The Gods In The Iliad And The Odyssey

The relationship between the gods and the men in the Odyssey is a unique relationship. Sometimes the way the gods treat the men make the gods seem mortal although most of the time they grant help and wisdom to certain people. In a way, the change in the behavior of the gods between the two stories is extremely significant. The gods and the men in the Iliad and the Odyssey help each other most of the time and they both have similar traits and views.

In the Odyssey Homer portrays the gods as narrow minded, greedy, and rather cruel people. The gods never treat the men with lots of respect but they never totally disrespect them either. The gods can be very double sided they like some men and other men they strongly dislike. Although the way they interact with each other differs between the two books.
In the …show more content…
“The epic poem shows the kind of conversation that the characters, Achilles and Homer have with the gods. In the first instance Homer is witnessed as summoning the poetry goddess so as to sing out the anger of Achilles. In summoning the goddess of poetry, Homer tells the goddess to sing the anger of the son of Peleus that has resulted into myriad problems, devastations and ills on the Achaean population. As a contrasting response to the call made by Homer to the goddess of poetry, Achilles becomes angry with Homer and answers back swiftly He further cries out that the malicious god has drawn him away from the wall, has robbed him of the great glory and finally saving the Trojans” ("Role of Gods in the Iliad"). In conclusion the relationship between the gods and the men is an extremely unique relationship. The gods play a huge role in the men’s lives. They are basically a part of their daily lives. The difference between the two books is extremely significant. In the Iliad the gods act as powerful unearthly forces. However in the Odyssey the gods act as aids and mentors to the