Essay on Relationship Between Gods and Humanity

Through the sampling of readings from The Norton Anthology of World Literature book, one could come to the realization that in a majority of those stories, the deities seem to influence or even control the outcomes of the heroes, often in a negative manner. In the first epic, Gilgamesh encounters the gods at various times, and in The Iliad, the gods manipulate the Greeks and the Trojans for their own desires and wants.

In book nine: the Cyclops fate is demonstrated; these are the times you see that the gods take action in Odysseus life. Odysseus is talking to the terrifying Cyclops; Odysseus is explaining to the Cyclops how fate has brought them to his island. Odysseus says on page 116 lines 159 thru 163. “We are Achemans…took the wrong route as Zeus I suppose instead that we should.” Odysseus says that he

Though Odysseus is as great a man as ever lived, he is still only mortal and at the gods’ mercy. Odysseus does not control his own destiny, but instead the gods determine what shall befall him and whether he shall ever reach his home. Odysseus is only a man and "hard is a god for mortal man to master" (36) even if he is great amongst his brethren. Odysseus can not control the gods anymore then he can control his fate and so he is left at their mercy. Even Zeus, who gives Odysseus many signs, will sometimes deal Odysseus woe which he is powerless to stop. To avenge the Sun god upon Odysseus’ evil crew, "…Zeus with a gleaming bolt smote [Odysseus’] swift ship and wrecked it in the middle of the wine-dark sea" (47). Such acts illustrate the control that the gods exercise over Odysseus and his inability to deliver himself from woe.

People anticipate that the divine beings will watch over them and guard them. Now and again it isn't that the people hope to be protected but, guided somehow. They see the gods as flawless creatures that are all powerful and all knowing. The interaction between the gods and the humans in The Epic of Gilgamesh isn’t hard to identify, “Your appearance is no different from mine; there is nothing strange in your features (Gilgamesh 538)”. There is trust and a mutual dependency between the humans and the gods in The epic of Gilgamesh. Regardless of the undeniable power difference between the two

While Genesis in the bible and The Epic of Gilgamesh have striking similarities in the sense of creation and the great flood, the interactions between the divine beings and humans differ greatly. One matter that impacts the entire relationship between gods and humans in both accounts is that the gods in the epic are not almighty beings like God in Genesis since they cannot control each other’s domain. Because of this, they must travel from place to place and work with other gods to carry out a certain task. The gods in The Epic of Gilgamesh act very much like humans and interfere more with their daily lives. In contrast, the all-powerful god in Genesis seems distant and far from having human-like characteristics and does not need to interact with other gods. At the same time, both stories display the reverence and fear humans have for the supreme beings because of their authoritative qualities.

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.

Athena’s navigational skills and quick thinking made Odysseus’ victory feasible. She provided a disguise for Odysseus, came up with a battle plan, and kept his anger in check by letting the suitors continue their taunts against him. Athena “had no mind to let the brazen suitors hold back now from their heart-rending insults-she meant to make the anguish cut still deeper into the core of Laertes’ son Odysseus” (Homer page 419). Additionally, she helped Odysseus battle the suitors, “looming out of the rafters high above them, brandished her man-destroying shield of thunder, terrifying the suitors out of their minds, and down the hall they panicked” (Homer page 448). Saving Odysseus’ and his servants’ lives, Athena acted against the suitors and, undoubtedly, won the battle for him by scaring off the suitors who were not already dead.

To begin with, Odysseus should not have judge the gods by the look of them or by the way they start in the book. Odysseus judged the gods because they did not help him get to his family or town on time after the Trojan War. An example from the book The Odyssey is,¨Odysseus wanted to return right after the war because he had grown with the wisdom and the judgement that will make him a better king,´ explains that Odysseus was ready to become a better king but since the gods did not help him at all, so he was not able to rule his kingdom. The example is stating that since Odysseus was stranded for many years without anything to do he was not able to get home without the gods help.

Ancient world literature and early civilization stories turn around human’s relationship with higher beings. Ancient civilizations were extremely religious, holding the belief that their very lives were in the hands of their almighty god or goddess. This holds true for both the people of biblical times as well as those of the epic era. However, their stories have some differences according to cultural variation but the main structure, idea and theme are generally found correlative. It is hard to believe that that one work did not affect the others. The first great heroic epic poem of Gilgamesh and the Old Testament are two cultures that are hundreds of years apart. Upon studying the book of Genesis and the story of Gilgamesh; whereas one

On the day of the actual battle, Shamash calls in the thirteen winds to incapacitate Humbaba and ultimately lead to Gilgamesh’s triumph. Ishtar on the other hand, begins with a positive bias towards Gilgamesh, but due to his actions, comes to dislike him. When Gilgamesh rejects Ishtar’s notions of love towards him, she calls down the Bull of the Heaven’s “so in his dwelling I may slay Gilgamesh.” The Bull wreaks havoc

In The Epic of Gilgamesh, the hero sets off in search of various goals on separate occasions throughout his overarching quest of self-improvement; consequently, Gilgamesh faces no shortage of obstacles in the epic. The initial quest undertaken by the hero is a voyage with his newfound companion, Enkidu, into the Cedar Forest to defeat the guardian demon Humbaba and take the cedar tree. Defeating a supernatural demon is no small task, however, and Humbaba nearly halts the expedition by bringing confusion and terror upon the men. In a final and desperate effort, Gilgamesh cries out to the god Shamash, begging, “Protect us as we pass through fearfulness.” With the assistance of Shamash, the hero finally outdoes the demon and obtains the prized

In The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Bhagavad-Gita, gods play an important role in society and the way of life. In the Bhagavad-Gita, people portray their gods as almighty and perfect beings. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, the Mesopotamian people see their gods as imperfect, human-like beings. The way the people depict their gods, determines how long the religion will last and how much power the gods withhold.

The involvement by the gods simply begins with Aphrodite. Though the gods do not determine fate, they work alongside the fates and have the ability to act against them. Zeus tells Thetis, who has convinced him to aid her son Achilles to attain revenge against Agamemnon, “I’ll say yes to you by nodding my head, / The ultimate pledge. Unambiguous, / irreversible, and absolutely fulfilled, / Whatever I say yes to with a nod of my head” (Lombardo 1.556-559). And despite Hera’s reluctance, Zeus speaks to a Dream:

Almost everyone at some particular point in his or her life has challenged the existence of God. This may happen for a number of reasons. For example he or she might have been at a point in their life when their faith alone was just not enough for them to believe. Humans have a natural instinct to find reasons for events that can’t be explained. For some, the existence of God may help give them the answers they are looking for.

The most recent account of Gilgamesh and Humbaba in tablet five discusses the combat faced with Humbaba in the forest. The tablet begins with Gilgamesh and Enkidu stepping foot into the forest of cedar and gazing at the beautiful mountains while taking out their weapons as they enter the gates in search for Hambaba. (lines 1-4) They notice Humbaba’s footsteps in their path ahead. When they finally come in contact with Humbaba on the path, Hambaba confronts the two men and accuses Enkidu of betrayal with saying to him “[You bring before me Gilgamesh, and stand there, Enkidu, like a warlike stranger! I will slit the throat and gullet of Gilgamesh, I will feed his flesh to the locust bird, ravening eagle and vulture!]” (lines 91-94). He talks down on Enkidu for being a nobody, but Enkidu knows to ignore his negative comments. With Humbaba’s threat being said, Gilgamesh and Humbaba fight. However, the winds sent by Shamash, who is the sun god, blind Humbaba causing him to plead for his life. Gilgamesh is urged to kill Humbaba at last before the gods