Odysseus Being Helped By The Gods In The Odyssey In The Odyssey

Throughout The Odyssey, there is a reoccurring theme of either Odysseus being helped by the gods, or being punished by them. There are certain gods or goddesses that like Odysseus and want to see him get home, and there are some that want nothing less than to see Odysseus die at sea. Some gods have a major impact on his journey, while others have a minor impact, but Odysseus needed both in order for him to get home. We could argue that with all of the gods help, they were the ones who determined the course of events. However, even with all of the help he receives, he would not be able to get home without the skills that he had. Odysseus has skills and characteristics that most epic heroes had. Epic heroes had characteristics that are heroic,

Some gods had a more major impact, while other gods had a small influence on Odysseus. In multiple situations, we see gods that have to pull Odysseus from the fire and save him from whatever position that he is in. On separate occasions, we also get to see Poseidon do everything in his power to stop Odysseus from returning to Ithaca. He conjures up huge waves and storms, but this doesn’t seem to stop Odysseus. Athena had the biggest impact on Odysseus voyage. This all started with Athena begging her father to make Kalypso surrender Odysseus and let him leave. Athena is always watching Odysseus and she gives him advice along the way of his adventure. Even with all of the gods help, we cannot overlook all of the trials Odysseus had to go through by himself. He had to survive multiple creatures and monsters using intelligence and quick thinking. Many believe that the gods determine the course of events in this story given the fact that they help or hurt Odysseus on multiple occasions. However, I believe that humans, and more importantly, Odysseus, determine the course of events. Even with all of the gods help, Odysseus still had to face certain dangers on his own without the help of gods. Odysseus determined the course of events because he did not have to go home if he did not want to. He easily could have stayed with Kalypso for the rest of his life, but he had the desire to return to Ithaca and his family. In the Greek culture, the worst thing you could do was upset the gods. If you upset the gods, your fate became dark very fast. This is why the Greeks made offerings to the gods before every meal. Sometimes Odysseus thought he knew his fate when he was in extreme situations. It was times like when he was floating toward the island of the Phaiakians, he thought he was going to die. But it was during these tough times, when Odysseus fought the hardest to get