Athena is pivotal in assisting Odysseus by aiding in his struggle to return home and in Ithaca. She supports Odysseus throughout the epic. Athena first helps by explaining Odysseus’ predicament to others on Mount Olympus. Athena begs “Olympian Zeus” to “care for him in [his] lofty heart” (Homer 1.72,73). Athena knows that if she is able to convince the other gods and goddess to be on Odysseus’ side it would positively impact his…
Athena's role in the Odyssey is helping Odysseus get home. At first Athena talks to Zeus, they speak about how she pities Odysseus and how he should come home. Her exact words were, "My own heart is broken for Odysseus (Homer 3)." Zeus agreed. That the man,Odysseus, should come home. Then Athena left Zeus and went to see Telemakhos. She left as Mentes,so that when she saw Telemakhos he would not know she was Athena. Telemakhos showed xenia to the xenos and when she was satisfied Telemakhos asked Athena who she was. She told him that her name was Mentes. They then had a conversation about many things, one of which was Telemakhos's father. She had told him that his father is truly not dead but "only detained somewhere on the wideseas, upon some…
Level 2: Why doesn’t Odysseus accept/trust the help of the gods other than that of Athena?…
The epic, The Odyssey, written by Homer, the gods play a large role in the fate of the charbookers. Their fate is decided long before the charbooker bookually starts his or her journey. The charbooker cannot avoid his or her fate. The fate of the charbookers is determined by the gods and very little is determined by the free will of the charbookers.…
In the Iliad, the gods play an important role in the Trojan War. The Homeric gods know they are better than the mortals that serve them and do not care much when they fight and have quarrels. The gods can always withdraw from the battle and never have to worry about dying or suffering that the humans live with every day during the war. This is where we see the motivations of the gods, their relationships with mortals, relationships with each other and the power and authority of Zeus.…
Athena is one of the most important Goddesses of Mount Olympus. She gave guidance to those who seeked it. She was brave and very intelectual no matter the circumstance. She was also has one of the strangest stories of becoming a goddess. Let’s start with the story of how Athena came to be.…
While free will is still fully in play in the Odyssey and the choice is placed firmly in the hands of the mortals, the gods have no qualms about trying to influence mortal decisions through any means necessary. Whether it be going down to earth and giving characters advice while disguised as a mortal, like Athena did in the first book of the Odyssey towards Telemachus, or sending down messengers and sending people prophecies. In the first book, after Homer’s invocation of the Muses, it opens with a scene in Olympus wherein the gods hold a council discussing a mortal who went against all the warnings the gods gave him. Athena manipulated the conversation towards her interests in helping Odysseus make his journey back home to…
The use of a symbol has the potential message to send a potent message. Symbols take the form of words, sounds, gestures, or visual images and are used to convey ideas and beliefs. Food is a big part and symbol in The Odyssey. Whatever it may be, either poisoned witch-food, Helios’s cattle, or lotus fruit, Everyone is constantly eating. Although throwing a feast for a guest is a common part of hospitality, hunger and the consumption of food often have negative associations in the Odyssey.…
When dwelling upon the main developments of the theatre, one turns to look at the origins of its birth, therefore focusing upon the Ancient Greeks. A lot of the theatre in which is established today comes from the activities of Greek Worship. The Greeks worshipped their Gods, including ‘the worship of Dionysus; the God of fertility and wine.’ (Gascoinge; History of Theatre, 2001 ongoing.) The Greeks worshipped their Gods through the use of sculpting, painting, music and literature, alongside this they incorporated dance, music and drama. As many of the Athenian’s were illiterate, Greek Theatre was used to explain to the communities the literature in which was written, allowing them through ‘reading artistic signals’ (Michael Walton, J; The Greek Sense of Theatre, Pg.4) to understand ‘the world about them, their fellow men and their Gods.’ (Michael Walton, J; The Greek Sense of Theatre, Pg.4)…
In the Odyssey, I think the Gods role was to function as spiritual guides and as support for the hero. Examples being Hermes warning Odysseus of Circe's witchcraft and then Circe giving him directions. Yet, I also feel as if they punish for poor behavior. An example of this being Poseidon delaying Odysses's boat journey with challenges/weather for blinding his son, the cyclops, and then bragging about how great he was.…
The epic poem The Odyssey is an epic written by the Greek writer Homer. It centers on the character Odysseus who is a great leader and a king of Ithaca whose actions portrayed a great deal of intelligence, bravery, and determination throughout his many encounters during his journey.…
Homer’s The Odyssey is a tale about a man journeying home to his family while facing many trials along the way. Throughout the story, there are many themes that illustrated the Greek Society’s beliefs at the time. One of the most prominent themes is how the Greek Gods were portrayed throughout the story. Due to their significant aid to Odysseus’s endeavors, the Gods in Ancient Greek Society were revered as good and pure.…
Homer the Odyssey tells the tale of a journey of the hero Odysseus and the journey…
There are twelve major "Olympian" gods. They rule from Mount Olympus in the ancient holy city of Olympia. They are Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Hermes and Dionysus.…
Greek gods and goddesses are very important in the Greek culture. There are a few Greek gods and goddesses that play very important roles in The Odyssey. They are Athena, Zeus, Poseidon, and Circe, and Calypso. The relationship between the mortals and the gods are very interesting. Everything that happens in this poem, dealing with the mortals, is related to one of the gods. Without the gods, Greek culture and literature would be nothing.…