Zeus complains in Book I of the Odyssey:
Ah how shameless--the way these mortals blame the gods.
From us alone, they say, come all their miseries, yes,
but they themselves, with their own reckless ways,
compound their pains beyond their proper share (1.37-40).
What is Zeus saying? Is he right? Whose fault is it anyway that Odysseus has been wandering for ten years -- that the suitors are eating him out of house and home? From what we know of the story so far (think of the story of Agamemnon, Ajax, Menelaus and Nestor as well as Odysseus), are the gods to blame for our suffering and successes-- or are we?
Humans are responsible for their suffering because their actions reflect if the gods must punish or reward each individual. In the first part of this passage, Zeus starts out by implying that humans are to blame for their faults and successes. This is true because these humans know what they must do to appease the gods and are aware of the consequences that will follow if they do not. Take for example, the antagonist of the story Odysseus. He blinded Poseidon’s son Polyphemus so that he and his men could escape. This action causes Poseidon to punish him. Zeus explains this to Athena when she asks him if he has forgotten Odysseus, “it’s the Earth-Shaker, Poseidon, unappeased, forever fuming against him for the Cyclops whose giant eye he blinded: godlike Polyphemus (1.81-3).” Poseidon is punishing Odysseus by keeping him trapped on an island with Calypso, far from home and family. This example goes with what Zeus said, “From us alone, they say, come all their miseries, yes, but they themselves with their own reckless ways compound their pains…(1.38-40).” Odysseus knew he was going to be punished if he committed a crime of blinding a god’s son but went forth and did it anyways making it his fault. Even if the gods make humans suffer, it does not mean they are the ones to blame. The humans have to cause a wrong in order for the Gods to punish whether it is committing a crime, not making sacrifices, not praying, or any other contradictions with what is expected of one as a human.
ReplyDeleteZeus believes that mortals cause their own problems and are responsible for the consequences or punishments that follow their actions. “But they themselves with their own reckless ways, compound their pains beyond their proper share” (1.39-1.40). Humans are aware that there will be consequences or punishments that follow disrespectful actions. The mortals know what they are getting themselves into, but despite their awareness, they continue to behave in ways that bring misfortune on themselves. Mortals often make bad decisions in the moment because they think it is the right or necessary decision in a time of crisis or a life threatening situation, such as when Odysseus blinded Poseidon’s son, the Cyclops, Polyphemus. Clearly, humans are aware that there is a possibility that their actions will be met with punishments. However, when these consequences are applied to them after a significant passage of time, they don’t make the connection between their actions and the delayed consequences. This leads them to blame the gods for their misfortune rather than seeing that there is a direct connection between the challenges they are facing and their past actions. “From us alone, they say, come all their miseries” (1.38). Human instinct causes humans to prefer to not blame themselves and not take personal responsibility, but rather to blame something such as a god or higher power to relieve their feelings of guilt. It is also human nature to take out one’s anger on someone else instead of being angry with oneself.
ReplyDeleteWho is the keeper of fate the gods or human beings? Though Zeus claims that the gods are not to blame for the suffering of humans, and that they are exaggerating their own pains, it seems as if they really are responsible the majority of the time. For example, Menelaus’ journey home to Sparta is made difficult because he did not sacrifice to the gods before embarking, “’How wrong you were!’ the seer shot back at once. ‘You should have offered Zeus and the other gods a handsome sacrifice, then embarked…’” (4.529-531). Here, Proteus states that you must sacrifice to the gods or suffer the consequences, because if you don’t you will suffer. In other words, the gods are controlling the fate of humans, and unless you appease them you cannot have a simple life unaffected by the gods. This passage also directly maps out a direct cause and effect relationship between the humans and the gods. If you sacrifice to the gods, then you may return home safely. Telemachus, who is receiving help from the goddess Athena even feels as if the gods are toying with humans, he says, “’…why deny our devoted bard the chance to entertain us any way the spirit stirs him on? Bards are not to blame- Zeus is to blame.’” (1.399-401). In this passage, Telemachus outright states that the gods are the true reason that Odysseus has not returned home already. Poseidon is intentionally involving himself in human affairs, therefore, he is contradicting Zeus’ claim that humans are responsible for their own pains. Throughout the first several books of the Odyssey it is clear that the gods are responsible for humankind’s suffering most of the time.
