Religion was deeply intertwined in the culture of the Ancient Greeks. They prayed to their gods, hoping the gods would satisfy their needs and offer assistance in their endeavors. Occasionally the gods would appear to select mortals to give them counsel or assistance. However, if the desires or endeavours of a mortal displeased one or more of the gods, they would also interfere in their success. The Ancient Greeks are a very religious people who strongly believe in their gods to the extent that they believed that the gods would interfere in their day-to-day living. Due to their strong belief in their gods, the Ancient Greeks had a relationship with the gods that gave them utmost respect and reverence. Homer illustrates these ideals in his epic poem, The Odyssey.
In the Odyssey there is a distinct relationship that is shared between the mortals and the Gods. In the link with Christian faith, the Gods in the Odyssey are physically present. The Gods help, lend assistance, support and mentor the mortals. They can be ‘compared to that of a guardian angel’ (FORP). In comparison, the gods have their favourites which my result in the negativity towards a mortal from a particular God. As so the mortals are at the mercy of Gods. Majority of the time the mortals benefit greatly from the Gods and can be seen to transform for the better.
Of all of the events that occurred, the gods were not pleased. After the bull was killed and the cedar trees were cut, Enkidu had to be seen by the gods in council. Thus, the decision that Enkidu must die because of these acts was established. (53) The death of his friend is unreal to Gilgamesh. Thorkild Jacobsen points out that “…it touches him in all its stark reality, and Gilgamesh refuses to believe it.” (Thorkild Jacobsen, “And Death The Journey’s End,” 191)
In The Odyssey, the hierarchical relationship between both gods and humans is a key aspect in the overarching unity that is the epic. These can both be in contrast with each other and it can been seen that there are similarities between the types of people we meet in The Odyssey as well as the gods we meet also. Homer uses this theme and system of hierarchy to effectively display aspects of his worlds though The Odyssey. The main features that help prove this point are: that society within The Odyssey is hierarchical, the upper class and the servants (with equivalent gods) are focussed on, (Hierarchy of Greek Gods, 2015) and finally, the gods parallel their respective opposites on earth. These features help to show Homers world of The Odyssey.
The relationships between deities and humanity change for each culture. The Akkadians in the story Gilgamesh saw the gods as independent forces, all working towards their own personal gain. People worshipped the gods separately, depending on the momentary needs. When Gilgamesh was
Gilgamesh’s fear of death than leads him to go on a quest in search of immortality. Along the way Gilgamesh runs into Enkidu who was created to end Gilgamesh’s reign, but instead Gilgamesh and Enkidu begin to fight and some how a start of a new friendship emerges. “Gilgamesh and Enid have a furious and prolonged wrestling match but emerge from the contest as friends.” (Gilgamesh, 205) Enkidu Accompanies Gilgamesh on his quest in search of immortality but instead ponders off to slay an innocent servant, referred to as Humbaba, although Humbaba begged for his life. Gilgamesh and Enkidu still take his life, angering the gods. Ishter the goddess than falls in love with Gilgamesh but he rudely insults her making her rage with anger. “Ishter ask her father for Amu to make the Bull of Heaven, to destroy Gilgamesh and Enkidu. Gilgamesh and Enkidu kill the Bull of Heaven, and throws the thighbone of the Bull in Ishter’s face, a terrible form of disrespect.” Gilgamesh has no compassion nor does he have sympathy or respect, killing off spiritual servants and disrespecting the gods. The Actions of Gilgamesh and Enkidu Angered the god terribly. Enid was created to stop Gilgamesh but instead made the situation messier than it need to be, therefore the gods punish him with dead. “Ana, Enlil, Es and heavenly Shamash took counsel together, and Anu said to Enlil, ‘Because they have killed the Bull of Heaven, and because
Poseidon, the god of the sea, is angered by the death of his son, the Cyclops. When Odysseus and his crew stopped off at the Cyclopes island on their way home from war, the cyclops, Polyphemus, begins terrorizing Odysseus’ men. Odysseus blinded him and boasted about the event. He sends storms against Odysseus and tries to wreak his ship in Book 5. While shipwrecked at sea, on a raft – which was aided by Athena – Poseidon sends another storm, washing Odysseus up on shore. Eventually, Odysseus is on another ship gifted to him by the Phaeacians, Poseidon turns the ship to stone and sinks while pulling into the harbor at Scheria. The idea that “a bad storm” can affect a well-trained
Gilgamesh the king is a myth beholding various heroic traits shared in multiple other stories and myths for that fact. Towards the beginning of Gilgamesh’s myth, he chooses to conquer the beast of the jungle, Humbaba, and sets himself the goal to do so. Heroes must have a goal or else there is nothing for that hero to accomplish, and create a story of. However, once Gilgamesh accomplished his goal of defeating the terrifying Humbaba, he experiences a greater loss than the hero ever imagined possible, the loss of his best friend Enkidu. Although, once Gilgamesh realized what he had done was certainly the wrong choice of action, he devoted all of his time and effort into reviving his friend. On his journey for the search of eternal life, hero Gilgamesh essentially “descends into darkness” both mentally and literally while he enters the underworld to obtain his desire. Here Gilgamesh realizes that what he did was selfish and wrong, and that he is also not the only person who is of value in his life. Subsequent to Enkidu’s death, Gilgamesh becomes aware that his decision to murder Humbaba was once again wrong and resulted in his own depression and loss. Throughout the duration of a myth, the hero mu...
Many Greek gods were seen as both benefactors and tormentors, typically it depends on which god or goddess you are researching about. The seemingly contradictory behavior of the gods, acting as both benefactors and tormentors of man, can readily be explained when viewed in light of the prime directive for man, to worship the gods and not “overstep,” and the ensuing “Deus ex Mahina” which served to coerce man to fulfill his destiny as evidenced by the myths: “Pandora,” “Arachne, and “Odysseus.” Humankind and it’s range of vision over the gods beauty and power portrayed them to be benefactors but unseemingly it depicted their affliction towards humans.
God and Human Interaction in Greek Mythology
The gods and humans in greek mythology interact in a variety of ways. The Gods can either show themselves as God’s or transform into anything they choose. Although the God’s and humans interact very closely, the amount of power between them is undeniable. Even though the God’s never kill any humans, they can cause a lot of harm to them.