The Resemblance of Gods and Humans Throughout all religions, gods have always been seen as superior in every way possible. The division between humans and gods has always been prevalent and prominent. However, when the actions and motives of these gods are truly analyzed, it will become evident that the gods of Greek Mythology merely behave as humans with supernatural powers. The lives of the gods were motivated the same basic factors of love, anger, and envy. Although their situations with these factors were more drastic due to their abilities, the gods still reacted and behaved similarly to humans. In the novel, Mythology , it is shown that the behaviors of the Greek gods that were influenced by the desire of love were extremely similar to those of a human. When Cupid falls in love with a mortal girl named Psyche, in an attempt to assure that no one else would marry her, the text states, “He put some drops of water of Psyche’s lips, a charm to prevent anyone else from falling in love with her, “ (33). This shows that the god, Cupid, takes drastic …show more content…
When Athena, a goddess, realizes that her weaving competition with Arachne, a mortal, would end in a draw, the text states, “...she tore Arachne’s tapestry from top to bottom and began to beat the girl,” (85). Because Athena has supernatural powers, she should be viewed as a superior being. However, in this story, although Arachne is a mortal, she is able to weave at a comparable level of skill to Athena, a goddess. This causes Athena to feel envious of Arachne’s abilities, and in an effort to weaken Arachne, Athena destroys Arachne’s work and beats her. Athena’s behavior is similar to humans’ behavior when attempting to invalidate and undermine that people they are jealous and envious of. However, in Athena’s situation, her punishment to Arachne in the form of a beating is more severe and
She says that he will show his worth by giving him his sword and shield and then put him into battle. Odysseus is also described as brave because he taunts Polyphemus after he escapes and calls him names. Athena is described as a goddess because she is a child to Zeus and she can shape shift into other people. Athena has a persona of a goddess because
/And ripped it to rags. /Then, all her power gone /Into exasperation, struck Arachne/ With her boxwood shuttle /One blow between the eyes, then another, /Then a third, and a fourth. Arachne /staggered away groaning with indignation. /She refused to live."
Athena is shown to be the most powerful and influential women in The Odyssey, she has power over all mortals, and ways of persuading the Gods to help Odysseus. She’s more dominant than
In “The Odyssey” the gods have much power over the lives of mortals. Like puppet masters they play with the daily lives of mortals with their powerful fingers, that which can change a calm blue sea into a raging tempest in seconds. I believe that the gods play a strong role in the actions of mortals and their character traits are then shaped through the trials that they experience. God-like Odysseus has been through many intense trials on his trek to his homecoming that have tested his strength as a married man and leader, but finally the god Zeus calls upon his council of gods to “work out his homecoming and see to it that he returns.” (I,76-77)
The Greek divinity is portrayed as a large influencing congregation that controls separate parts of daily life, nature, and future. Zeus is the overarching leader of all the gods and the god of the sky, Poseidon the god of the seas, Hades the god of the underworld, and Athena, daughter of Zeus and goddess of wisdom all contribute to the outcome of Odysseus’s travels. The Greek’s definition of gods, which is that of individual control of each element of Earth, evolved to that a singular god that does not have a daily influence, a god of one time creation. The Greek gods choose Odysseus from the beginning of his life and made the choices that caused the Odyssey and thus sparked the religious evolution to modern day Christianity and a distant god. Odysseus was a strong ruler who was influential and intelligent in all components of Ithaca life.
Throughout the story of Odysseus’s journey told by Homer, there are many defining examples of interaction between humans and their gods. The gods primarily interact with humans by either siding with or against them. The gods would often side with humans since they wanted to help them such as Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, helping Telemachus, Odysseus’s son, whereas the gods seeking revenge such as Poseidon, who sought revenge on Odysseus for slaying his son Polyphemus, would turn against them. While actual interaction between gods and humans seems to be a rather risible idea, there was much guidance given to humans by the gods throughout the Odyssey.
They are allowed to interfere with humans in certain ways to certain extents, they have rules, and by punishing/rewarding humans, they create an order of morals/hierarchy so they serve a purpose as well. This presentation of the gods reveals that the Greeks see them as powerful, smarter, and "magically" significant beings. I think that the story shows that they see the Gods to be like us, but with power and authority.
In reading the Iliad, there is a confusion about the gods and if they are omnipotent or not. The evidence in the text of the poem itself points in the direction that the gods are limited in more then one aspect. At the end of this chapter a question is posed about Zeus not disinviting Eris from the wedding of Peleus and Thetis (Harris and Platzner 321). The answer to this question is related directly to whether the gods are all powerful or not.
This shows that the goddess was jealous of her husband cheating on her, and tortured the
The relationships between the Greek gods and mortals have always been complicated. The gods can be generous and supportive, but also harsh and destructive towards the humans. They claim to be all powerful beings with unlimited power and influence, but in truth, they are far more human than they are perceived. They meddle with human lives, not because they are wise, but because of their own selfish reasons. In Homer’s
Greek mythology can be viewed as a mirror to the ancient Greek civilization. Ancient Greek myths and legends often reflected how the Greeks saw themselves. Myths were used by Greeks to make justifications of every existing aspect of earth as well as their own society. In myths, Greek gods & heroes often represented key aspects of the human civilization. From Greek mythology, we can learn about the favorable characteristics of humans, such as their behavior and valuable skills that were approved of by the ancient Greek society.
In the epic poem The Odyssey, Homer portrays Greek gods and goddesses as possessing human qualities and faults. Through their actions and emotions, Homer emphasizes the detrimental effects of lust, envy, wrath, and greed in ancient Grecian society. He also never fails to remind readers of the importance of respect for holy figures because of their powerful abilities to create chaos and wonder". Homer wants to prove that gods and humans share a variety of traits, and the only difference is that god don’t allow these flaws negatively to impact their society. To help further his argument, we can compare Greek gods and goddesses to that of Christianity.
The belief system and the presence of God is one of the things many cultures and people have taken for granted. In Homer’s Odyssey, there is a presence of the gods which makes mortal to have the ability to talk to them, see them and even feel their presence around them. In this epic, what fascinated me is how the gods showed love towards odyssey throughout his journey. In the Greece empire, the power of the gods is the most constantly praised which Looking at the roles of the gods, Athena, goddess of wisdom and a daughter of Zeus admired the courage and faith in odyssey. Athena pleaded with his father by saying: father Zeus, whose power is supreme, if the blessed gods really do want Odysseus to return to his home, we should send Hermes, our quicksilver herald,
Gods are represented as superior leaders and humans look up to them. Human were also destruction to earth in the god’s eyes. Gods have also thought humans were very different than them. Unfortunately gods/goddesses had very human flaws. Although human saw gods has perfect people, gods had very human flaws such as fear, jealousy, and being narcissistic.
Humans are like puppets; they have the freedom of choice however their decisions are constantly interfered by the gods. The god’s are given respect due to their extreme power, as mortals know, if offended a god, one would most likely have to face severe consequences. Nonetheless, the gods are not all powerful, as they have emotions that drive them hence weakens them. In Ancient Greek society, having the gods in your favor played a critical role in peoples daily lives, as the gods would extremely influence decision, have significant power over one’s fate, and have direct involvement in the lives of humans. “Father Zeus, is there any mortal left on the wide earth who will still declare to the immortals his mind and his purpose?