How Does Evslin Present The Theme Of Disobeying The Gods

“The supreme deity of Greek mythology has his lusty, tempestuous story recast in engaging fashion by Stone”(ProQuest). Zeus was thought of as the father of gods and men. While he did not make them, he protected them, and therefore was considered a father to them. He ruled over the sky and air, and controlled everything that happened in his domains from his throne on Mount Olympus. To gain his throne, he overthrew his father, Cronos, with the help of his siblings, and then dividing up the realms between him and his two elder brothers. Zeus became lord of the sky and rain, Poseidon took the title lord of the sea, and Hades became ruler of the underworld. He then banished his father to the shadowy Tartarus in the underworld. Zeus was the most

The first example of these transgressions in Odysseus’ journey takes place on the island of the Lotus-eaters. The fruit of the lotus is a tasty and tricky fruit that can tangle the mind so that one forgets about home. While Odysseus’ crew devours the fruit, he chooses not to partake. The discipline that Odysseus shows in this book is unlike that of the rest of the epic. This demonstrates that Odysseus does possess self-control, and that his focus is on reaching home. Although he proves he has the determination to resist temptation, he later falters in the epic. His submission to temptation is a flaw he needs to learn how to control. Odysseus proves that he has the power to overcome; he just doesn’t always have the self-control to resist.

Hades is the Greek God and ruler of the Underworld. He is often associated with wealth and agriculture. He is also the son of Cronus and Rhea and the third most powerful Greek god. Unlike his two brothers, his realm cannot be seen by anyone living. The Greeks believe that his name, Hades, means “The Unseen One.” He is the only god that does not live on Mount Olympus; he has his own glittering palace made of pure gold and gems in the Underworld. The Greeks believe that when mortals

When Prometheus deceives Zeus and gives fire to mankind, he releases the wrath of Zeus upon mankind and himself. Zeus punishes Prometheus by binding him with “inescapable harsh bonds… he inflicted on him a long-winged eagle, which ate his immortal liver; but grew as much in all at night as the long-winged bird would eat all day” (Nelson, 43, 521-525). God’s punishment of the serpent does not seem as violent as Prometheus’s punishment, but they are both harsh. God also uses nature when punishing the serpent, like Zeus controlled the eagle. “Then the Lord God said to the serpent: 'Because you have done this you are accursed more than all cattle and all wild creatures. On your belly you shall crawl, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life…They [mankind] shall strike at your head’” (Genesis, 3). The serpent and Prometheus are punished for eternity for rebelling against their authority.

During his visit to the underworld, Odysseus was informed of one of his most formidable enemies: desire. Teiresias plainly told him that “if [he could] contain [his] own desire, and contain [his] companions… [they] might all make [their] way back to Ithaca” (Homer 171). When they finally saw the island, Odysseus did feel the desire to stop at the island, but tried to heed the warnings he received. His men however did not feel the same way he did. His me pestered him until he felt they had “[forced him] to it” but in reality he was just making an excuse to give in to his desires” (Homer 193). After indulging in his (and his crew’s) desires, he thought they would soon proceed off the island, however this was not the case. While exploring the island, his food deprived crew came upon the cattle of Helios, and being starving, began to cook and eat them, even sacrificing a part to the gods. Odysseus was walking back to their camp on his own when “the pleasant savor of cooking meat came drifting around [him], and [he] cried out [his] grief aloud to the gods immortal (Homer 194). Once he smelled the meat he knew that the horrific actions that were predicted would come true. All these things happened because Odysseus’ crew did not follow the instruction of their leader and instead followed their desires, but an even worse fate comes true when they disobey the gods themselves.

The personalities of the gods are as broad as there are stars in the heavens, and as such the ways that these gods interact with mortals vary. The purpose of gods intervening with the days of man comes down to two things, good or bad; there are gods who are caring and loving towards mortals while others view man as pawns which they can use for their own personal agenda. A few gods that capture and exemplify the various personalities of the gods can be found in Ovid: The Metamorphoses of Ovid and Homer: The essential Homer: Selections from the Iliad and the Odyssey. Although the ways man and the gods communicate and get each other’s attention are different, there are reoccurring and overarching themes such as desire, and loyalty that make each intervention between gods and mortals similar.

When Odysseus is in trouble he always shows that he is depending on the gods by praying to them. The fact that the gods usually listen to him shows that he is well liked by the gods. In order to be a Greek hero you had to be liked by the gods since religion was such a big part in their lives. Odysseus, with the help of the gods, can survive adventures that kill most other men. Odysseus travels to the island of the Cyclopians. The Cyclopians are giants that have one eye, they don't fear the gods because they believe that they are better than the gods and they eat people. They represent the opposite of what Greek men should be. Odysseus and his men meet Polyphemus the Cyclops. Polyphemus being a Cyclops eats some of Odysseus' men. Odysseus with the help of the gods figures out a plan to escape and he does. Scylla is a ferocious monster with six heads that kills most men that pass by her island. She kills six of Odysseus' men. Odysseus prevents her from killing himself and more men. There is another ferocious monster named Charybdis. Charybdis sucks in water from the sea and creates a whirlpool that kills any ship that passes by. Odysseus passes by her. His crew is killed and his ship is destroyed in the whirlpool but Odysseus alone survives. There is an island that Odysseus passes by with monsters called Sirens on it. The Sirens sing beautiful songs that lure ships toward them. The ships then crash into the island and the people are killed.

