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The Odyssean gods are the ancient Greek gods referenced in Homer's Odyssey .
The story's major gods include Athena, Poseidon, Calypso and Circe; minor gods include Ino, Hermes, Zeus, and Heracles.
The Odyssey's major gods include Athena, Poseidon, Calypso, and Circe.
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Athena is the Greek goddess of wisdom and battle strategy, and was also the patron goddess of heroes. Odysseus was a great hero among the Greeks, and so had Athena’s favor and aid in many of his exploits. She was a key goddess in the story of the Odyssey as a divine assistant to Odysseus on his journey home.
From the very beginning of the Odyssey, Athena is helping Odysseus. Her first act that the readers see is persuading Zeus to send Hermes to Ogygia, Calypso's island, to inform her that it is Zeus’s will that Odysseus continues his journey home. Seeing as no god can thwart or evade Zeus, Calypso is forced to let Odysseus go despite her own wishes to have him stay on the island forever. Athena also secures Odysseus' future through other characters, such as the Phaeacian Princess Nausicaa. In Book 6, she makes sure that Nausicaa meets Odysseus elsewhere on the island by coming to her in a dream and inciting her to go to the river to wash clothes. Odysseus is in a horrid state of nudity and grime when he initially meets Nausicaa, but Athena gives Nausicaa the courage to stand her ground so that she can get around to helping him.
Athena also does minor things to help out Odysseus, such as improving his appearances so that he is respected by other characters. An example of direct assistance by Athena includes when she leads Odysseus to the Phaeacian palace in the disguise of a beggar. She also helps him by transforming him into an old beggar in the later books of the Odyssey, by planting helpful ideas into his head and by causing the javelins of the suitors to miss their target when Odysseus finally engages them in book 22.
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Poseidon is the Greek god of the sea and the brother of Zeus, Hades, Hera, Hestia and Demeter. Beckoned by the curse of Polyphemus, his one-eyed giant son, he attempts to make Odysseus' journey home much harder than it actually needs to be. He appears to be very spiteful in the Odyssey and actively causes problems for Odysseus on sight. Although he cannot kill Odysseus, as it is his destiny to return home, he makes every effort to make Odysseus suffer.
Odysseus earned Poseidon’s wrath by blinding Polyphemus. While the blinding alone may have been justifiable for the poor mistreatment by Polyphemus to his guests, Odysseus's pride was really what incurred Poseidon’s wrath. As Odysseus was leaving the island of the Cyclops behind, and talked down on Polyphemus and accused him of being impious. Polyphemus exclaimed that he was the son of Poseidon, yet Odysseus did not believe him. To prove that he was indeed the son of Poseidon, Polyphemus called out to his father commanding that Odysseus never reach his home.
In the Odyssey, Poseidon is a powerful and respected elder god, as none of the other Olympian gods dare to mention Odysseus and his predicaments whilst Poseidon is there to hear it. The council of gods that decided to set Odysseus free from Calypso’s island was held when Poseidon was accepting a sacrifice in Ethiopia. Athena, out of respect for her uncle, does not show her support to Odysseus whilst Poseidon is around. When Odysseus set sail away from Calypso’s island, Poseidon spotted him and caused him to become shipwrecked. In this way, Poseidon is seen to be a very direct god in that he instantly causes problems for Odysseus himself instead of working through other means like the goddess Athena.
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Two interesting goddesses in the Odyssey are Calypso and Circe, who both show friendly and hostile reactions toward Odysseus.
Calypso rescued Odysseus after his ship and crew were destroyed by the storm created by Zeus after Odysseus's crew killed Helios's sun cattle, even after a warning from Circe. She tended to his needs on her isolated island and made him her lover. In total, Calypso held Odysseus captive on her island for seven years and she hoped for him to stay there with her forever as her husband. Seeing as Calypso was a daughter of a Titan, Odysseus could not argue or resist the goddess’ desires and it took the divine intervention of Zeus to ensure Odysseus passage onto his next destination. While appearing hostile towards Odysseus in her deeds of keeping him captive on her isle for so long against his will, Calypso does genuinely care for Odysseus. She feeds and shelters him and allows him to wander the isle at his own will. She does not bear him any ill-will as he is preparing to leave her island and helps him out by showing the best places to obtain wood from her island for his ship and provides the tools for constructing it. Calypso can be seen to be a friendly goddess, but a bit sharp-tongued too. When she learns that she must release Odysseus, she criticizes the gods and how they are able to have affairs and sleep with mortal women whilst Goddesses suffer consequences if their intentions are not as pure.
