Ty Thompson

Mr. Palcsey

Honors English

December 18th, 2017

Divine Intervention

Divine intervention is prevalent throughout the story of the Odyssey, the translation of

Stanley Lombardo. There are many gods in the Greek religion, but not all of the gods are equal.

Some gods have greater power and influence than others, and these gods often dictate the

outcome of the humans. Athena, Zeus, and Poseidon are three of the many gods who help or

impair Odysseus along his Journey. These three influential gods have similar, but differing

relationships with Odysseus.

Zeus, unlike other Greek gods, is the most powerful Greek God. Zeus is the God of the

sky, and he controls much of what goes on in the life of Odysseus. Zeus, much like Athena, helps

Odysseus along the way but he, unlike Athena, never shows up in person. Throughout the book

Zeus offers guidance to Odysseus either by blessing him or conversing with other gods, or

Nymphs, to aid in his travels. Zeus has a positive interaction with Odysseus but does not show

himself to Odysseus, much like Poseidon's interactions. At one point in the book it says, "Zeus

turned then to his son Hermes and said: “Hermes, you’ve been our messenger before. Go tell that

ringleted nymph it is my will to let that patient man Odysseus go home."' (Lombardo 30). This

passage shows Zeus speaking to Hermes to help Odysseus return home, and escape his captivity.

There are many other interactions in the story, such as Zeus helping in the fight against the

suitors. He remains hidden during the conflicts and only helps enough to secure victory. The
prime reason for remaining hidden is to keep a war from surfacing between the gods. Poseidon

would feel personally betrayed if he heard, or saw, his own brother helping one of the men he

hates.

Athena has the most outstanding relationship with Odysseus in this book. She is Zeus'

daughter, and her persuasion is what caused Zeus to side with Odysseus. Athena shows up

disguised as family friends to push people into helping Odysseus safely return home. Athena

even helps kill many of Penelope's suitors when Odysseus' trip ends. Athena helps Odysseus

many times whether it was getting Telemachus to travel and ask about the well-being of his

father, or giving Odysseus strength to kill the men who tried to court his wife. An example of

this comes from page 206, "They took his advice and gave it their best, But Athena made their

shots all come to nothing, one man hitting the doorpost, another the door, another’s bronze-

tipped ash spear sticking into the wall. Odysseus and his men weren’t even nicked..."

(Lombardo). This quote comes from a point in the story where Odysseus is fighting all of the

suitors, but has help from three people. Four men against over one hundred does not sound

possible without help from the gods. Athena sides with Odysseus, showing up dressed as

Mentor. She gives Odysseus enough strength to take on all of these men but does this from a

high perch in the house. This relationship with Odysseus is positive, helping him achieve his

goal of making it home to his family. It is very close to Odysseus' relationship with Zeus, but

they are not exactly the same. This is because Zeus does not help Odysseus one on one but in

secret while Athena shows up to help fight.

Poseidon can be seen as one of the story's antagonists. Poseidon has issues with

Odysseus, because along the journey he was captured by a cyclops. This cyclops planned to kill,

roast, and eat Odysseus and his men. Odysseus devised a plan for him and his men to escape,
which involved stabbing the cyclops in the eye with a hot olive tree. They followed through, and

escaped the now blind cyclops, but came upon one issue. The cyclops happened to be Poseidon's

son. This cyclops prayed to his father to put a curse on Odysseus saying, "I had my say, and he

prayed to Poseidon, stretching his arms out to starry heaven: ‘Hear me, Poseidon, blue-maned

Earth-Holder, if you are the father you claim to be. Grant that Odysseus, son of Laertes, may

never reach his home on Ithaca. But if he is fated to see his family again, and return to his home

and own native land, may he come late, having lost all companions, in another’s ship, and find

trouble at home’" (Lombardo 76-77). This being said, Poseidon caused many of Odysseus' issues

along his ten-year journey home. This relationship is special, because it originates from a

cyclops' curse. It is also one of the only negative relationships any of the gods have with

Odysseus. In one aspect it is like Zeus' relationship because Poseidon never shows himself to

Odysseus. Poseidon only speaks to him, and brings many troubles on his voyage.

In conclusion, all three of these gods have impactful relations with Odysseus varying

from good to bad, in person or behind the scenes. It is safe to say that Athena and Zeus have the

most similar relationship with Odysseus, by helping him return home safely as the Greek hero he

is. Poseidon has a different connection with Odysseus, but is not alone in wanting to keep

Odysseus from returning home. Without these interventions there would be no drama in the

story. All three of these relationships make the voyage interesting, and greatly motivate events

showcasing the ongoing battles between the gods and the struggles of the eople in Greece.