Long ago, when only the gods had fire, humans were cold. One of the gods named Prometheus felt badly for the humans, so we stole fire from Mount Olympus and gave it to the humans. However, Zeus found out and chained Prometheus to a rock and let vultures peck on him every day. Zeus decided to punish the humans by giving Epimetheous the mortal brother of Prometheus, a beautiful girl named Pandora and a jar which he told not to open. Delighted, Epimetheous married Pandora and told her to never open the box. Pandora was a curios woman so when one day the jars called out to her to open it she did. Out of the jar came out sickness, hatred, violence, jealousy and other evil things and they left for the whole earth and torture humans. The only thing

The concept of fate and the influence of gods on mortals’ lives are prominent aspects of Greek mythology. While the gods of Olympus are commonly presented as the primary manipulators of human lives, the Fates are the true creators of destiny. Gods may be able to affect human lives in monumental ways, but predetermined destiny and the Fates’ intentions ultimately reign. The gods have respect for this authority, as well, as they’re aware that a limit on their ability to intervene is necessary to maintain the order of the universe. This leaves one to question the amount of knowledge that the gods themselves have of fate, and whether they have their own free will to refrain from intervening or if they truly must submit to the authority of the Fates and their plans. The gods do have some knowledge of the Fates’ plan, but they are also wise enough to avoid too much interference and therefore don’t necessarily need to be commanded; they sometimes help guide mortals by sending them messages and symbols—and sometimes even influencing them for their own advantage—but ultimate fate cannot be avoided.

When people received the fire they were amazed by its benefit – it made preparing food faster, brought warmth in a cold area, and illuminated the darkness. The attributes of fire made survival easier for the people until the usage of it became uncontrollable. They found out that fire, when left unkempt, spreads and destroys everything in its path. As time went on people recognized the great power of fire and harassed it to do evil instead of good. People used fire to start wars, demolish forests, and burn others alive. The fact that everyone knew how to start a fire but could not stop it, proves that it should have been left with the immortals. Prometheus’ theft of fire for man irritated Zeus not only because he disliked the people but also because it gave the people the same power and knowledge as the gods. Zeus punished Prometheus for giving fire to the people by tying him to a rock and allowed a vulture to eat out his liver everyday for the rest of his life.

Through the sampling of readings from The Norton Anthology of World Literature book, one could come to the realization that in a majority of those stories, the deities seem to influence or even control the outcomes of the heroes, often in a negative manner. In the first epic, Gilgamesh encounters the gods at various times, and in The Iliad, the gods manipulate the Greeks and the Trojans for their own desires and wants.

The myth of Sisyphus focuses on a king who was said to be deceitful and spiteful in nature. He was supposedly

Classical literature is filled with stories of capricious deities playing with human lives as if they were only toys. The Greek tradition of tragedy is based upon celebrating this very aspect of the nature of the pantheon of Greek gods. Sophocles finds a perfect example of this celebration of fate, in the tragedy Oedipus the King. Conversely, the Story of Job uses the dramatic tension of a "wager" between God and Satan on the sincerity of Job's devotion to God. Where Oedipus' life, regardless of personal choice, is bound up by fated situations and their fated outcomes, Job's story is one of choice in the midst of supernaturally imposed difficulties. While both strive to teach resignation to the will of God, they each espouse quite

Does anyone like being told what to do, where they need to be, or how they are to live their life? Of course not, no one likes to have his or her life micromanaged for them. In the world-renowned Ancient Greek tragedy, Oedipus the King, by the famous playwright Sophocles, that is exactly what the gods do by controlling all aspects of the Thebans’ lives. The gods in this Ancient Greek tragedy are tyrants in that they determine one’s fate with no terrestrial hope of changing it and command the Thebans to find the killer of Laius or face a crippling plague.

“Gods can be evil sometimes.” In the play “Oedipus the King”, Sophocles defamed the gods’ reputation, and lowered their status by making them look harmful and evil. It is known that all gods should be perfect and infallible, and should represent justice and equity, but with Oedipus, the gods decided to destroy him and his family for no reason. It might be hard to believe that gods can have humanistic traits, but in fact they do. The gods, especially Apollo, are considered evil by the reader because they destroyed an innocent man’s life and his family. They destroyed Oedipus by controlling his fate, granting people the power of prophecy, telling Oedipus about his fate through the oracle of Apollo, and finally afflicting the people of