to choose to go. The gods in The Odyssey are who held Odysseus captive for over eight years. They were responsible for his capture in the first place and then refused to let him go for almost a decade. When they finally decided he should be allowed to find his way home they made it known to his captor Kalypso. However Odysseus still had to choose to leave. Kalypso tried to keep him by offering immortality. "You would stay here, and guard this house, and be immortal" (Homer 267). Odysseus could have stayed but he chose to go. Some say that the gods knew Odysseus would not stay and that is why they decided to let him go.
In addition, to trying to kill Odysseus Poseidon also gets revenge in the people that helps Odysseus, like the Phaeacians. “But now I’ll crush that fine Phaeacian cutter out on the misty sea…They will learn at last to cease and desist from escorting every man alive…” (The Odyssey 291) The lesson that this relationship taught to Odysseus was to obey the gods and not disrespect them, but this lesson was not for Odysseus but for every other human that worships the gods. Poseidon felt like that Odysseus was trying to undermine him by thinking that he would have not done anything to protect his son. Also, when Odysseus did poke out Polyphemus eye Odysseus could have gotten away if he was not cocky and announced his name; and that probably angered Poseidon even more to have this mortal feel like he was more smart and savvy then the God of the Sea
“Gods can be evil sometimes.” In the play “Oedipus the King”, Sophocles defamed the gods’ reputation, and lowered their status by making them look harmful and evil. It is known that all gods should be perfect and infallible, and should represent justice and equity, but with Oedipus, the gods decided to destroy him and his family for no reason. It might be hard to believe that gods can have humanistic traits, but in fact they do. The gods, especially Apollo, are considered evil by the reader because they destroyed an innocent man’s life and his family. They destroyed Oedipus by controlling his fate, granting people the power of prophecy, telling Oedipus about his fate through the oracle of Apollo, and finally afflicting the people of Thebes with a dreadful plague. Fundamentally, by utilizing fate, prophecies, the oracle of Apollo, and the plague, the gods played a significant role in the destruction of Oedipus and his family.
Gods are were seen interacting with mortal on numerous occasions. When Athena goes to Telemachus and to provide information about his father. Later, Telemachus thought about dismissing all suitors because Athena advised him to do so. It was kind of a friendly relationship sometimes between gods and mortals in the Odyssey. On Telemachus journey, Athena provided a lot of confidence into the prince. It gave Telemachus a sense of hope that his father was still out there. When there is hope there is always a way and that is what Athena gave to to him. Another interaction is when Odyessy made Poseidon upset. Poseidon is one of the Gods who holds a grudge against a mortal and had a negative impact during the journey. Odysseus killed Polyphemus, that is why Poseidon left Odysseus on an island before his return home. The relationship between Gods and Humans are similar between humans and humans. The only thing that is different is that Gods have the powers and ability to do
The gods remind the mortals of their power over them through divine intervention, elevating the statuses of the gods and reinforcing their superiority. The gods are vengeful and unforgiving, and demonstrate that the mortals are completely at their mercy. Poseidon hinders Odysseus’s journey home because he “‘bears