Divine intervention is important because it is the whole reason for the story. The only reason Odysseus doesn't just go home after the war is because Poseidon didn't let him. If he went home after the war he would still be a hero, but just a different kind of hero: a war hero. Because of the journey not only is he a war hero, but he is an epic hero too. They definition of an epic hero is a brave and noble character, admired for great achievements or affected by grand events. Without Poseidon trying to constantly kill Odysseus, he wouldn't have gone through all of those adventures. Athena is also helping Odysseus by building on to his great qualities. Athena could have just magically transported Odysseus back to Ithaca because gods and goddesses
