The Gods In Geoffrey Philp's The Cattle Of The Sun God

Odysseus, King of Ithaca, and the main character in homer’s The Odyssey, was gone for twenty years before finally returning to his family and his homeland. He struggled through many hardships and lost many loyal companions. The King of Ithaca would not have made it home without the assistance of the Greek gods. Despite all of the help and advice that Odysseus receives from the gods, he is a very brave man because his courage and daring in the cave of the Cyclops, his inability to give up and abandon his men on Circe’s island, and his flawless following of the gods instructions are acts of bravery that is uncommon in most men.

   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.

When Odysseus fulfills his prophecy and blinds Polyphemus, he prays to his father to grant him revenge on Odysseus by either “never letting him reach his home, or if he must, let him come late after long suffering, with all of his comrades dead, and let him find trouble waiting for him at home” on page 110. Poseidon hears his prayers and creates a storm that nearly kills Odysseus on page 60. The Greeks may value Poseidon's drive to avenge his son because this shows that he wants to defend his son and hurt those who have done wrong to him. They may also value that Polyphemus could depend and trust his father to carry out revenge on Odysseus.

We see this as Odysseus tells the story of his crew and their adventures to King Alcinous and Alcinous’ guests. He tells of how he was warned by different gods, goddesses, and offspring; referred to as immortals, of what he should do to get back home to Ithaca. His time on the island of Aeolia, the Immortal Aeolus, keeper of the wind, takes him into his home and treats him and his crew lovingly, then gives him a bag made of ox which heled “the wild winds’ way” and sent the ship on its way. Odysseus and crew can see their island, so Odysseus goes to sleep. While he is asleep, his crew gets jealous and opens the bag, unleashing a wind that carried them back. This alone leaves the impression that although the gods seem to dictate these lives, human will and the choices they make can unravel it and make a difference. Another example of this, is when Circe warns Odysseus of what lies ahead in the journey, and if he listens to her he will make it home to Ithaca, if her warning is not heeded, however, she tells him his ship will face disaster and he will arrive home late, and alone. Again, it is his crew when they reach Thrinacia, an island belonging to goddesses of the sun who Sheppard cattle that never die, whose

Odysseus thinks that his reasoning are final and his activities are constantly just and right, although he frequently allows his ego control his rational thinking, resulting harm to his group and messing with the gods’s plans. His men could have went back home Securely for it is the desire of Athena and the other heavenly gods who surround to her in Mount Olympus, however Odysseus takes it to himself to outrage and blind Polyphemus, the monstrous son of Poseidon, adored by his dad yet abhorred by the people, In this way distrusting their whole arrangement . Subsequent to being blinded by the heroine, Polyphemus tosses huge pieces of rocks at Odysseus's ship, nearly obliterating them at the same time. But instead of retreating for safety, Odysseus keeps on provoking Polyphemus and “[calls] out to the cyclopes again, with [his] men hanging all over [him] begging him not to”(Book 9, 491-492). His feeling of pride and presumption influences to disregard the requests of his people even in these critical circumstances . He will fulfill his own feeling of interest and pleasure without thinking of the result it would have on his crew. Despite the fact that he is bound to get away from all passings and assaults, his group isn’t so blessed. Their lives are in mortal peril since Odysseus considers them as child sheeps who should forfeit their lives for him when the circumstances comes, much the same as how mortals make conciliatory offerings of sheeps for the heavenly gods. He is willing to fulfill his own feeling of interest without thinking of his groups lives or their suppositions and is regularly infuriated when they negate his request. If they hurt his sense of pride and self-importance and pomposity , Odysseus will be overcome with outrage and

All Poseidon along with Polyphemus wishes is revenge. The number one rule is to never anger a god. Thankfully for Odysseus the other gods are on his side. Odysseus is human, so he too was battling pride. This pride Odysseus is battling is when you have the urge to be in people's faces and be superior. Odysseus and his men knew they were going to be in Siren territory. His men put wax in their ear. Odysseus on the other hand was tied up with no wax in his ear so he could hear the sirens. He wanted to be the only person that has heard them and not died. “ The San Andreas is considered “the ‘master’ fault of an intricate fault network,” the Geological Survey said”(Yan and Berlinger 3). Odysseus is seen as an amazing fighter. People have very high expectations. You could call him a master just like the San Andreas which is considered the “master fault”. Although Odysseus is a master of many strengths, his pride gets the best of him. No matter how strong and powerful you are, pride will always be there. You may think this wouldn’t be a problem for him, but it is. Odysseus is still human and has weaknesses as well. Just like us Odysseus struggles with

