Mythic Culture in Gilgamesh and Odyssey: The Role of the Gods
Gods play a significant role in the mythical culture of ancient people. They are portrayed as powerful beings that directly and indirectly meddle with humans in order to manipulate or influence human lives as per their own personal liking as reflected in the epics, Gilgamesh and Odyssey.
The Epic of Gilgamesh, the earliest surviving work of literature in the world, is about the quest of Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, to protect his people against Enkidu and to attain the secret of everlasting life. The gods played a central role in the story in driving its plot by creating the main adversary of the hero as well as in aiding the hero to achieve success. Aruru, the goddess of creation…show more content… Odysseus was cursed by Poseidon, the god of the sea, to wander in his domain as punishment for blinding his son, the Cyclops Polyphemus. Meanwhile, the goddess Athena used her powers to protect Odysseus in turn to demonstrate her wits and intelligence as the goddess of wisdom. Thus, the story of Odyssey can arguably be described as a conflict between two gods. In the epic, Athena would frequently disguise herself as a human to interact and manoeuvre the course of the story in favour of the protagonist and furtively guide the hero overcome his challenges. For instance, she first appeared as Mentes to Telemachus, to encourage the latter to search for his father, Odysseus. This is important to inhibit Telemachus from yielding to the Suitors since his father’s absence. In another instance, Athena masqueraded herself as a young Sheppard boy to inform and forewarn Odysseus that he was already in Ithaca for him to be cautious against assassination attempts. Later on, she would disguise herself as Mentor to aid Odysseus kill and subdue the suitors who threatened to dethrone him.
In terms of culture, the two epics reflected the polytheistic religious belief of the ancient people. They worshipped multiple deities who all have their own respective