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How was the odyssey a big part of greek culture
Main gods role in the odyssey
Main gods role in the odyssey
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More handpicked essays just for you.
How was the odyssey a big part of greek culture
Main gods role in the odyssey
Main gods role in the odyssey
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
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.
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.
A conservative is defined as a person who is averse to change and holds to traditional values and attitudes, typically in relation to politics. More directly, it means to conserve the way things are. They often pride themselves on patriotism and want to bring back the “good old days”. Most conservatives are very supportive of traditional values and customs, unwilling to change. They put a heavy emphasis on individualism.
She instructs him to “sail in quest of news of your long-lost father.” (86). Using her disguise, Athena reaches Telemachus and offers him wisdom. Telemachus takes this advice to heart and sets out to find his father. By offering this information about Odysseus, Athena inspires Telemachus.
That is until Athena pleaded with her powerful father, Zeus, to help liberate him. Justifying my idea, Homer wrote “Though he fought shy of her and her desire, he lay with her each night, for she compelled him” (Homer, 914). If it were not for the hypnotic nymph’s compulsion, the righteous Odysseus would have been reunited with his love and queen years before. In addition to Calypso falling in love with Odysseus, so did the enchantress Circe, who also kept him on her island and away from his home. Homer states “Odysseus and his men beg Circe to help them return home” (Homer, 935).
Athena first plays the role of the puppeteer when she persuades Zeus to send Hermes to Calypso’s island to persuade Calypso to release Odysseus. Athena has always been a fan of Odysseus and his family, due to his tactical mind, so when she saw Odysseus in need, she wanted to help. Athena shows her persuasive nature when she says to her father, Zeus, “But my heart breaks for Odysseus, … far from his loved ones still, he suffers torments off on a wave-washed island rising at the center of the
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.
Divine intervention, or the role of the gods, plays a predominant role in the development of the eventual fate of the main characters; Odysseus, his son, Telemachus and his wife, Penelope. Homer is able to effectively incorporate the employment of divine forces as facilitators in destiny, as well as efficiently engage the readers through his vivid description of the various predicaments faced by Odysseus. Divine intervention is a phenomenon widely used in mythological epics. The gods play protagonistic and antagonistic roles; they essentially toy with the character until his fate is evident. Homer utilizes this right from the very beginning; we see Athena coming to the aid of Odysseus when Zeus refuses to have sympathy for him due to the fact that most heroes blame the Gods for their doom;
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.
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
It was through Athena’s persuasion that convinced Zeus to have Calypso to let Odysseus leave her island. In response to Athena, Zeus said, “You conceived it yourself: Odysseus shall return and pay the traitors back” (Homer, Odyssey, V.26-27). The only reason Odysseus was free and performed the actions that he did after leaving Calypso’s island was all attributed to Athena. Whenever Odysseus appeared to be in a perilous situation, it was Athena who always aided him. “But Zeus’s daughter Athena countered him at once.
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.
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.
She is portrayed as the average Greek woman, but in reality is very cunning. Though both these women are two different characters, their roles are similar, and they both are equally powerful. They are cunning; teach Xenia; develop Odysseus’ character; and an important role in their families. Athena is the cunning Goddess who guides Odysseus back to Ithaca for his family and countrymen without letting him know her reality – she disguises herself every now and then to help him by testing him and his knowledge.
Another time she helped Odysseus was when she protected him from the suitors' arrows. Without the providence of Athena Odysseus wouldn't have survived the events of The Odyssey. In book 1 of The Odyssey it says how "The story of Odysseus begins with the goddess Athena appealing to Zeus to help Odysseus, who has been wandering for ten years on the seas, to find his way home to