Homer's Odyssey is the epic tale of Odysseus and his journey home from the Trojan War, facing monsters, mutiny and to countless other setbacks. Throughout the story, Odysseus is stuck between two gods, Poseidon and Athena. Their actions offer an interesting insight into the role gods play in human life: more like demigods, it seems, the gods sometimes intervene, but in general, human destiny is under the control of humans, or under the dominion of destiny, that which is separate and superior to the will of the gods. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The major conflict in the story begins because of the intervention of a god; Poseidon listens to his son's prayer for vengeance after Odysseus blinds him, begging him that "if fate intended that he should see his roof again... far away is that day, and dark are the years that separate them » (163) and starts to create problems. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that it was not the intrigues of a god that led Odysseus astray in the first place. He did not particularly need to enter the kyklop cave, nor was he deceived. It was only vanity, curiosity, and greed that compelled him to do so, eventually even prompting him to reveal his name and, we must presume, thus making the kyklops' prayer all the more effective. Second, even though Aiolos calls their journey "cursed from heaven" (167) when they are sent back to his island, this first evil that befalls them has nothing to do with divine weakness, but once again only with human weakness. Odysseus does not tell his men what is in the bag of winds (a possible oversight of direction), and they, searching for treasure, open it while he sleeps, thus throwing away the ship away from Ithaca. Homer's world has free space. will, divine intervention and also, as the kyklops mentions, destiny. Destiny seems to be a bigger idea than the gods, as none of them are willing (or perhaps even able) to circumvent it; Poseidon himself says that although he would like to kill Odysseus, fate does not permit it, and so he will be content to make Odysseus "suffer to the end" (233). Some things simply must exist, despite the desires of gods or men. The complex interweaving of these forces embodies what Zeus mentions at the very beginning, namely that “greed and madness double the suffering in the lot of man” (2). Zeus suggests that a certain amount of suffering is assigned to man from the start (fate), but half of it results from the mistakes man himself makes. The gods, of course, seem capable of alleviating or aggravating this suffering at their whim. Athena, for example, offers many aids to Odysseus, including her disguise (fog, beggar appearance), advice and various other magic tricks, among others, even going so far as to extend his time so that he can enjoy of his first night back with Penelope. But she doesn't do everything for him. In the fight, “she brought no overwhelming aid” despite her divine powers, because “father and son have yet to prove their courage” (417). Odysseus, too, despite Athena's support, must still plot and collude. It is as if the gods could magnify or combat the work of men, but not replace it: as the aphorism says, the gods can only help those who help themselves. In a somewhat logical twist, it may even be because of Odysseus' abilities that she is willing to help him in the first place. His endless schemes are why she tells him, "I can't.