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Mortals And Gods In The Odyssey

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The Relationship Between Gods and Mortals

Throughout Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad there is seen a play between the gods and mortals as they all take sides throughout the Trojan War and the homecoming of Odysseus. There is a role the gods play in how the Trojan War ends and while they can hinder fate, it is ultimately unavoidable and will happen. It is also seen that both the Greeks and the Trojans worship the many gods of the divinity of Jupiter and look to them for guidance in unexpected or dangerous situation. They pray and sacrifice to them in the hope their prayers are answered, much like done today with monotheistic religion of Christianity. The relationship between gods and mortals is one of fatherly love to his children.

Throughout both stories we see Zeus, the King of the gods, one especially of a father figure to the mortals as he pities Odysseus for his hardship of trying to get home to Ithaca to his wife, Penelope, and son Telemachus, but is trapped by the sea nymph, Calypso and urges Athena to help him despite there would be opposition by the sea god, …show more content…

The ancients trusted their wisdom in making decisions during untimely situations and their strength and protection in times of war. The gods are not perfect, like any father, as they have their human qualities and were portrayed as the humans themselves by the authors of these myths to help show how the people interacted with each other and how they thought. Much like today in the Christian faith how God is looked to for guidance, protection, and strength. The difference is God is perfect and divine and will not make a mistake in his plan for our salvation. He is the ultimate father for us all and even sacrificed his only son , Jesus Christ, to become an infant with all the human qualities, except sin, and die on a cross to pay our debt for our sins, which is the ultimate sign of His fatherly love for us

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In both pieces of text, The Odyssey and Cinderella. A divine intervention shows that both characters are important to beings of higher power. A divine intervention is present in The Odyssey when Athena helps Odysseus. “The story of Odysseus begins with the goddess Athena appealing to Zeus to help Odysseus” (Homer 1204). The main purpose of this archetype is to show that Odysseus is important and special.

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As we read the Odyssey by Homer we have learned that gods and goddess were an important part of the lives of the people in ancient Greek. The people had an admiration for the gods. They would pray, ask for help in any kind of situation, and do sacrifices for them. We can also say that the gods are like a parental figure to the people in the Odyssey; if the people respected and obey them they would not get in trouble and sometimes get rewarded, but if they disrespected and disobey them chances are that they would get punished. In the Odyssey, we see that Odysseus, the main character, is the enemy of a powerful god.

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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.

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The Multiple Layers of Myths In ancient times, civilization would rely on myths passed down from generation to generation for entertainment, which eventually affects their everyday lives in one way or another. The Odyssey, translated by Robert Fitzgerald from Homer, is an epic poem illustrating the journey Odysseus took on his way home. On the other hand, Mythology, a book written by Edith Hamilton, describes the different perspectives Romans and Greeks have of mythological creatures, gods, and heroes. Common themes shared between both are: Actions are weighted by benefits of consequences, Fate is already written in one’s actions, and Betrayal can be the key to one’s downfall.

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Our group learned about God and Humanity’s relationship by reading and presenting on The Odyssey. I noticed that in the book The Odyssey that the gods either had a good relationship with the mortals and tried to help them or the gods had a bad relationship with the morals and tried to hurt and kill them. The parts about group work that were the most challenging were that some people were not doing the work they were supposed to do, so others did it for them on top of their own work. If I had to do it over again, I would have made, a to-do list for each person, to finish a day before the deadline, instead of only two people finishing it all the night before. Instead it was work

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713 Words | 3 Pages

When it comes to gods talking to humans we have always had two different ways in which they do so. One of them being like the God from The Hebrew Bible which only talks to people but never appears before them and the other being the gods from both The Iliad and The Odyssey which actually appear and speak to them. However, a god that not only speaks to their subjects but also appears before them should be one that is taken more seriously, but this is not always the case as we see in Homer’s poems. In book one of The Odyssey, Zeus mentions how mortals are always blaming them for all their trouble even though they try to help them avoid them.

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The Greeks believed that their gods were in total control of their lives and the greeks believed that the gods would harshly punish their wrong doings (Gods and Men in Greek Religion). Since the Greeks believed that their gods were so much stronger than them they highly respected their gods. The way that the Greeks respected their gods is seen in Oedipus. From the beginning of the play the people of Thebes can feel the wrath of the gods through their bad harvests, their dying crops, and the death of the people. They want to know why the gods are upset so they go to Oedipus who tells Creon to go to the all powerful god, Apollo (Sophocles 5-7).

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The gods in The Iliad often take an ongoing interest in the lives of mortals. At times the gods take the form of mortals, prompting them toward a specific action or supplying them with the power to push back enemies. At other times, the role of the gods appears as metaphorical, explaining changes in the moods of men; the gods of the Iliad also sometimes act directly. The fight between Achaea and Troy is also a spur between different groups of gods in conflict. For example; Hera, Athena, and Poseidon support the cause of the Achaeans, while Aphrodite, Ares, and Apollo assist the Trojans.

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The True Nature of Men and Gods in the Iliad Throughout Homer’s Iliad, the gods are recognized for their power over the fate of men and their superiority as a result of their immortality. However, throughout the text, through the depiction of men as godlike and gods as anthropomorphic, Homer proves that gods and men are more alike than they may seem, and although the gods consider themselves superior, they are just as flawed as men. The gods serve as a model for humanity in their hierarchical structure and conflicts, and their pursuit of glory above all else.

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Cheolmin Im GSI: David Wheeler Classics 10A Ontological Interpretation of Mortals and Gods in Iliad In this paper, I will ontologically examine the remarkable encounter between Helen and Aphrodite in Bk 3 of Homer’s Iliad, and investigate the interpretation’s ramifications of roles of gods in Homeric societies. I will argue that Aphrodite is synonymous to a particular “mood” that Helen must achieve “attunement” within the specific encounter, and expand the argument to suggest all gods being equivalent to moods that demand mortals’ attunement.

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1056 Words | 5 Pages

In Book 5, when all of the gods, except for Poseidon, discuss the fate of Odysseus, Athena fights for Odysseus to get her father, Zeus, to intervene and give aid to Odysseus. Athena says to Zeus, “Not one of the people whom he ruled remembers Odysseus nom that godlike man… Now he’s left to pine on an island, racked with grief” (5.12-14). Athena’s use of words such as “he’s left to pine on an island, racked with grief” shows the use of Flattery towards Zeus to feel pity for Odysseus. By getting Zeus to feel pity, this strategy encourages him to favor Odysseus because of Odysseus’ situation.

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The gods are beings capable of bringing misfortune or greatness which is why mortals tend to perform sacrifices in honor of the gods due

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They are allowed to interfere with humans in certain ways to certain extents, they have rules, and by punishing/rewarding humans, they create an order of morals/hierarchy so they serve a purpose as well. This presentation of the gods reveals that the Greeks see them as powerful, smarter, and "magically" significant beings. I think that the story shows that they see the Gods to be like us, but with power and authority.

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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.

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Poseidon, Apollo, Athena, Zeus, and Hermes are all Greek Gods that appear in the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer. These gods all play a significant role in The Odyssey by both helping and hindering Odysseus on his 10-year journey home. Homer illustrates the theme of divine intervention in The Odyssey using Poseidon’s wrath, Athena’s providence, and Hermes’ guidance. Poseidon is one of the main gods that appears throughout The Odyssey, Homer shows Poseidon's divine intervention through his wrath on Odysseus during his journey home.

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