The way that their ship was destroyed by Zeus shows how they were punished for actively disrespecting Helios, which conveys how important reverence of the gods was to the Homer and the Ancient Greeks. Lastly, in what is perhaps the epitome of Poseidon’s wrath, Homer conveys the importance of respect for the deities. This value is portrayed in book 13 when Poseidon attacks the Phaeacian ship after they bring Odysseus home, “[striking] her to stone,” and, “[rooting] her to the ocean floor,” (291). This act of violence by Poseidon illustrates just one example of how mortals are punished for disrespect throughout The Odyssey. Because the Phaeacians chose to help Odysseus, thereby contradicting Poseidon and in a sense disrespecting him, they were punished which again, illustrates how disrespecting the gods, however unintentionally, can have disastrous and even deadly consequences. Homer’s use of violence by the gods in these three instances helps to convey the cultural norm of reverence of the gods in Ancient Greece.

Throughout The Iliad, Homer offers us a glimpse into the lifestyles of the ancient Greeks and their beliefs. They are a very spiritual and in many ways superstitious people. The main thing to note throughout The Iliad is the interaction between the gods and the humans. Any way one looks at the situation, they can immediately see that humans are mere pawns to the gods in their game of chess. The success and failures of the humans depends on what god would be helping which group and at what particular time. This essay will explain the three main reasons the gods in The Iliad intervened with humans: Firstly, gods who act on their own personal motives, secondly, gods who act as favors to other gods, and finally gods who act as favors to

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 Ancient Greece, gods were believed to have the power to do harm to whomever they wanted and were believed to be far more superior than the rest of the population. In a book from this time period, called “The Odyssey,” Odysseus and his crew have to overcome many obstacles in order to succeed. Throughout his journey, gods punish and bring wrath upon his crew members. However, despite these obstacles, Odysseus returns back home safely after many years away. In The Odyssey, Homer uses figurative language in order to convey a deep tone of maliciousness.

“Gods can be evil sometimes.” In the play “Oedipus the King”, Sophocles defamed the gods’ reputation, and lowered their status by making them look harmful and evil. It is known that all gods should be perfect and infallible, and should represent justice and equity, but with Oedipus, the gods decided to destroy him and his family for no reason. It might be hard to believe that gods can have humanistic traits, but in fact they do. The gods, especially Apollo, are considered evil by the reader because they destroyed an innocent man’s life and his family. They destroyed Oedipus by controlling his fate, granting people the power of prophecy, telling Oedipus about his fate through the oracle of Apollo, and finally afflicting the people of

The Odyssey is an epic poem that showcases the heroic actions contrasted with the grave disasters of Odysseus, a tragic hero on his way home from the war in Troy. The author, Homer, shows through Odysseus’ actions that even a hero such as he, has flaws. Flaws that if not acknowledged and learnt from, can spell grave disaster in the journey yet to come. Many Greeks recognize Odysseus as the most renowned hero of the Trojan war, thanks to his own accounts of his years away from Ithaca. Following the Greek beliefs, many believe that Odysseus couldn’t have kept himself away for so long, for only the gods can do something like this, and Odysseus can’t be the cause of the crew’s deaths, only the gods could be so cruel. While

To further his point, Homer also illustrates how faith in the Greek gods can guide one to success and uses language fit for deities to draw attention to their insurmountable power. Homer hints at a divine intervention to guide Odysseus to defeat the Cyclops. Odysseus incapacitated Polyphemus “by the gods,” (156) encouraging his men in the endeavor. This is one of many examples of reverence to the gods in The Odyssey, a sentiment that is as strong in Greek culture as it is

Using divine intervention details, epic similes, and descriptive epithets, Homer the author of The Odyssey, in Book VI elaborates on the idea that the Gods hand out fortune and pain to mortals, primarily seen through the help Odysseus received in his successful odyssey home. The power of the Greek Gods and Goddess’ is limitless as their powers are supernatural and can control the fate of mortals.

Odysseus has no regard for the consequence of his actions and his self-control he once displayed before is now gone. Odysseus actions are problematic, but he is aware of what he is provoking. The way he continues to provoke Polyphemus even when he knows it is wrong is very ignorant