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Gods and Mortals in the Odyssey

Uploaded by mfields on Apr 28, 2004

The relationship between otherworldly figure and mortals in The Odyssey books VII-XII seems alien in comparison to current conceptions of God and spirituality from the Judeo-Christian tradition. Most monotheistic religions see God as omnipotent and omniscient. This runs in stark contrast to the many gods of Mt. Olympus whose powers are limited and are far from omniscient, in fact they rely on gossip for most of their information!

In book VII Odysseus finds himself shipwrecked on the Phaeacia because of a storm created by Poseidon. This storm was so violent it almost killed him. Poseidon was still angry with Odysseus over his not paying him proper homage after the Trojan war and for his blinding of Poseidon’s son the Cyclops. One striking thing about this example is how clear-cut the motivations of the gods are. Often when tragic events happen to religious people today they ask the question “why would God do or allow this.” The most frequent response from clergy is that God works in mysterious ways that humans simply can’t understand. Instead of the Greek gods occupying a separate mental plane from humans they share some of the same traits and motivations.

Odysseus is found on the beach by the Phaecian princess Nausicaa who was told to go there by Athena. Athena is the goddess of wisdom and has a special relationship with Odysseus. Since his ordeal after the Trojan War ended she had been advocating on his behalf on Mt. Olympus. During the Trojan War most of the gods had chosen sides, sometimes interceding and other times allowing the battles to unfold unaffected. In the Greek polytheistic religion there were many gods to choose from and pray to. Each profession had their own god. Humans had favorite gods and gods in turn had favorite humans that they paid special attention to. The gods seem to use the humans as entertainment, pushing them in certain directions like pawns. Athena knows that Odysseus is a gentleman and can win over the Phaecians but she still decides to give him a little edge by explaining all their customs to him and making him invisible as he makes his way to the castle. Athena could just as well have magically transported him to the castle fully dressed and properly groomed but instead she took a less active and more circuitous route. This appears to be the norm in god/human relations. The gods like...

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Uploaded by:   mfields

Date:   04/28/2004

Category:   The Odyssey

Length:   3 pages (567 words)

Views:   16672

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