Divine interactions on the journey of Odysseus

Essay by alarkb1297Junior High, 9th gradeA, April 2012

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Odyssey Essay

It took Odysseus a total of ten years to get home after the end of the Trojan War. Different gods had different feelings about Odysseus when aiding and thwarting him on his journey back to Ithika. Odysseus traveled all over the Mediterranean Sea searching for a way back to his precious homeland and beautiful wife, Penelope. Odysseus had been forced to fight for a total of ten years in the Trojan War, carried away from his son, Telemachus, and Penelope, after he failed to prove he was mad and couldn't fight. All while the war, a whole ten years, Odysseus was longing for one thing, and one thing only, to return to his homeland and see his wife and child. The gods played interesting roles in the journey of Odysseus, in the epic Poem the Odyssey by Homer. Some helped him along the way, such as Athena. Some only wanted to cause disruptions in the voyage much like Poseidon.

Others were on the fence, like Kalypso and Circe, both showing hospitality and hostility. The three most important roles that the gods portrayed were that of Athena supporting Odysseus, Poseidon opposing him, and Kalypso and Circe showing both benevolence and antagonism.

From the very beginning of The Odyssey, instances of the divine assistant, Athena, aiding Odysseus are evident. Athena couldn't stand to see the line of filthy suitors waiting to marry Penelope, Odysseus' wife. Athena of many disguises went to Telemachus as Odysseus' old friend, Mentes. Telemachus was overjoyed when he heard, "'As for my sailing here -/ The tale is that your father had come home, / therefore I came. I see the gods delay him. / But never in this world is Odysseus dead - / only detained somewhere on this wide sea, / upon some...