In Homer's Odyssey, the Greek gods interfere with the citizens of Ithaca on a daily basis, significantly affecting and changing their lives. Throughout The Odyssey, the Greek gods use their significant power to their advantage. The interventions of the Greek gods reward or punish the citizens of Ithaca, depending on whether their actions are positive or negative. In Homer's Odyssey, divine intervention usually occurs in response to Odysseus' actions, whether rewarding Odysseus after a positive action or punishing him after a negative action, illustrating that the Odysseus' character was inconsistent between good leadership and bad leadership. plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The first example of God's intervention, in response to Odysseus' positive actions, occurs when he finally returns home to Ithaca and greets his wife Penelope. Penelope being her cunning self, listens to all the commotion in the great hall. Athena now inspires him to take on a challenge that only Ulysses can meet. Athena's advice that she offers to Penelope, as she describes God's intervention, demonstrates that Athena rewards Odysseus for his good leadership as he completes his journey and returns all of his men to Ithaca. As Odysseus sounds the bowstring, Zeus sends a thunderbolt crashing through the sky just as the suitors are in disbelief that Odysseus has drawn the bow and shot an arrow through 12 axes. As the narrator of the Odyssey explains how simple this task was for Odysseus, he goes on to say: "Like an expert singer, skilled in lyre and song, who easily stretches a rope to a new peg, making rapid the soft intestine of the sheep. at each end, with his virtuoso ease, Ulysses stretched his powerful bow. Athena, the god of war, favors and rewards Odysseus for his good leadership and for finally returning home. Athena rewards Odysseus by telling Penelope to create a challenge that she knew only Odysseus could complete. This quote is extremely important because Athena changed the outcome of Odysseus' future with Penelope. Without Athena, Penelope would not have known that Odysseus was actually Odysseus and who knows what would have happened in their relationship together. The quote explains the extreme half-breed Odysseus possessed in stringing the bow, but also explains that he strung the bow with great ease. This is an ideal example of how gratifying and friendly the gods can be as long as they approve of your positive actions and good leadership. However, if you make mistakes and show negative actions, the gods can be merciless and punitive and can change the lives of citizens forever. The second example of divine intervention in recognition of Odysseus' positive actions occurs when Odysseus has enough courage to stand up. stands up for the men who suffered at Circe's house and goes to approach the goddess alone. Hearing Eurylochus's account of what happened to half of his friends in Circe's house, Odysseus decides to go alone to meet the Goddess. During his journey/trek, he meets Hermes, who is cunning and disguised as a young boy who teaches him how to defeat Circe and gives him a magical cure for the goddess drug called Molly. Hermes, the god of commerce, wealth, and luck, gives Odysseus this masterful advice for defeating Circe, which exposes the fact that she rewards Odysseus for his strong leadership skills and incredible courage as he gives the he example to his men as he faces this task of going to the goddess alone, something few are willing to do. This shows that Odysseus has moments of great leadership and that he does notafraid to defend Ithaca or its men. This also demonstrates that Odysseus becomes more mature and becomes an indestructible young man. Hermes gave the following advice to Odysseus on how to defeat Circe: “The gods call this plant Moly. It is difficult for mortals to dig up, but the gods are capable of anything” (Homer 269). Hermes, after approving Odysseus' positive actions, gives him advice on how to overcome Circe's deception. Hermes gives Odysseus a plant called moly, which allows Odysseus not to be deceived by Circe and to defeat her. However, this drug is only available to Greek gods. In this special moment, Hermes describes how if Odysseus demonstrates positive actions and demonstrates good leadership, he will receive good returns and be rewarded by the Greek gods. Hermes changed the outcome of his visit with Circe and ultimately changed the outcome of his life by intervening at that very moment when Odysseus was on his way to Circe. This demonstrates the fact that the gods can determine how a person's life turns out depending on whether their invention is rewarding or punishing. This is a perfect example of how rewarding and helpful the gods can be as long as they approve of your positive actions and good leadership. Although there are many examples of divine intervention in response to recognition of Odysseus' positive actions, there are several. case where the Greek gods intervene when Odysseus depicts negative actions. The most significant example is found in book 12, when Odysseus must warn his men about the Sun God's cattle. Odysseus advised his men not to eat the Sun God's livestock. Odysseus and his men make an agreement that they will not eat or kill the Sun God's livestock. Odysseus failed to convey the fact that if they ate and killed the cattle of the Sun God, there would be consequences from the Gods. During the night, Zeus creates a storm that prevents them from leaving the island for an entire month, during which they lack meat and are forced to eat fish. While he sleeps, Odysseus's men break their promise and kill some of the Sun god's livestock. Even after being reprimanded by Odysseus, they continue to eat beef for an entire week. Zeus hits the ship with a thunderbolt and the ship is torn to pieces and Odysseus's men drown. Zeus, the god of war, punishes Odysseus for his poor leadership, as Odysseus failed to keep his men away from the sun god's cattle. This shows the fact that the gods are ruthless and will not be afraid to completely ruin the citizens' lives if they show negative actions that the gods do not approve of. Odysseus told the reader: “My men were thrown into the water and, swaying like sea ravens, they were carried by the waves all around the black ship, and the god carried them back. » Odysseus illustrates what his helpless men looked like. when they fell into the sea and began to drown. He describes how his men were rocking up and down and were incredibly helpless as the waves were gargantuan compared to them and also expresses how the gods swept them home. Odysseus recounts how merciless the Greek gods were when Zeus struck a thunderbolt, tore Odysseus' ship apart, and killed all his men as they drowned in the stormy waters. Zeus changed the outcome of Odysseus's life by disapproving of his negative actions and poor leadership. This is a great example of how the gods can be authoritarian and determine how a person's life unfolds depending on whether their intervention is rewarding or punishing. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get now, 2019.