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Role of the gods on greek myth
Importance of Greek mythology
Role of the gods on greek myth
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More handpicked essays just for you.
Role of the gods on greek myth
Importance of Greek mythology
Role of the gods on greek myth
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It is also crucial to Telemakhos’s actions because Athena persuades Telemakhos to seek knowledge of his father. He gathers a ship and a crew and then proceeds to leave without telling his mother of his journey. 3 It reflects a passage I annotated, “’But never in this world is Odysseus dead’” (Homer 7) which is spoken by Athena. It is extremely important because it
Telemachus could not grow into this type of leader in his current mindset. Through Telemechus' relationship with Athena, the goddess of wisdom, Telemachus received the necessary boost of confidence which sparked his personal growth of making it his Odyssey. Athena told Telemachus that he "[had] to stop acting like a child [and had] outgrown [this immature behavior]" (1.313-314). Athena's wise words had a significant impact that set in motion Telemachus' journey to leadership. Telemachus was moved by what Athena said and realized that "[his] father is not coming home" (1.435).
The goddess Athena helps Telemachus obtain power in his house which is ruled by suitors trying to marry his mother. She then helps him set sail on a journey to foreign lands to question people about his father. One factor these two books have in common is both Athena and Maudie Atkinson act as a mentor to their pupils Telemachus and Scout.
“Son of Laertes and the gods of old, Odysseus, master of landways and seaways, dissemble to your son no longer now. The time has come…” ( Fitzgerald 994). Athena comes to Odysseus once he was in front of Telemachus. Only Odysseus could see her, gods and goddesses can choose whom can see them.
When Athena persuades Telemachus to muster up the courage to stand up against the suitors, she contrasts him with Agamemnon’s son, Orestes. She advises Telemachus to stop “‘cling[ing] to [his] boyhood any longer’” and man up to tell off his mother's suitors for being so ill-mannered (1.341). Yet, she describes Orestes’ killing of Aegisthus and tells Telemachus that he earned glory “‘throughout the world’” from defending himself against his father’s killer (1.343). Athena’s comparison between Telemachus and Orestes implies that she cares enough about Telemachus to compare him to someone who wanted justice for his father. Her choice to contrast him with Orestes also conveys that she cares about Odysseus and Telemachus finding him.
In Ancient Greece, any stranger visiting could be a god in disguise, so they need to be shown the best hospitality possible. Athena advocated for Odysseus to be freed from Calypso’s island, telling Zeus that her, “heart breaks for Odysseus.” Additionally, Athena, in disguise, provides advice to Odysseus, telling him not to tell Penelope every detail of his journey and transforms Odysseus into an old beggar. Athena helps Telemachus emotionally mature as Mentes. She tells him, “Why any man of sense who changed among them would be outraged.”
Throughout the story of Odysseus’s journey told by Homer, there are many defining examples of interaction between humans and their gods. The gods primarily interact with humans by either siding with or against them. The gods would often side with humans since they wanted to help them such as Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, helping Telemachus, Odysseus’s son, whereas the gods seeking revenge such as Poseidon, who sought revenge on Odysseus for slaying his son Polyphemus, would turn against them. While actual interaction between gods and humans seems to be a rather risible idea, there was much guidance given to humans by the gods throughout the Odyssey.
Before Athena appearing as a Mentor, Homer shows Telémakhos as a shy boy who is having difficulties to live up to his father’s legendary reputation. He is shown as detached, lost and confused. Rather than taking an action, Telémakhos kept on complaining about the suitors’ manipulation of Xenia. In order to reach manhood, Athena calls him to action through making him undergo a journey. This journey, through Homer’s words, is not only meant to pave the way for him to mature by the time Odysseus is back, but also to save him from the suitor’s plot to kill him.
Athena alters Odysseus and Telemachus’ physical appearances several times. For example, in the beginning of the book, Athena “lavished a marvelous splendor on [Telemachus].” Presumably, this change is so that he might gain respect from the elders in the council. Athena’s altering of appearances often fools the vast crowd.
She instructs him to “sail in quest of news of your long-lost father.” (86). Using her disguise, Athena reaches Telemachus and offers him wisdom. Telemachus takes this advice to heart and sets out to find his father. By offering this information about Odysseus, Athena inspires Telemachus.
Homers complex writing is devoted to the extend he gives on the perspective into the Greek underworld, stories in which were prevailing in the Greek society. The numerous conditions of the reality of the afterlife are deeply described rather than the setting of the underworld. The underworld is described as the House of Hades which is where your death and inevitable fate lies. It is signified in The Odyssey Book XI, concretely in the scenes of Odysseus mother’s death in the Cimmerians, the Greek culture expresses a depressing but inevitable view of death as a complete dichotomy of the fate but shows the indication of more than just one afterlife.
Before Athena presented herself to Telemachus, he was not seen as a man and was not treated with respect (Lombardo 4). Unlike in Epic of Gilgamesh, Athena was more of a mentor than a direct influence on Telemachus. She gave him advice that would later enable him to become a warrior (Lombardo 9). She tells Telemachus it is his duty to rid his house of the suitors, and become a man (Lombardo 10). She continues by saying that he must kill the suitors if his father does not come back, once again pushing him on the path of becoming a warrior (Lombardo 9).
In Homer’s Odyssey, gods and other supernatural beings dominated every aspect of mortal life. All living things and phenomena that occur in the world can be traced back to the gods. Seeing as how gods are responsible for the lives of mortals and the state of the natural world, performing deeds that anger the gods would prove to be disastrous while performing deeds that please the gods would prove to be beneficial. Odysseus’ journey back to Ithaca after the Trojan War was took ten years due to angering gods like Poseidon and Helios. However, it was through Athena’s aid that he was able to make it back home.
The Odyssey, gods like Athena and Poseidon interfere with humans to satisfy their own desires, showing that they are just as imperfect and flawed as the mortals that they rule over. Athena favors Odysseus since he reminds her of herself. He portrays the same cunning, guile, and intelligence as she does; Athena had confided to him that “two of a kind, we are, contrivers, both,” comparing how similar they are. “Of all men now alive,” she says, “you are the best in plots and story telling.
The conversation between Athena and Odysseus in the middle of book 13 reveals how each of them feels and thinks about the other at this stage in the epic. When Athena is first coming to meet Odysseus, after he has landed on Ithaca, she decides not to appear as herself to Odysseus, but first as a “young man… a shepherd boy”, and she then changes back to herself (13.252). She does this to get an honest opinion from him, as if she had appeared as a god, he might not have been honest with her. She also wants to hear his story, and see if he is actually thinking about her. After he does not “recognize” her because of her “endless” shapes, she is angry with him and accuses him of “never getting tired of twists and tricks” (13.340,56,32).