The Customer Service Dept. of the Gods sincerely apologises for any perceived wrongdoings on our part regarding the hardships that you and your men endured on your voyage home to Ithaca. We understand how frustrating these mishaps must be. However, after careful consideration and review of your complaints, it becomes clear that the bulk of your dissatisfaction has been caused by nothing more than your own misdeeds- rendering this discourse pointless and irrelevant.
While we at Customer Service Dept. of the Gods sincerely value your service in the Trojan War, we cannot second the statement you made regarding the fact that you or your men did nothing deserving of the provocation of the god’s wrath. It becomes glaringly obvious after reviewing your past history that any allegations of blamelessness are completely untrue. The very reason that you and your men incurred the wrath of the gods in the first place was because of your own foolish taunting of the mighty Cyclops, resulting in the unleashing of the mighty sea god Poseidon’s rage. If you had opted to leave quickly and quietly that day rather than make a scene, this entire ordeal would have been easily avoidable.
Furthermore, while the sirens are technically creations of the gods, we cannot
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Scylla is not a god, and therefore acts upon her own wishes and whims outside our immediate jurisdiction. We could have dispatched someone to help you, but doing so would be an obvious blow to Poseidon’s vendetta against you, and therefore in violation of our policy of neutrality in regards to the god’s individual quarrels with humans. We would also like to remind you once again that incurring the wrath of Poseidon is entirely on account of your own foolishness. Additionally, your crew, being in association with you, is by default just as guilty as you are- negating the idea of their inherent innocence and non-involvement in the matter as said in your
Odysseus dealt with his disobedient crew. After an already difficult journey, Odysseus and his crew arrive at Aeolis, where the king Aeolus offers him wind in a bag, which had enough wind to send Odysseus’s ship back home to Ithaca. While Odysseus sleeps, the crew conspires, believing that the bag contained treasure, “Aeolus has lavished these gifts upon him. Let 's have a quick look, and see what’s here, How much gold and silver is stuffed in this bag” (Homer p.142). The crewmen opened the bag and the winds rushed out, taking them back to Aeolis’ island. Due to their curiosity and disobedience, the crew adds years to the journey. But the crew does not learn from the mistake, and the next time they disobey, the consequences were fatal. When they arrive one Helios’ island, Odysseus forbids the crew to consume the cattle of the Sun God. “But swear me a great oath, every last man: If we find any cattle or sheep on this island, no man will kill a single cow or sheep. In his recklessness, but will be content to eat the food immortal Circe gave us” (Homer p.186-87). But while Odysseus is gone, the crew disregards his instructions and feasts one Helios’ cattle. Their consequence was Zeus destroying the ship and the crew, leaving only Odysseus alive. Odysseus wishes to go home, but he cannot control his men’s ignorance. The crew’s disobedience prevents Odysseus from achieving his
The subject of Homer’s epic poem, the Iliad, is very clearly stated--it is “the rage of Peleus’ son Achilles.” The reader remains continually aware of the extent of Achilles’ rage, yet is never told the reason why Achilles remains angry and unreconciled. There is no definitive answer to this question. Achilles is not a static character. He is constantly changing; thus the question of why he remains angry solicits different answers at various stages throughout the poem. To find an answer, the reader must carefully examine Achilles’ ever-changing dilemma involving the concepts of mortality and honor. At its simplest, Achilles’ dilemma is that if he goes to war, he will die. But he will die with glory.
Throughout history, people evaluated themselves and others based on moral judgements. The basis of those evaluations changed over time. In the Homeric period, from approximately 1200-800 BCE, people practiced “warrior ethics.” Warrior ethics were based on teleology, meaning all things had a purpose/function in society. The concept of good/bad was directly related to how well the function was performed. For example, a warrior was considered good when he was an excellent warrior and bad if he performed poorly. In Homeric times, excellence was considered god-like.
The relationship between gods and mortals in mythology has long been a complicated topic. The gods can be generous and supportive, and also devastating and destructive to any group of humans. Mortals must respect the powers above them that cannot be controlled. The gods rule over destiny, nature, and justice, and need to be recognized and worshipped for the powerful beings as they are. Regardless of one's actions, intentions, and thoughts, the gods in Greek myth have ultimate power and the final decision of justice over nature, mortals, and even each other.
In the beginning of the epic poem, Zeus claims that mortals blame the gods for all of their miseries. “Ah how shameless- the way these mortals blame the gods. From us alone, they say, come all their miseries, yes, but they themselves, with their own reckless ways, compound their pains beyond their proper share” (Homer 1.37-50). Zeus is claiming that
“Then the screaming and shouts of triumph rose up together, of men killing and men killed, and the ground ran blood.” From first examination the Iliad seems to be an epic founded on an idealized form of glory, the kind that young boys think about when they want to join the army. A place full of heroism and manliness where glory can be achieved with a few strokes of a sword and then you go home and everything is just lovely. Many people view the Iliad this way, based on it’s many vivid battle descriptions and apparent lack of remorse for the deaths that occur. This, however, is not how war is presented in the Iliad. Homer presents a very practical outlook on war countering the attainment of the glory with the reality of its price and the destruction it causes. He successfully does this by showing the value of the lives of each person that dies and, in a sense, mourning their passing, describing the terror and ugliness of war, and, through the characters of Achilleus and Hector, displaying the high price of glory.