ReplyDeleteThe gods and mortals both share the fault. Yes the gods have some control, but it is the mortals who choose whether they are going to accept the path that the gods provide or try and do it themselves. In book 1, Zeus chastises the mortals selfish thinking saying, “Ah how shameless--the way these mortals blame the gods. From us alone, they say, come all their miseries, yes, but they themselves, with their own reckless ways, compound their pains beyond their proper share” (1.37-40). Here, Zeus admits to giving the mortals some misery in their lives, but also an interesting part is that he says “beyond their proper share.” This infers that mortals should have bad things happen to them, and even though they might have some good things, how much better or worse their life is beyond what they need is their fault and their choices.
ReplyDeleteA different example of the role of the gods in the lives of mortals is “But I’ll cry out to the everlasting gods in hopes that Zeus will pay you back with a vengeance – all of you destroyed in my house while I go scot free myself! And to seal his prayer, farseeing Zeus sent down a sign. He launched 2 eagles soaring high from a mountain ridge…” (2. 161-165). In this passage, Telemachus curses the suitors and prays that Zeus will wreak vengeance upon them for the suffering they have caused him. Although to the suitors this seems like a really far-fetched idea, Zeus lets Telemachus be right and sends a sign of the suitors impending doom. This shows that although the gods are initially in control, Mortals have some choice and some power as well, and their choices are what the consequences are based on.
Humans are in control of their actions, and their good or bad behavior results in the gods punishing them for bad behavior or acknowledging their positive actions. In the Odyssey, Zeus explains that the people blame the gods too often for their miseries, and sometimes suffering is the outcome of reckless actions. Zeus’ statement is correct because humans understand the difference between right and wrong, and they are aware of the consequences of each. For instance, when Ajax is sailing, he gets caught in the midst of a thunderstorm. Fortunately, Poseidon saves him from dying. He boasts about escaping from it, and Poseidon takes his life because of his inappropriate response to the situation. When Menelaus explains Ajax’s story to Telemachus, he says, “First Poseidon drove him onto the cliffs of Gyrae, looming cliffs, then saved him from the breakers- he’d have escaped his doom, too, despite Athena’s hate, if he hadn’t flung that brazen boast, the mad blind fool” (4. 561-564). This is suggesting that because Ajax boasts about surviving his near-death experience, he is killed by Poseidon. This instance is one example of how suffering is self-inflicted. Ajax knows that unfitting behavior results in suffering from the gods, but he chooses to boast anyway. Another instance where suffering is self-inflicted is when Menelaus’ journey home to Sparta is arduous. Proteus gives Menelaus his reasoning for why his journey home is so difficult by saying, “’You should have offered Zeus and the other gods a handsome sacrifice, then embarked, if you ever hoped for a rapid journey home across the wine-dark sea”’ (4. 530-532). Proteus is saying that Menelaus should have thought about sacrificing to the gods before embarking on his journey. If he had sacrificed to the gods, he would have had a smoother journey home. There are many instances in the Odyssey, so far, that show a correlation between humans acting recklessly and negative consequences.
ReplyDeleteZeus is emphasizing on the fact that the mortals blame the gods for everything that happens in their lives including the consequences of their actions. They blame their problems on the gods because they don’t know how to handle their problems and miseries on their own and they don’t know who to blame but the gods. “But they themselves with their own reckless ways, compound their pains beyond their proper share” (1.39-40). Mortals know what their actions can lead to but they are blinded by the fact there are consequences to their actions. “it’s the Earth-Shaker, Poseidon, unappeased, forever fuming against him for the Cyclops whose giant eye he blinded: godlike Polyphemus (1.81-83).”Odysseus decided to blind Poseidon’s son the Cyclops and in that moment he is deciding to choose an action that may lead to many other issues that can turn out to be bad for Odysseus later on. Thus Poseidon must punish the man for what he did. The morals believe in blaming the gods and not take on the challenge of facing his or her problems. “Look at Aegisthus...above and beyond his share he stole Atrides’ wife, he murdered the warlord coming home from Troy though he knew it meant his own total ruin. Far in advance we told him so ourselves” (1.41-45). Aegithus knew exactly what he was getting into and the gods even told him that his action was going to lead him to his “ruin”. The mortals don’t take the advice that the gods give them but the mortals blame the gods for the consequences.
ReplyDeleteI think that Zeus is upset that humans keep blaming them things that the humans did to themselves. He knows that while they do control a lot of things, they don’t always control what is going to happen. He knows that sometimes that they stay out of human affairs and that the human’s decisions affect what happens. So when they blame the gods for things that they did, he gets upset. I think that he is justified in his anger towards humans because it’s the humans fault not there. Also it is in human nature to blame someone or something else for their problem, instead of taking responsibility for what they did.
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