Earthquakes In The Odyssey

A long time ago when the ground starts to shake, the ocean ate up the coasts, and a dusty vortex sucks up cows, it meant the gods are mad. The ancient Greeks had a way of explaining the cause of many known natural disasters such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, etc. Whenever a natural disaster occurs someone somewhere did something to get the gods mad even though no one knew the real cause is the ancient Greek's mentality. Coming back into reality, science says otherwise. We can make conclusions about the cause, effect, and origin of any natural disaster before it happens due to an advancement in modern-day technology. In Homer's great poem, The Odyssey, portrays many natural phenomena through the story of a great warrior who endeavors

The ancient Greeks explained a tsunami as a way the Gods would exert their hate towards them. “the boom of a heavy surf on jagged reefs— roaring breakers crashing down on an ironbound coast, exploding in fury” (Homer 90). Poseidon is the God of the sea and everything in it. Odysseus blinded Poseidon’s son, Polyphemus who vows revenge on Odysseus. Polyphemus informs his father who claims vengeance upon the loss of his son’s only eye. Poseidon kicks up a tsunami in the middle of the ocean that pound Odysseus, but are only strong enough to leave him on the verge of death. Modern-day science has provided another reason for this great force of nature. “a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water” (NASA 1). A subduction in the Earth’s crust is basically one of the plates is sinking under another plate. This causes a major disruption in the water leading to tsunamis we see today. Technology allows us to find the origin of the tsunami and which plates are moving below the ocean. It also allows us to figure out the total duration of the tsunami and raise in water level. When a ship goes down in the middle of the ocean suddenly there are two interpretations