Greek Odysseus Relationship

As Athena guides him to the palace, she warns him about what he must avoid in order to be safe in that neighborhood. She also slips in some advice that he may use in his future endeavors to get home, asserting that "a cheerful man does best in every enterprise-even a stranger." The reader is again reminded of the incredible relationship between Athena and Odysseus in book VIII when Odysseus is speaking with Demodokos about the battle of Troy and Odysseus asks him to "shift [his] theme, and sing that wooden horse Epeios built, inspired by Athena." As the minstrel recalls "how Odysseus came like Ares to the door of Deiphobos, with Menolaos, and bred the desperate fight there- conquering once more by Athena's power" the victory at Troy is again attributed to Athena's role in facilitating Odysseus in the victory.

Gods played a great role back in ancient civilizations and still do so to a certain extent, just not as intensely. Today, we have many different gods and religions, but for the most part, they are not nearly as serious as they were back in the days of Odysseus. Gods were believed by all to run the whole show and could end lives if they chose. Whatever humans did had to reflect on what the Gods would think of it since it was they who controlled the thin line between life and death of every living soul. The relationships between men and Gods are shown as a serious topic in the Odyssey for several reasons and are also shown through several examples. Athena is shown to be the most kind and helpful Goddess for Odysseus and this is shown by her doing all in her power to help him get back home to his family as

The general question was, what does ancient Greek culture value? A way of interpreting this is, what is the most valued trait in Greek culture based upon the reading. Respect sees to be the most general of all traits. All of these events have shown respect toward the gods. When Odysseus had to fight the Cyclops and the suitors is all out of consideration for the gods and their values towards the people. Since Odysseus is thankful and is being respectful the gods give him help in return, a little role change. Odysseus also helps the gods by telling a person or people the rules of being a good host for new

Both the Odyssey and the Aeneid describe the journeys of the two Greek heroes –Odysseus and Aeneas, as they struggle towards their goal through the crises and deadly situations caused by the wrath of the gods upon them. In the Odyssey, we see that Poseidon (god of the sea/earth shaker) has a grudge against Odysseus while Athena, god of wisdom, aids him throughout his journey. Similarly in the Aeneid, we see that goddess Juno dislikes Aeneas as he is destined to destroy the city of Carthage loved by Juno during his mission to find a new land- Rome, whereas Aeneas’ mother Venus aids him.

Greek Gods are known for, helping and fighting others, but is that really true, and do we really know their stories? In the book “Theseus” by Bernard Evslin, Theseus is a young man that lives a boring life, until one day, a seagull told him that Poseidon was Theseus’s father, and he wanted to find him. Theseus overcomes various obstacles, he finally reaches Athen and finds his father king Aegeus. Later on Aegeus ask Theseus’s to go on an important journey. Meanwhile, another, epic poem is The Odyssey by Homer. After ten years of the Fall of Troy, Odysseus was disregarding to the gods, and the gods were flustered that they set Odysseus and his men off course to where the cyclops lived. But luckily, Odyssey trick the cyclops into being

The relationship between gods and mortals in mythology has long been a complicated topic. The gods can be generous and supportive, and also devastating and destructive to any group of humans. Mortals must respect the powers above them that cannot be controlled. The gods rule over destiny, nature, and justice, and need to be recognized and worshipped for the powerful beings as they are. Regardless of one's actions, intentions, and thoughts, the gods in Greek myth have ultimate power and the final decision of justice over nature, mortals, and even each other.

If there’s one thing one can count on when it comes to Greek gods, it’s that they’re critically flawed. Anyone reading Homer’s The Iliad can see the Greek gods act just like humans, constantly bickering, deceiving and throwing fits. The only people who can’t see through this facade of glorious immortality are the Greeks themselves. Throughout Homer’s entire epic, the gods continuously help the mortals based upon their own motives, and yet, the humans still worship them, ask them for help and forgiveness and blessings. Any reader would throw up their hands, disgusted that the humans glorify these beings that possess all the character flaws that mortals do. Homer is very successful in portraying humanity throughout his text, both through the perspective of the gods, and the perspective of the humans. While readers are allowed insight to both worlds, the characters themselves only see one dimension, resulting in the unequal nature of the humans constantly working to please the gods, sometimes to no avail. The Iliad exposes the fatal character flaws of the gods to readers, while also maintaining the mortal Greek perspective that gods are perfect beings, looking out for the greater good of mankind.