Hospitality today is nothing like it was in Ancient Greece. Today, good hospitality is being friendly and respectful to a guest. In Ancient Greece, hospitality was something people had to do, or face the wrath of Zeus. Zeus’s law of hospitality is that any stranger that comes to your home, the host must be willing to feed, entertain, and maybe offer them a bath and anything else they might be in need of without question until those things had been given, and also give them a parting gift. The guest, in turn, would not be a burden in any way. In The Odyssey, most people follow the rules of hospitality, but there are others who do not. The Greek concept of xenia shows the serious priority the Greeks place on the laws of the gods.
The Iliad by Homer is an epic poem separated in different books or chapters that shows a fictionalized account of the Trojan War. Book 6: Hector Returns to Troy is the specific portion of the poem that is being covered in this essay. Hector from the Iliad shows a very clear aspect of his personality, a strong sense of loyalty and tenderness for his loved ones and also his people by being on the front lines during the war and showing his people he is willing to fight with them and essentially sacrificing himself for his family. Hector even knows his forgiveness towards his brother, Paris even though Paris is the main reason the Trojan War is in existence.
Throughout Homer’s epic poem, The Iliad, gods are presented as remarkably human in almost every way. While it is assumed that gods are divine entities incapable of human transgression, they are portrayed with all the flaws of mortals in The Iliad. The gods are a manifestation of human emotions consequently helping to explain the behavior of the humans in The Iliad. The actions of the heroes are what determine their fate, not divine intervention. Ultimately, the humans in The Iliad have inherent characteristics that provide the driving force behind their actions: the gods simply act in concert with them, allowing the human beings to exercise free will of
In Greek mythology, there are many creatures that strike fear into the heart of man; Scylla is one of those creatures. Residing in a narrow straight, across from the whirlpool of Charybdis, Scylla awaits foolish sailors to cross her path. Scylla has twelve dangling legs, and six gruesome heads balanced on top of tentacle-like necks. When sailing the straight, sailors often times find themselves with a predicament: which monstrosity to sail closer to. Horrifyingly enough, Scylla can kill up to six men at one time with her many heads, rendering a ship’s crew almost useless. American myths live in the shadow of Greek mythology, but are fearsome nonetheless.
In the Odyssey there is a distinct relationship that is shared between the mortals and the Gods. In the link with Christian faith, the Gods in the Odyssey are physically present. The Gods help, lend assistance, support and mentor the mortals. They can be ‘compared to that of a guardian angel’ (FORP). In comparison, the gods have their favourites which my result in the negativity towards a mortal from a particular God. As so the mortals are at the mercy of Gods. Majority of the time the mortals benefit greatly from the Gods and can be seen to transform for the better.
Since he is the king of all gods, it is only right he calls the shots. He has the power to call anyone to his will. One of example of this is when he decides to help Odysseus return home. He tells Hermes “Announce to the nymph with lovely braids our fixed decree: Odysseus journeys home, the exile must return home” (Lines 34-35). Zeus’s word is final. When told it is from the king god himself, the nymph does as she is told. This shows how powerful Zeus and his word is. Also it displays that if Zeus wants it done, it shall be done. Zeus helps Odysseus gets a jump-start to returning home by helping him get released off Calypso’s island. Another scene where Zeus holds the fate of more characters is when Poseidon wants to attack Odysseus. Zeus says to him “Here’s what seems best to me. As the people all lean down from the city’s heights to watch her speeding home, strike her into a rock that looks like a racing vessel, just offshore, amaze all of your men with a marvel for the ages. Then pile your huge mountains round about their port” (Lines 175-180 Book 13). He gives a Poseidon a detailed plan on how to punish his own people. This determines the fate amongst the men on the boat, sending is his second act saving the main character of the story. It might be safe to say that Zeus has a soft spot the
Homer's Iliad is commonly understood as an epic about the Trojan War, but its meaning goes deeper than that. The Iliad is not only a story of the evolution of Achilleus' persona, but at times it is an anti-war epic as well. The final book proposes many questions to the reader. Why not end with the killing of Hektor? Most stories of war conclude with the triumphant victory of good over evil, but in the Iliad, the final thoughts are inclined to the mourning of the defeated Hektor, which accentuates the fact that good has not triumphed over evil, but simply Achilleus triumphed over Hektor. Ending with the mourning of Hektor also brings to center stage for the first time the human side of war and the harsh aftermath of it. We see that war not only brings great glory, but also much suffering and anguish. Homer puts his anti-war views on display.
Divine Intervention is a “direct and obvious intervention by a god or goddess in the affairs of humans”. In various myths such as the Iliad, the Epic of Gilgamesh, and Herakles, divine intervention was called upon in order to restrain a hero’s destructive or too powerful forces. Although the divine intervention was used to impair different heroes, the purpose to constrain was the same in all the narratives.
Greek mythology has systematically included the intervention of gods and goddesses in matters of the mortal world, and Homer’s The Iliad is no different. The story is littered with divine intervention, with both positive and negative outcomes for the humans involved.