Circe, like Calypso, is also a goddess found in an isolated location, with her house among dense woodland. Circe is initially hostile to Odysseus and his men and attempts to turn them all to pigs with a potion slipped into the wine with honey she offers them, but with Hermes' aid, Odysseus is able to enter her abode and pacify her. She returns all of Odysseus’ men to their natural state and offers them food and hospitality for one year. Unlike Calypso, Circe appears to be quite unemotional with Odysseus. She is of great help to him and his homeward journey.
There are other gods in the Odyssey that play minor roles in aiding Odysseus’ homeward journey. Because of their small role, there is very little that can be said about them.
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It isn't known why Ino helps him, but she does. Ino gives Odysseus a magical veil that keeps him buoyant after Poseidon (god of the sea) sinks his ship. She leads him toward the land of the Phaecians, where Nausicaa and Arete help him to get back to Ithaca – after he has told them the story of his 'odyssey' between the war at Troy and his reaching Scherie (also known as Phaeacia – land of the Phaecians).
Hermes is one of the Twelve Olympians, herald of the gods, protector of human heralds, travelers, thieves, merchants, and orators. He appears three times in the Odyssey. The first time is to deliver a message to Calypso to let Odysseus return home. The second time, he appears to Odysseus to warn him about Circe and provides the necessary information that Odysseus needed to put Circe into submission. The third time he is sent to escort the spirits of the suitors from the halls of Odysseus's home to the underworld. Hermes is the great-grandfather of Odysseus. [1]
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Zeus does very little in the Odyssey, aside from passing judgements and sending omens. He is the King of the gods and God of Thunder, lightning, sky, and beautiful women who dance (and the Patron of guest friendship (xenia) and oaths too). He appears at the beginning of the Odyssey where he complains that men blame the gods for the results of their own actions. He is persuaded by Athena in book one to send Hermes to prompt Calypso into letting Odysseus leave Ogygia; and in book 12, at Helios' request, he sends a storm to punish Odysseus' men for killing the cattle on his island (they also swore that they would not touch the cows so in addition offended Zeus in his role as keeper of oaths). Arguably, the entire plot of the Odyssey revolves around the suitors' actions as bad guests which offend Zeus in his role as patron of xenia.
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Odysseus meets Heracles in the Underworld and mentions that it was only his ghost as his immortal half was sent to Olympus where they married Hebe.
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A god in the Odyssey, Aeolus is keeper of the Winds. Aeolus gives Odysseus a tightly closed bag full of the captured winds so he could sail easily home to Ithaca. After their failure, Aeolus refused to provide any further help, because he believed that their short and unsuccessful voyage meant that the gods did not favor them.
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God of the Sun, and in some translations called Hyperion, Helios' cattle are impiously killed and eaten by Odysseus' crew. The guardians of the island, Helios' daughters, tell their father about this. Helios appeals to Zeus telling him to dispose of Odysseus' men or he will go down to the Underworld and shine among the dead. Zeus destroys the ship with his lightning bolt, killing all the men except for Odysseus.
In the ancient Greek myths, ambrosia is the food or drink of the Greek gods, and is often depicted as conferring longevity or immortality upon whoever consumed it. It was brought to the gods in Olympus by doves and served either by Hebe or by Ganymede at the heavenly feast.
The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the Iliad, the poem is divided into 24 books. It follows the Greek hero Odysseus, king of Ithaca, and his journey home after the Trojan War. After the war, which lasted ten years, his journey from Troy to Ithaca, via Africa and southern Europe, lasted for ten additional years during which time he encountered many perils and all of his crewmates were killed. In his absence, Odysseus was assumed dead, and his wife Penelope and son Telemachus had to contend with a group of unruly suitors who were competing for Penelope's hand in marriage.
In Greek and Roman mythology, Odysseus, also known by the Latin variant Ulysses, is a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in that same epic cycle.
Telemachus, in Greek mythology, is the son of Odysseus and Penelope, who is a central character in Homer's Odyssey. When Telemachus reached manhood, he visited Pylos and Sparta in search of his wandering father. On his return to Ithaca, he found that Odysseus had reached home before him. Then father and son slew the suitors who had gathered around Penelope. According to later tradition, Telemachus married Circe after Odysseus’ death.
In Greek mythology, Eurylochus appears in Homer's Odyssey as second-in-command of Odysseus' ship during the return to Ithaca after the Trojan War. He is portrayed as an unpleasant, cowardly individual who undermines Odysseus and stirs up trouble.
Scheria or Scherie, also known as Phaeacia or Faiakia was a region in Greek mythology, first mentioned in Homer's Odyssey as the home of the Phaeacians and the last destination of Odysseus in his 10-year journey before returning home to Ithaca. It is one of the earliest descriptions of a utopia.
In Greek mythology, Calypso was a nymph who lived on the island of Ogygia, where, according to Homer's Odyssey, she detained Odysseus for seven years. She promised Odysseus immortality if he would stay with her, but Odysseus preferred to return home.
