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Power Of The Gods In Iliad And The Odyssey

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To control a multitude physically, mentally, and emotionally requires power. Power can make others fear an individual. Based on the oxford’s dictionary, power is the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events. During ancient times, mortals believed in multiple gods indicating they were polytheistic, which their basis of living was under the perception that mortals had to please and satisfy the gods desires. By comparing and contrasting the power of the gods in both novels being a weapon or downfall in both “Iliad” and “The Odyssey”. This essay will exemplify how similar the intervention of the gods can affect the mortals’ destiny and change the results of events. The difference in how the gods …show more content…

Athena the goddess of wisdom exemplifies how gods intervene in mortals battles and change their actions. Achilles reminds Agamemnon that he has all the prizes of the battle up to the present. Soon Agamemnon agrees to give Chrysies back, but demands another woman as compensation and chooses the girl of Achilles, and takes Briseis. Then Achilles calls him shameless and greedy but Agamemnon responds saying he doesn't need Achilles. This announcement makes Achilles even angrier and he is on the point of drawing his sword to kill Agamemnon and telling Athena "I tell you this, and so help me it's the truth--he'll soon pay for his arrogance with his life!"32 The goddess Hera sends Athena at this point to stop him because Athena as a symbol of reason always controls the anger of Achilles. Athena prevents him from losing his temper and promises him greater glory. Achilles stops killing Agamemnon but pulls his whole army out of the war. If Athena had not intervened at this point, the entire plot would have been changed; without Agamemnon there will be no war and without Achilles there will be no hero and rage, thus the intervention of the gods greatly affects the plot of the epic. In addition, he prays to his mother, the goddess Thetis, to beg Zeus to avenge his dishonor by supporting the Trojans against Achaean forces. Thetis convinces Zeus to take the side of the

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I define power as the means to be in total control over anything that can and will happen from anywhere. In the Odyssey, power arises through the relationships between gods, mortals, and creatures, depending on their adherence to the laws of Xenia. The three following relationships that reflect power in the Odyssey and how they arise through Xenia are the goddess's imprisoned soon-to-be husband, escape plan one eye, and father-son blood slaughter. The first of these relationships is what I nicknamed "Father-Son Blood Slaughter,", in which Odysseus and Telemchaus bring down the karma from Odysseus and Telemchaus to the insulting suitors.

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Athena is a major character throughout the book of The Odyssey and is known as the goddess of wisdom and battle. Throughout the course of the book, it is evident that Athena has a weak spot for the main character, Odysseus. Odysseus is trying to return home after the Trojan War, as the other Greek hero’s have already done, however he faces multiple challenges a long the way. Fortunately, for Odysseus, Athena was there to guide him through a few of these troubling situations.

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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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It is so deeply rooted that it encompasses Achilles, becoming a characteristic of this great warrior, influencing his actions and chooses throughout the story, such as leaving the fighting and considering the idea to return to Pythia. The depth of Achilles rage and hatred is demonstrated through in his response to Agamemnon, concerning the gifts he offered as compensation for his wrongs, saying that “not if his gifts outnumbered all the grains of sand and dust in the earth, no not even then could Agamemnon bring my fighting spirit round” (9.470-472). The true rage of Achilles is extremely important to the entire story of The Iliad, as from Book One through Book Nine Achilles allows this rage to control his actions, causing him to Achilles remains absent from the fighting as well as causing him to pray to Zeus that Trojans may receive the upper hand in the fighting so that the Greeks may suffer for Agamemnon’s actions. Therefore, this profound rage is an extremely important aspect of The Iliad, as it ultimately effects not only Achilles actions but also course of the

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Athena is known as the goddess of war. Odysseus was aided by her ideas on how to regain power through her tactical skills. The fact that the goddess warrior was on his side through the journey home, reclaiming his land, and killing the suitors was a huge advantage. Athena is very intelligent in how she strategizes and won wars in the past. Some may argue that Odysseus is the real hero but there were many times throughout The Odyssey where he needed Athena’s protection and input of logical ideas.

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Here, Odysseus tells Athena that she is all he has left and through her immortal powers, she is the only god still on his side who can help him in his time of need. Therefore, through Athena’s encouraging words, she is able to make Odysseus feel uplifted and more useful, especially as Odysseus is, at this point, very hopeless and miserably

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Achilles is maddened and appeals to his goddess mother saying, “If I am to die soon, shouldn’t I have what I want?” Feeling only sorrow for her son, Thetis requests Zeus to cause to Greeks to lose until Achilles fights again. Slowly the Greeks are pushed back farther and Agamemnon pleads with Achilles, offering Briseis back. Achilles declines due to his pride and the Trojans come close to burn the Greek ships. Even when a ship was burning, Achilles refused to fight and instead sends out Patroclus.

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