The Odyssey Literary Analysis

The Gods, Their Actions, and The Mortals

There is no value in life except what you choose to place upon it and no happiness in any place except what you bring to it yourself.

Without the Gods, mortals would not have guidance. In the book, The Odyssey, by Homer, The gods direct the way for the wellbeing of the mortals. In the first six books of The Odyssey there are many events which the gods have influenced in both the positive and negative. There are many gods that have an influence on the events that occur in the book. Athena, disguised as Mentes, helps Telemachus along his journeys. Another example of a God having an influence on the events in a negative way was when Poseidon punished Odysseus by throwing a storm to make his travels hard. “And this enables Polyphemus to invoke the wrath of his father, the sea god Poseidon, and ensure that Odysseus will come home late and come a broken man —all shipmates lost, alone in a stranger’s ship, to find a world of pain at home.” [The Odyssey, Book II] In the book, Poseidon makes life hard for Odysseus by always being a road block in his journeys.  By Poseidon creating a storm to cause him to go off track of his journey, it lead Odysseus to end up on an island with Calypso, where he stays for a long time trapped on this island. Throughout the books that we’ve read so far, the Gods have greatly impacted the storyline. Telemachus is aided in his difficult journey to find his father, Odysseus. Meanwhile, Odysseus is being targeted by Poseidon, who does not want him to succeed. So far, The Odyssey has been like a play directed by the Gods, they are not the main actors, but the effect how it all plays out.

Throughout different situations, both gods and mortals show many different character traits. In the book, The Odyssey, By Homer, the characters are forced to show their true personalities as the story unfolds. All of the characters go through difficult situations throughout the book that make it hard for them to be their best selfs. That’s why through these situations we find out who they truly are. Many of the character traits shown include Telemachus showing determination. Even in the toughest of all times he keeps persevering to find his father, Odysseus. Athena disguises herself as Mentes, king of the Taphians throughout the first few books. She watches over Telemachus, guiding his way so he won’t fail. Athena shows her true personality as a caring god, although she is the god of war, she protects Telemachus and cares about his well being. “Telemachus strode in too, a bronze spear in his grip and not alone: two sleek hounds went trotting at his heels. And Athena lavished a marvelous splendor on the prince so the people all gazed in wonder as he came forward,”.  As we read more and more books in The Odyssey we build a bigger connection to the characters. We get to know each one better and we see who they really are based on the decisions they make as the story unfolds. Some gods help the mortals, such as Athena, and others do not help them, such as Poseidon. Every character we have met so far has an impact on the storyline of the book, and it depends on what their true personality is to determine wether the impact is positive or negative. With all things considered, the god’s actions, decisions and dealing of different situations were reveled throughout the story just like characters are in a movie. This not only progressed the story however, it also showed us who they truly are.