A characteristic of Homer's style is the use of epithets, as in "rosy-fingered" Dawn or "swift-footed" Achilles. Epithets are used because of the constraints of the dactylic hexameter and because of the oral transmission of the poems; they are mnemonic aids to the singer and the audience alike.
Xenia is an ancient Greek concept of hospitality. It is almost always translated as 'guest-friendship' or 'ritualized friendship'. It is an institutionalized relationship rooted in generosity, gift exchange, and reciprocity. Historically, hospitality towards foreigners and guests was understood as a moral obligation. Hospitality towards foreign Hellenes honored Zeus Xenios, patrons of foreigners.
The Odyssey is a 1997 American mythology–adventure television miniseries based on the ancient Greek epic poem by Homer, the Odyssey. Directed by Andrei Konchalovsky, the miniseries aired in two parts beginning on May 18, 1997, on NBC. It was filmed in Malta, Turkey, parts of England and many other places around the Mediterranean, where the story takes place. The cast includes Armand Assante, Greta Scacchi, Irene Papas, Isabella Rossellini, Bernadette Peters, Eric Roberts, Geraldine Chaplin, Jeroen Krabbé, Christopher Lee and Vanessa Williams.
The Returns from Troy are the stories of how the Greek leaders returned after their victory in the Trojan War. Many Achaean heroes did not return to their homes, but died or founded colonies outside the Greek mainland. The most famous returns are those of Odysseus, whose wanderings are narrated in the Odyssey, and Agamemnon, whose murder at the hands of his wife Clytemnestra was portrayed in Greek tragedy.
The Olympian Gods are characters based upon classical mythology who appear primarily in Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel and Aquaman comics.
The locations mentioned in the narratives of Odysseus's adventures have long been debated. Events in the main sequence of the Odyssey take place in the Peloponnese and in what are now called the Ionian Islands. There are also incidental mentions of Troy and its house, Phoenicia, Egypt, and Crete, which hint at a geographical knowledge equal to, or perhaps slightly more extensive than that of the Iliad. The places visited by Odysseus in his journey have been variously identified with locations in Greece, Italy, Africa, the Maltese archipelago, and the Iberian peninsula. However, scholars both ancient and modern are divided whether any of the places visited by Odysseus were real. Many ancient writers came down squarely on the skeptical side; Strabo reported what the great geographer Eratosthenes had said in the late 3rd century BC: "You will find the scene of Odysseus' wanderings when you find the cobbler who sewed up the bag of winds."
Mythic Warriors is a 1998-2000 anthology animated television series, which featured retellings of popular Greek myths that were altered so as to be appropriate for younger audiences, produced by Nelvana and Marathon Media. Two seasons of episodes were produced in February 8, 1998 and March 14, 1999; then aired as reruns until May 21, 2000, when CBS' abolition of its Nelvana-produced children's programming in favor of Nick Jr. and later, Nickelodeon content resulted in its cancellation. The series was based on the book series Myth Men Guardians of the Legend written in 1996 and 1997 by Laura Geringer and illustrated by Peter Bollinger.
In Greek mythology, the Cattle of Helios, also called the Oxen of the Sun, are cattle pastured on the island of Thrinacia, or Thrinakia,.
The Odyssey is an eight-episodes European TV miniseries broadcast on RAI in 1968 and based on Homer's Odyssey. An Italian, Yugoslavian, German and French coproduction, it was directed by Franco Rossi, assisted by Piero Schivazappa and Mario Bava; the cast includes Bekim Fehmiu as Odysseus and Irene Papas as Penelope, Samson Burke as the Cyclops, as well as Barbara Bach as Nausicaa, and Gérard Herter. Several critics consider the series to be a masterful representation of the ancient world.
Mission Odyssey is a French-German animated TV series about the adventures of the ancient Greek hero Ulysses. The series is a production of BAF Berlin Animation Film GmbH & Co. Produktions KG, Marathon Filmproduktion, Maraton Animation, and M6 Metropole Television. Character design was created by David Gilson. Distributional rights were acquired in 2009 by the Your Family Entertainment AG, which is now holding indefinite broadcast rights including ancillary rights for almost all countries. Its global premiere took place on the French network M6 on 6 September 2002. In Germany, the show was launched on 22 February 2008 on KIKA.
Circe is a 2018 novel by American writer Madeline Miller. Set during the Greek Heroic Age, it is an adaptation of various Greek myths, most notably the Odyssey, as told from the perspective of the witch Circe. The novel explores Circe's origin story and narrates Circe's encounters with mythological figures such as Hermes, the Minotaur, Jason, and Medea, and ultimately her romance with Odysseus and his son, Telemachus.