Okay, so Poseidon and Odysseus. They have some history, I get it. Firstly, Poseidon supported the Trojans in the Trojan war while Odysseus was a part of the Greek forces who fought and defeated the Trojans. And more importantly, Odysseus blinded Polyphemus, Poseidon's cyclops son. The story goes that Odysseus and his men get stuck on Polyphemus' island, and after a few days of getting snacked on by the cyclops who happens to live there, Odysseus and all of his genius *tm* comes up with the plan to hide under the cyclops' sheep to secretly go into Polyphemus' lair. They do get in, they promptly blind him, and Odysseus tells the Cyclops that his name was "Nobody", so when Polyphemus went to his other cyclops buddies and they asked what happened to him he would say "Nobody blinded me!" But, before Odysseus actually leave the island for good, he can't help but brag to the cyclops. He taunts Polyphemus and tells him his real name so that Polyphemus will forever know who tricked him. Polyphemus then prays to Poseidon that either 1) Odysseus and his men get smited to oblivion, or 2) Poseidon makes their journey miserable. The second option is chosen.
Now, these are some pretty valid reasons to hold a grudge on someone. I think it's pretty damn reasonable to get pissed off when someone blinds your son. But Poseidon takes it to another level. He acts like a cross between a pouty crybaby and a cranky curmudgeon screaming at kids to "GET OFF MY LAWN"!. Except in this case, the lawn is the big blue scene. And the kids are Odysseus and his crew. but thats besides the point, shouldn't a god like him, one of the original "Big Three" gods with all of his earthshaking power have something better to do thank dick around trying to make Odysseus' life miserable? He's just some forever angry grudge holder who didn't seem to get enough hugs as a kid. In some ways his personality reflects the sea itself: somedays the waters will be calm, and other times the waves shall churn the ocean.
He forces Odysseus to wander the seas for just about 20 years. 20 years! Overkill much? Its cool you're trying to be a protective dad, but with all due respect your son *was* eating Odysseus' men. Odysseus has a kid too, ever think about that? Plus, his plan to make Odysseus' life harder just ended up giving Odysseus one of the greatest adventures known to man! Moral of the story kids, don't be an old fart!
I think that despite their power, the greek gods needed to be respected by mortals, even if they would never admit the fact. What good would being all-powerful be if there was nobody in awe of you? I think that the gods are defined in part by the mortals who worship them, and heroes like Odysseus would certainly carry more weight than a normal man. Therefore when Odysseus disrespects Poseidon, his reaction is understandable.
ReplyDeleteYeah I agree with Isaac. Poseidon might have not reacted half so poorly if Odysseus hadn't taunted and shamed Polyphemus after blinding him. Maybe that's why Odysseus acts like such a jerk in this scene, to give Poseidon a reason to spend like ten years trying to save face by keeping Ody from going home.
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely interesting that the Gods aren't depicted with a higher moral ground. They act differently, and have greater powers to influence mortals than mortals themselves, but they act essentially upon the same impulses and emotions as mortals. Like Isaac said, they seem to have a need for respect from the mortals. It's as if the Greek people are personifying what they seek: a force of order in their lives.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if the gods NEED to be respected by mortals, but they definitely want their worship. As we've said before, Ancient Greece was an honor society, and one's reputation rested on what people said about them. I remember there are other times in the Odyssey where the gods are prodded to action against mortals to stop the other gods from making fun of them. I feel like the gods want to be respected by each other more than the mortals, and their interactions with mortals are largely influenced by making the gods look cool and holding up their reputation.
ReplyDeleteThe morals of the gods are definitely shown throughout the Odyssey, it sort of humanizes them in a way that we usually don't think of gods to be like. I also think that even though 20 years is a lot, to the gods, mortals aren't really that important, and 20 years is like nothing compared to how long they've lived.
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