The Role of the Gods in the Odyssey Essay -- Homer, Odyssey Essays

Religion was deeply intertwined the culture of the ancient Greeks. In their stories, they prayed to the gods to encounter their needs and offer assistance in their endeavors, and the gods would occasionally appear to call for Greeks to give counsel, gifts, or other forms of aid. Alternatively, if the desires or endeavors of a mortal or mortals displeased one or more of the gods, they would also interfere with the fulfillment of their goals. In Homers Odyssey, the gods appear to or interfere with both(prenominal) Telemachus and Odysseus, either to help or hinder them in their journeys. Although the gods are obligated the difficulty Odysseus faces returning from Troy, they are equally responsible for motivating and assisting Odysseus and Telemachus in their respective travels. If not for divine interference, neither Odysseus nor Telemachus would have journeys to make.The gods are for the first time responsible for establishing the conditions under which the story begins. Wh ile the Greek soldiers had returned home from Troy, Odysseus remained confine as the brightest goddess, Calypso, held him her hollow grottoes because she wanted him as a husband (Homer, Odyssey 1.5, commentary by Allen Mandelbaum). Calypso traps Odysseus on her island of Ogygia and keeps the sad Odysseus therealthough he weeps. Her quarrel are fond and fragrant, sweet and softso she would honey him to variety far off his Ithaca (1.7). He remains on Ogygia for years, leaving the upkeep of his home to his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus. Because Calypso keeps him away for years, Odysseus is presumed at rest(predicate) and his absence invites suitors to his home. These suitors look to win the hand of Penelope, Odysseus wife. This state of affairs is the general cause of Telemachus d... ...a, escaping Calypso and the island of Ogygia, and Telemachus from Ithaca to Pylos and Sparta in pursuit of his lost father. While The Odyssey tells of the resolution both men dem onstrate during their respective travels, their quests are the results of the intentions and desires of gods. Odysseus is detain in exile on Ogygia by the will of Poseidon, whose anger Odysseus attracts when he blinds the daphnia Polyphemus, son of Poseidon, and by the love of Calypso, who wishes to make Odysseus her husband. He is released from Ogygia and permitted to return to Ithaca only if by the command of Zeus, as delivered by Hermes. Telemachus, rather than being trapped physically, was detained emotionally, feeling helpless to repel the suitors wooing Penelope. Only through the pauperism of the goddess Athena did Telemachus find the will and courage to embark in search of Odysseus.