In Ancient Greece religion was a tool used for many different reasons, whether it was to explain the creation of the universe or to explain the occurrences of nature. Religion was a very important aspect of Greek society and culture and through ritualistic practises it allows communities to unify in a common goal to please the Gods. Among the many emperors and tyrants of Athens, it was Pisistratus that allowed religion and religious rituals to flourish in Athens. His sons, Hippias and Hipparchus, had followed in his footsteps to continue ruling Athens but they had lacked to charisma and vision that Pisistratus had. In this…
Loyalty is extremely important within Odysseus’ world. Characters in The Odyssey will go as far as to die for their leader and or fellow men. If you are not loyal to your leader or a person of power, they could go as far as to kill you for disloyalty. For example, in all of book one of The Odyssey, Odysseus’ men die for Odysseus on countless occasions. To be more specific, when Odysseus was passing through the island with the lotus eaters, Odysseus’ men go out and explore the island for Odysseus. The men end up dying in the end. Disloyalty can get also get you into a lot of trouble. In book 2 of The Odyssey, the suitors are punished by their disloyalty toward Odysseus by immediate death. This goes to show that loyalty is obviously an enormous…
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…
Furthermore, for the Greeks they detested the afterlife, and didn’t hope for a life beyond earth after their departure from earth. In the Odyssey Odysseus dialogues, “I would rather work the soil as a serf on hire to some landless impoverished peasant than be king of all these lifeless dead” (Homer 152). This exemplifies how Odysseus would rather prefer life on earth as a slave to the poorest of all classes instead of accepting Achilles offer to become a god. Moreover, Odysseus decision shows us how the Greeks would in general would take part in the lowest division of the social hierarchy in Greece than have eternal life in an afterlife with Gods. Through the Odyssey we can grasp Greek beliefs, in specific it exemplified that there was no beauty in the afterlife. Additionally, the Greek masses strived to live a life with nothing in excess, as a consequence these choices allowed them to be truly content with their time on earth. Greek citizens weren’t living a “just” life in order achieve an immortal and eternal life, in essence they were eluding from the thought of an…
Loyalty to family, community, and the gods is an important quality in the lives of ancient Greek citizens. These qualities are clear demonstrated in The Odyssey through Penelope, Telemakhos, and Odysseus.…
In The Odyssey the reader learns about what the Greek people valued by learning that they valued hospitality no matter who you are, and lineage. The story shows the reader that if someone is found in a situation in which they do not know someone, the host should be hospitable and help the stranger with what he or she needs. Also, the idea that where someone comes from, who their father is , and who is their family is determines how they should act and what they are like. The Odyssey Shows many examples of these ideas in the text, by making the characters experience these situations.…
The Odyssey shows how faith affects the life of every human being. Faith gives direction and meaning to our life in times of struggles and problem. The movie have shown what will happen to a man without the Gods and Goddesses guidance and help. We should always give thanks and praise to our God for all the things they have done for us in our everyday life.…
An analysis of divine intervention in The Odyssey reveals that survival and achievement of goals is impossible without help from the gods as they control everything that happens. Divine intervention is a very important aspect of the Odyssey seen right from the beginning to the end and all who have help from the gods survive while those who don't die.…
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.…
Religion plays a big role in day to day life. That was just as true a few thousand years ago when Greek society was just budding. To fully understand Greek religion and its affect on the culture we must go back to the origin of both, examine both as they were developed, and look at the stories and aspects of both, individually and as a whole.…
Though different works, both the Iliad and the Odyssey of Homer each contain one outstanding character that excels in virtue. Even when forced to live with a dilemma that he or she did not cause, both Hektor, in the Iliad, and Penelope, in the Odyssey, remain virtuous. This becomes clear through their rigid fidelity to their spouses, their piety to the gods, and their resolute natures in the situations presented to them.…
A characteristics of an epic hero demonstrated in Homer epic poems was the interference of supernatural beings either as allies or enemies. Ancient Greeks society believed in gods and goddesses who live above Mount Olympus and watch over mortals below. The Greeks believed that these gods and goddesses interfered with life below Olympus. This is seen in both Homers poems the Iliad and the Odyssey, where the gods interfered throughout the stories. In the Iliad, the gods interfered in both side of the war, by favoring who they were going to help. When Agamemnon did not return Chryseis, her father a Trojan high priest turned to Apollo for help. In turn, Apollo sent a plague throughout the Greek army. When Hector took Achilles armor from Patroclus,…
“God brings men into deep waters, not to drown them but to cleanse them.”- Aughey. It is true that God will give us different struggle in life it might be easy or it might be difficult. But this struggle will come not to down us but to test our trust and faith to HIM and cleanse us from sin and recognized Him as the greatest of all.…
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.…
Religion has played a large role in many societies throughout all of history, and this statement does not exempt the Ancient Grecian city-states. This idea is represented through the examination of civilizations such as ancient Athens, Greece in which a polytheistic religion was seen to have dictated much the civilization’s citizens’ lives; religion affected the culture of ancient Athens in regards to art, ceremony and rituals, politics, civil rights, and daily practices.…