In the Iliad the line between man and god would often clash. A god could transport a mortal, sleep with a mortal, and also magically help that mortal. These gods seem to be the only ones who can change and decide fate. The gods can whisk people away or bend off an arrow and a sword. For example, when Paris fought Menelaus, he was whisked away by Aphrodite before Menelaus could do more damage. Their so called gods, weren’t so unreachable. In the Odyssey, we see how goddess’ and gods behave just like humans with their urges; example Calypso, who offers Odysseus everything if only he would stay with her. Plus Athena, made herself Odysseus’ guardian, she would give him advice and plead his case on mount Olympus. There we see how the gods decide a person’s fate and also act selfishly with disregard to mortal feelings. Toying with humans

Working with an all-powerful being isn’t always the best idea. This is usually more true depending on how many there are, such as in Odysseus’s case, more than four. In The Odyssey, gods and goddesses are very troublesome, not just to Odysseus but also to his companions. The characters, mainly Odysseus, are not fortunate to have these spiritual beings torment them throughout the story. A controversy exists regarding this, arguing whether Odysseus is fortunate to have gods and goddesses involved in his life, or not. Odysseus is not fortunate to have gods and goddesses involved in his life.

In the odyssey, though un-noted, there is the predominate aspect of the hierarchy system between both gods and the humans. These can both be in contrast with each other and it can been seen that there are similarities between the types of people we meet in the odyssey and the gods we meet also. For example we hear a lot of the king of Ithaca and Phaecia in the Odyssey and we hear of Zeus, both of who are at the top of the hierarchy system in their respectful classes. The gods also show human types of behaviour. These behaviours can be seen in the people they are reflected against.

(page 112, line 42)” It seems as though Athena truly does care for Odysseus. However, as soon as Odysseus encounters the queen, problems arise, “…at that time the magical and surrounding mist was drifted from him, and all fell silent through the house when they saw the man there… (page 115, line 142)” What?? Did Athena just prank Odysseus or

When Zeus wants the Trojans to win, he will turn nature against the Greeks, slay one of their heroes, or send one of their loyal immortals down to turn the tide of battle. If Hera wants to get back at him, she will do the same thing against Zeus's people, the Trojans. In the Odyssey, things are very different. The Gods of Olympus generally will not interfere unless they are asked to such as when the Cyclopes pray to the wrath of Poseidon after he is blinded by Odysseys. The Gods do not automatically view all humans as simple as supplicant whelps, whichever. Athena's conversation with Odysseys are remarkably free of the aloofness and strict affectation that so spread through the discourse between the Gods of the Iliad. They do not have a greater respect for human life in general (witness the casual slaying of Odysseys companions, and the Athena backed bloodbath which occurs when Odysseys returns home) but they have a greater respect

The Greek gods were also famous for their love in addition to jealousy and vengeance. They took good care of their offspring. “Golden-throned Hera agreed to replace her jealousy with love. As proof of her change of heart, she awarded Heracules her royal daughter, Hebe, as his immortal wife'; (Rosenberg and Baker 235). The Greek gods also took care of those who properly worshipped and respected them. “They were humble and kind, and they respected the deathless gods. Therefore, he was content to let them remain the sole survivors of the great catastrophe'; (Rosenberg and Baker 123). The Greek gods granted wishes and power to those who showed them kindness. Love was just as strong as the other characteristics and it showed that the gods were as kind as they were strict.

Ancient Greece was filled with so much character, from their religion to even the stories that followed them through generation to generation. One important thing to remember is how they took their religion very seriously and believed very much in their goddesses and their gods. This strong belief carried out into their everyday lives, where they began to believe that everything that happened within their day, was from the gods. With such a love and respect for these gods, they held them up on a pedestal and gave them all their respect and looked at them only as positive. These gods that play a role in their life, often act more as a spiritual guide more than anything. They take on mortal disguises to allow them to help the world without becoming noticed. As we can see in The Odyssey, the relationship between gods and mortals is close knit, but the main difference that is evident, is the power between the two. The gods may not be able to cause death upon a mortal, but they can do everything to lead towards that. In the book, the gods can make or break your day. We see within several relationships between the gods and mortals, that the power from the gods can be not only positive, but also negative. Each mortal has been influenced in some way by the gods, for either the greater good, or bad. Which goes without saying, that the Greek take their theology in believing in the gods, very seriously.

The personalities of the gods are as broad as there are stars in the heavens, and as such the ways that these gods interact with mortals vary. The purpose of gods intervening with the days of man comes down to two things, good or bad; there are gods who are caring and loving towards mortals while others view man as pawns which they can use for their own personal agenda. A few gods that capture and exemplify the various personalities of the gods can be found in Ovid: The Metamorphoses of Ovid and Homer: The essential Homer: Selections from the Iliad and the Odyssey. Although the ways man and the gods communicate and get each other’s attention are different, there are reoccurring and overarching themes such as desire, and loyalty that make each intervention between gods and mortals similar.