Semblance

In The Odyssey, the gods are interestingly unpredictable. In class, we discussed how, though the Phaeacians worshipped Poseidon for years, Poseidon still decided to screw over one of their boats along with their scenery as punishment for helping Odysseus. I've always thought of the Greek gods as completely rational overseers of the mortals with strong moral compasses, but these incidents make the gods seem more... human.

The above example of Poseidon's actions is a perfect example of this. He holds a grudge against Odysseus for blinding Polyphemus, and ends up taking his anger out on his followers when his plans to prolong Odysseus's journey are thwarted. This is a very "human" phenomenon: when we get angry and frustrated, the source of our problems often isn't the target of our anger. Other gods besides Poseidon seem to exhibit similarly "human" characteristics. Athena helps Odysseus while Poseidon seeks to harm him, showing that the gods can pick favorites and aren't always in agreement whether or not a mortal deserves their help. Zeus, meanwhile, is supposed to be some sort of leader of the gods, but he doesn't seem to care much about Poseidon's harsh treatment of the Phaeacians, even suggesting he take it further. This shows that the gods don't have a uniform or unanimous moral compass, and are driven more by mood and impulse.

Just like us.

Comments

  1. Aidan GarrettFebruary 2, 2019 at 10:36 AM

    Cool post! I agree that those characteristics are decidedly human in nature. However, at the same time, I think there were some major differences as well. Take for example Poseidon being mad at his followers. That, as you said, is very human. However, the nonchalance with which Poseidon reaps his revenge seems very detached and not human like.

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    1. Peter ZhangFebruary 2, 2019 at 10:50 AM

      Good point, it is odd how Poseidon and Zeus don't seem to think their actions through at all before punishing the Phaeacians. I think the gods just see themselves as superior to mortals in every way, and as a result don't care much about the lives they harm. Just like how a child may laugh as they flood an ant colony of thousands, the gods don't care about the city they've ruined.

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  2. Emi BrownFebruary 2, 2019 at 11:47 AM

    I also thought that this comparison between the gods and humans was super interesting. One would think that a perfect being such as a god wouldn't be so easily swayed by emotions as they are seen as above human. However as you pointed out, the Olympians seem to base their actions on how they feel. In my post, I compared them more to toddlers since they seem to have very intense rash reactions to things that anger them. Great post!

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  3. Max E.February 2, 2019 at 12:19 PM

    Yes. The gods are all motivated by different things, such as Poseidon wanting to punish Odysseus and those who help him for the blinding of Polyphemus. Athena, as we have discussed, has sympathy for Odysseus's circumstances and wants to help him. Zeus's position in all this is somewhat less obvious. Though we see him agree with Athena that Odysseus deserves help, we also see him agree with Poseidon that the Phaeacians should be punished for helping him. He's quite an ambiguous character.

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  4. Robert NagelFebruary 2, 2019 at 2:30 PM

    For a long time, I've had pretty much the opposite impression of the Greek gods: like humanity writ large, with godlike power thrown in. Here, seeing the Olympian gods throw around the power, using mortals like toys, was pretty much expected as the gods really don't have a strong moral compass (and definitely not a compass that they all agree on).

    Like we discussed in class, the mortals try to do the Right Thing (but they don't know what the Right Thing is, or there may be no Right Thing), but the gods do only what they want.

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  5. Leo MaslovFebruary 2, 2019 at 9:58 PM

    I think sometimes, its more like Zeus wants to try and keep all the gods together. Both partly because while mortals are, ya know, mortal, gods have to live with each other for eternity. So for Zeus to be almost a "yes-man" is actually more characteristic of being a leader than telling someone "no". I think in particular for a god to be embarrassed by a "mere mortal" is a scar which will only get worse with the passage of time. I mean how would you feel if you were about to avenge the man who scarred your son only to find out he died after a long and peaceful life, all while you have to wait millions of years as you keep hearing stories of "the man who escaped all mighty Poseidons wrath". I don't know but I would feel pretty angry and just want to shut up those dam nonsense spouting humans.

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  6. LawrenceFebruary 2, 2019 at 10:14 PM

    Reading the Odyssey for the first time has really helped me understand what the Greek gods are like, and it was not what I was expecting. I thought they would be just overlords who used their powers with discretion (of course I had heard some crazy stories but I didn't think everyone was so impulsive/unrestrained). Through reading this story though, I have found out, just as you say, that the gods are a lot more emotional and human-like than I thought. Zeus especially, who I thought would be the sensible mediator on issues just seems to escalate things further, like telling Poseidon to turn the Phaeacian ship to stone.

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  7. JoshuaFebruary 10, 2019 at 11:36 AM

    I agree with your points, the Gods seem very human-like and emotional. Humans almost seem like toys, being thrown around at the Gods' wills. I was surprised there wasn't more conflict among the Gods in the book, since they have a hard time controlling their emotions and often are trying to do different things. I thought Poseidon would get really upset at Athena when he finds out Odysseus finally arrived home.

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  8. KatFebruary 11, 2019 at 7:15 PM

    I really like your comparison between gods and humans because I also have noticed the flawed moral compass that the gods exhibit throughout The Odyssey. It is troubling, however, that beings with human emotion and impulses would be equipped with superhuman powers, allowing for the gods to implement massively destructive events (like with the Phaeacians) on a whim.

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  9. Elizabeth TFebruary 12, 2019 at 1:55 PM

    Yes! Poseidon is pretty much portrayed as a whiny brat with no regard for consequences! This makes sense, of course, because he is an all-powerful being who actually doesn't have to worry about consequences, but it's sort of scary to see that personality given absolute power. Imagine living under that sort of rage. These human tendencies are also represented through Athena, who sometimes seems to be Odysseus' ally and sometimes seems to be prolonging his suffering for her own amusement.

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