Role Of Greek Gods In The Odyssey

Masters or Children? Greek mythology is always a major part of the Greek culture. These myths gave birth to numerous art works and countless stories. The Odyssey which is one among all these tales is also deeply influenced by the Greek culture. Since the book originated from that ancient time period, it tells a lot about this ancient civilization. In The Odyssey, Odysseus went through countless trials on his journey home. He received multiple helps as well as challenges from both the immortals and mortals. However, the mortals are like servants of the immortals. Throughout the book, the people sacrifice tributes, worship, and pray to the gods, in return, the gods grant people power and fulfill their desires based on the gods’ mood. The gods

Though these ancient civilizations had very different religious, they did share one common thing. The role of religious/gods played a big role in their histories and culture, including the Greeks. In most religious, the existence of gods is to give an explanation of the world they lived in. There are gods that control nature, life, or even death. This idea of the god’s role is being emphasized in The Odyssey. For example, in Book 3 Line 56, Nestor said, “‘All men need the gods.’”. This demonstrates how god isn’t just an interpretation to nature but also play a spiritual role in the people’s heart. Knowing that the gods are explanations to the natural thing such as wind or rain, we can tell that the gods are very important to the people like how importance earth is to

The Greeks worship and sacrifice thing to the gods, while fearing them. For example, Eumaeus said, “‘Never for that will I respect you, treat you kindly; no, it’s my fear of Zeus, the god of guests, and because I pity you.’”(Book 13 line 439~441). This demonstrates that not only the gods set some rules of the society, they also have people to follow these rules through fear. Those that don’t follow the rules might have to face the wrath of the gods. People worship the gods while hold fear toward them. This sounds kind of contradictory because in some religious, gods are holy and powerful, but not something they are afraid of such as Jesus or Buddha. Nevertheless, it is understandable that people are being afraid of the gods. These gods can be as merciless and capricious as some slave owners. For example, in Book 13 line 181 to 212, Poseidon punished the Phaeacians for aiding or hosting Odysseus after receiving the permission and support from Zeus, “‘If any man ... pays you no respect—just pay them back. The power is always yours. Do what you like. Whatever warms your heart.’”(Book 13 line 163~166). This shows how little care they have toward the mortals. Zeus who was believed to “guards all guests and suppliants,” actually go against what he is known for and support Poseidon to punish the Phaeacians for being a good host. This also shows how childish the