Aegisthus In The Odyssey

In the opening pages of Book I of “The Odyssey” written by Homer and translated by Robert Fagles, the gods are conversing in assembly regarding the death of “handsome” Aegisthus. Similar to the modern-day court system, the gods attempt to justify the fate that Aegisthus, the human, has received. However, the gods - with knowledge of everything happening around the human world - rely not on the testimonies of mere mortals or on evidence received. Instead, the gods recall whether or not they from Mt.Olympus have sufficiently warned Aegisthus about the possible consequences for his sinful actions. Indeed, Zeus had sent Hermes to forbid Aegisthus from “murdering [Agamemnon]” and “courting [Agamemnon's] wife, [Clytemnestra]”. Aegisthus, fully-knowing that killing Agamemnon would result in “his own total ruin”, acted on his own will. Thus, the gods, by meeting in assembly, come to acknowledge that Aegisthus had earned his death in full.

This instance of Zeus speaking his mind on the subject of Aegisthus’ death shows that there is a close relationship between the gods and the humans. Since the gods are powerful enough to change the lives of human beings, they observe people’s actions to see if they should be rewarded or cursed. Likewise, human beings strive to be in the favour of the gods through offerings and …show more content…
To the gods, it is their purpose to come together in serving justice to their people since upholding justice, in turn, maintains order in the world. Thus, Athena is driven to discuss with Telemachus on means of getting back Odysseus to Ithaca as suitors have continuously “lounged, swaggered … and gorged in [Odysseus’] palace”. After listening to Telemachus express his emotion over the loss of his father and the outpouring of suitors, Athena is “brimming with indignation” signifying and perhaps foreshadowing that justice will be served in