Personal Responsibility and the Gods’ Role in the Odyssey
The gods play an important part in Odysseus’ journey home, bringing him closer and farther from his homeland. They constantly intervene in the lives of the many characters in The Odyssey. Though Odysseus is a hero, the gods control his life. It is as if he were the main character in a video game and the gods are fighting over who controls his life. Personal responsibility is overshadowed by the gods’ eagerness to grab the controller. Homer disregards personal responsibility by showing how the gods take care of everything for Odysseus. It was ultimately Athena who begged Zeus to let Odysseus go home by saying
Father Zeus…..never let any sceptered king be kind and gentle now, not he ruled remembers Odysseus now, that godlike man, and kindly as a father to his children. Now, he’s left to pine on an island, racked with grief in the nymph Calypso’s house…...He has no way to voyage home to his own native land…. (Homer pages 152-153)
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Odysseus was not the one who convinced the gods that he should go home. In fact, he would “…..sit on the rocks and beaches, wrenching his heart with sobs and groans and anguish, gazing out over the barren sea through blinding tears”(Homer page 157) or “….In the nights, true, he’d sleep with her [Calypso] in the arching cave….”(Homer page 157)]. However, he is not physically capable of getting himself home with all the powers of Poseidon against him for “…..every god took pity, all except Poseidon. He raged on, seething against the great Odysseus till he reached his native land...”)(Homer page 78) and no crew or boat. So, with nothing to do, he is left to leave his fate to the gods, as personal responsibility is apparently out of the question. Another example that supports Homer’s lack of regard for personal responsibility as the cause of what our future brings, not the gods, is when Odysseus is shrouded in mist by Athena to walk through the busy streets of Phaeacia to the king’s
Father Zeus…..never let any sceptered king be kind and gentle now, not he ruled remembers Odysseus now, that godlike man, and kindly as a father to his children. Now, he’s left to pine on an island, racked with grief in the nymph Calypso’s house…...He has no way to voyage home to his own native land…. (Homer pages 152-153)
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Odysseus was not the one who convinced the gods that he should go home. In fact, he would “…..sit on the rocks and beaches, wrenching his heart with sobs and groans and anguish, gazing out over the barren sea through blinding tears”(Homer page 157) or “….In the nights, true, he’d sleep with her [Calypso] in the arching cave….”(Homer page 157)]. However, he is not physically capable of getting himself home with all the powers of Poseidon against him for “…..every god took pity, all except Poseidon. He raged on, seething against the great Odysseus till he reached his native land...”)(Homer page 78) and no crew or boat. So, with nothing to do, he is left to leave his fate to the gods, as personal responsibility is apparently out of the question. Another example that supports Homer’s lack of regard for personal responsibility as the cause of what our future brings, not the gods, is when Odysseus is shrouded in mist by Athena to walk through the busy streets of Phaeacia to the king’s
Bibliography: Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin Books, 1996.