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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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Examples Of Arrogance In The Odyssey

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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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Interaction Between Humans And The Gods In Homer's Odyssey

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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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186 Words | 1 Pages

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1072 Words | 5 Pages

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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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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

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614 Words | 3 Pages

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