Odysseus's Relationship With God In The Odyssey

In my eyes a hero is a person who shows courage, is humble, does not give up, and is someone everybody can relate to. The protagonist in “The Odyssey” by Homer, Odysseus is a hero because although he is emotional throughout the book and lets his emotions take over his actions, he displays immense courage and perseveres through his journey and hardships.

In ancient Greek culture the gods were seen as taking a very active role in the development and course of human history.  The entire Olympian pantheon, as well as many other less important divinities, meddles in human affairs to no end.  The people of the many city-states that composed Greece firmly believed that every aberration from normalcy was due to an act of the gods.  Homer, the author of The Iliad, coined the prevalent religious beliefs of the time in his epic poems, showing the gods as temperamental and willful, meddlesome and dynamic.  Homer’s entire poem is replete with instances of divine intervention in mortal lives, and no single major occurrence comes to pass unless it is the will of one of the many Olympian gods.  Few major decisions are made without consulting the gods first, and the handful of instances in which one leader or another takes initiative almost always fails miserably.  Life, according to the Greeks, is almost entirely rooted in their religion, as there is a god or goddess governing every aspect of the universe, and also because the gods so actively involve themselves in the everyday lives of mortals.

   Throughout literature characters have relied upon entities greater then themselves to furnish them with aid as they meet the many challenges they must face. The Odyssey is a tale of Odysseus’ epic journey and the many obstacles that bar his return home. But Odysseus is not alone in this struggle and receives aid from many gods, especially the clear-eyed goddess Athena. There are times when Odysseus beseeches the gods for aid, but other times he is too foolhardy to receive aid from even the immortal gods. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus’ journey revolves around the cyclical phases of his dependence, independence and his return to reliance upon the gods’ aid.

The term “dynamic” is often used in literature to describe a character who changes drastically from one point in the story to another. When reading “The Odyssey” an epic poem by Homer, we see that our protagonist, Odysseus, changes throughout the course of the novel. This essay will argue how he changes, and also what changes him, such as his travels, his relationships, and how fate and the Greek gods affect and change him.

Odysseus is the main character in an epic poem called the Odyssey. In the poem Odysseus has had some bad luck getting home, with some of the gods helping him and some hindering him; his journey towards home is a constant struggle. In this poem we see a man being broke and rebuilt, through constant irony his faith was damaged and without the help of Athena he probably would have given up on his journey. Through his hard work and wise spirit he finally does achieve his goal.

The gods play an important part in Odysseus’ journey home, bringing him closer and farther from his homeland. They constantly intervene in the lives of the many characters in The Odyssey. Though Odysseus is a hero, the gods control his life. It is as if he were the main character in a video game and the gods are fighting over who controls his life. Personal responsibility is overshadowed by the gods’ eagerness to grab the controller.

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

Temperance is defined as moderation or self restraint which means how one controls himself. Wantonness is the exact opposite as it expresses recklessness and malice towards another being. These two words can be expressed as polar opposites or they can be seen as being the unity of opposites as suggested by Heraclitus. The unity of opposites states that the existence of one thing depends on the existence of two or more opposite conditions. When there is temperance then there will be wantonness which often causes a struggle. The Odyssey shows the struggle of temperance and wantonness through the main character Odysseus, and the Gods of Mount Olympus. Throughout the epic several examples are given that show this struggle amongst Odysseus and the Gods.

Many authors have employed the religious beliefs of their cultures in literature. The deities contained in Homer’s Odyssey and in the Biblical book of Exodus reflect the nature of the gods in their respective societies. Upon examination of these two works, there are three major areas where the gods of the Greek epic seem to directly contrast the nature of the God of the Israelites: the way problems are solved, the prestige and status that separates the divine from the masses, and the extent of power among the immortal beings.

What makes a hero? A hero is a person who cares for others. A person who makes tactical and wise decisions. A person who is selfless, working to help his friends with all his strength. In Homer’s

The setting of the story helps develop the character, Odysseus, because of the fact that it helps us visualize the distance between the island of Calypso and Ithaca, his home. The setting also helps you learn more about the life status of a character. If a character is sitting on a chair in Mount Olympus, you can already assume that they have authority as a god or goddess. The setting also served as conflict between the character and where he is located. In the event that you limit a character to a certain location, or setting, it helps define the character in terms of how they handle situations and what they are capable of doing.

Loyalty: The quality of being loyal to someone. A true example of loyalty is a dog named Hachiko. Hachiko is a Japanese akita who has waited at the train station every evening for over 9 years for his master who had died. This is an example of Loyalty. In the book the Odyssey told by Homer and translated by Robert Fagles the Crew of the hero Odysseus has to ask themselves,does Odysseus deserve that devotion and loyalty from us? In the book character Odysseus and his crew have to face multiple trials to get home. When Odysseus reaches his home in Ithaca he and his son and loyal servants have to take on the suitors that plague his home. Odysseus shows heroic and leadership qualities that allow

It is often said that fealty is a way to show how much a person is important to someone else. In his highly visual and epic poem “The Odyssey of Homer,” a verse translated by Allen Mandelbaum uses a swineherd named Eumaeus as a symbol of fealty and hospitality towards Odysseus. Even though the title alludes to Odysseus, Eumaeus actions and speech towards Odysseus has the central idea of the fealty way Eumaeus is towards Odysseus. Homer’s purpose is to inform the reader in order to show that there is still some people who are fealty towards Odysseus even having to believe that he is dead. The speaker adopts a hopeful tone for everybody to understand that there is some people loyal towards Odysseus Much of Eumaeus hospitality is conveyed through

    Through the personification of the forces or in other words gods, Homer’s characters helped themselves feel more connected with both mortal and immortal worlds. Humans straddled two worlds, that of the animals and that of the gods. Homer’s humans came from the world of the animals a world of a non-questioning existence, and these humans were striving to reach the world of the gods in which lay the understanding of their inconceivable existence. By personifying the governing forces of both animals and humans, Homer’s characters were creating a link to both animals and gods, for the "...[gods’] power is over all"(140) . The gods helped the characters in The Odyssey feel comfortable with their position in between two worlds.

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.