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The Portrayal Of The Greek Gods In Homer's Odyssey

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The tale of the Land of the Cyclopes is a very prominent feature in Odysseus’ story. Here we really see our hero show his skills in a multitude of ways. Not only does Ody trick a demigod but he also blinds him. The crew of men our protagonist brought to the island believes that they should off Polyphemus in his sleep, but in that moment Odysseus shows a higher understanding of the world. The man know that if they killed the cyclops then, they would never escape the cave because they weren’t strong enough to move the boulder that blocked the way. Instead of killing the monster, Odysseus stabs him in the eye, making it much harder for it to eat or even find him and his men. This situation shows Ody’s strength (Physical stabbing), bravery (having the guts to stab him), and intelligence (not just murdering the monster when he was vulnerable). …show more content…

In The Odyssey, Homer portrays the Greek gods in many different ways. While some desire to be feared by humans (Poseidon), others prefer to help guide mortals that they find worthy on their own journeys(Athena and Calypso). They each have their own set of characteristics like other people in the story, but usually show some sort of majesty over the vast majority. Poseidon especially seems to show that conceited and overpowering nature that we tend to associate with “higher beings”. He acts more like a power hungry god than Athena who basically acts as Odysseus’

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a. Ultimately, Odysseus and his men escape from the Cyclops laying him down drunk, and stabbing his single eye – blinding him. Due to this they were able to hide on the chests of the Cyclops’ large sheep and escape the cave when he let them out for grazing that day. b. A positive trait he expresses is his cunning and quick-wit to come up with a detailed plan to escape the cave. He also, however, demonstrates a negative trait when he turns back to taunt that cyclops and boast about himself, which then lands a curse on him and his men.

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439 Words | 2 Pages

An epic hero is someone who is characterized commonly on their nobility and bravery. However ,there are more attributes epic heros can posses. For example Odysseus, the protagonist in Homer's retelling of “The Odyssey”, shows many forms of excessive arrogance and pomposity. After conquering Troy, Odysseus and his men set off on their way home.

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106 Words | 1 Pages

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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Dave Zabriskie once declared, “He’s aggressive. He’s a fit of rage. He’s full of fury, and he should be one of the favorites”(“Quotes”). Poseidon struck fear into many people, and he was considered the greediest and moodiest, most bad-tempered of the Olympian gods. His family, symbols, myths, and his worship are reflections of people’s reactions to his rage.

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186 Words | 1 Pages

Odysseys is a greek hero, he first fights a cyclops and if he kills the cyclopes he and his crew will be trapped in the cave for the rest of their life so he stabs Polyphemus in the eye blinding him and to leave he must craft his own raft but the raft is destroyed then his is rescued by Telemachus and was stranded on Circe’s island where some of his men where turned into pigs to break the curse Odysseys had to stay on the island for another year. When he leaves he goes to the land of the dead and finds out that his mom had died while he was an his journey Athena tells odysseys that he needs to wait two days before returning home Penelope had been delaying getting married but she came up with a tricky plan if one of the guys could shoot odyssey's

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1072 Words | 5 Pages

This ancient civilization was captivated by religion with the worship of many gods. One of the most influential and powerful gods was Poseidon. Poseidon, an irritable and seductive Greek sea god worshiped by the Greeks because of what he could do for them and what he could do to them, was like a strict father who they both feared and loved. Poseidon was one of the most known Gods throughout ancient Greek society with many unique attributes. He was the god of the sea, horses,

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1203 Words | 5 Pages

In the epic poem The Odyssey, Homer portrays Greek gods and goddesses as possessing human qualities and faults. Through their actions and emotions, Homer emphasizes the detrimental effects of lust, envy, wrath, and greed in ancient Grecian society. He also never fails to remind readers of the importance of respect for holy figures because of their powerful abilities to create chaos and wonder". Homer wants to prove that gods and humans share a variety of traits, and the only difference is that god don’t allow these flaws negatively to impact their society. To help further his argument, we can compare Greek gods and goddesses to that of Christianity.

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Odysseus was a man of great stature and strength; however, Odysseus was not only physically strong, but mentally strong as well (Olson). We can see Odysseus’ mental strength, or cunning, and bravery when he is in the den of Polyphemus and devises the plan to save him and his crew by calling himself nobody and stabbing out the cyclops’ eye. He also recognizes that he

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529 Words | 3 Pages

Throughout the story, Odysseus demonstrates his courage that ultimately allows him to survive. One of these moments was during his journey back to Ithaca, where he faces a race of man eating giants called the Cyclops. Odysseus originally stops his ship there to relish a feast while on his journey back to Ithaca, but while doing so, out of curiosity explores the island. Soon, he finds a deserted house and decides to wait of the owner. The owner was unknowingly one the Cyclops, named Polyphemus.

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922 Words | 4 Pages

Summary: Cyclops In the story, Odysseus is still speaking to the Phaeacians, but is now telling them of his encounter with Polyphemus, the cyclops. Strong winds blew Odysseus and his men to Polyphemus’ island, where they unloaded and entered a cave that Polyphemus happened to live in. When he entered the cave, he closed the entrance with a large boulder that only he could move, trapping himself, his sheep, and Odysseus inside. After he ate some of Odysseus’ men, Odysseus devised a plan to get the cyclops to move the boulder so that the men could escape.

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1204 Words | 5 Pages

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.

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472 Words | 2 Pages

Diction and imagery are very important components to a story. It is the way that the author displays their feelings through the character. Homer uses very vivid shifts in tone, sometimes creating room for the reader to learn a lesson. In one of Homer’s famous books, “The Odyssey,” he uses diction, imagery, and tone to show that everything does not always go as planned. Wishing to escape the cyclops’ bondage, Odysseus tries to get out of trouble and assumes that he and his men are safe by lying to the Cyclops.

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614 Words | 3 Pages

In the Odyssey, I feel as if the Gods role was to function more as spiritual guides and as support for the human of choice. An example being Athena reuniting Odessyus and his son after 20 years, Hermes warning Odysseus of Circes witchcraft, and Circes giving him directions. Yet, I also feel as if they punish for poor behavior as well.

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610 Words | 3 Pages

Instead of being perfect omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent gods, they have limited power and influence, and are often driven by humanistic emotions and desires. While the gods do show concern over some mortals, they don’t make decisions solely concerning the wellbeing or interests of the humans, but instead, like the humans themselves, usually act with their own interests at heart. Athena and Poseidon both acts in accordance to their desires and emotions, and have a biased view on particular humans. Unlike the perfect deities we have in mind when we think of the divine, Greek gods are just immortal beings who are just as fallible and imperfect as the humans they preside

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384 Words | 2 Pages

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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