Zeus Role In Homer's Odyssey

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Paris, the man who took Helen from her husband, and Menelaus, Helen’s husband, are found on the battlefield early in the battle between the Greeks and Trojans. Gods on both sides of the war show their known presence in the third book as found when they are called to assistance. Menelaus prays to Zeus when he says, “Zeus, King, give me revenge, he wronged me first! So even among the men to come a man may shrink from wounding the host who showers him with kindness” (140). Menelaus wants to have the upper hand against Paris, so he wants to take advantage of Zeus’ power. However, Zeus doesn’t listen to his prayer. What has he to benefit? He will continue to watch every battle play out, and he will only intervene for his own enjoyment. In this instance, …show more content…
Agamemnon sends an embassy to him to convince him to join the war. Agamemnon talks about how Zeus’ role in the war in, “Zeus is a harsh, cruel god. He vowed to me long ago, he bowed his head that I should never embark for home till I had brought the walls of the Ilium crashing down. But now, I see, he only plotted brutal treachery: now he commands me to go back to Argos in disgrace… Father Zeus has lopped the crowns of a thousand cities, true, and Zeus will lop still more—his power is too great” (252). He’s annoyed at the fact that Zeus is only acting for himself. He said that Zeus told him to make sure that the walls of Troy were to fall to represent the victory of the Greeks. Their stance in the war makes him want to believe that Zeus has turned on the Greeks. It is true that the gods would behave like that. Zeus has made Agamemnon want to give up and return home. This would have done nothing, and it would have just dragged the conflict along with them. The Greeks know that the gods listen to who they want to. They fear that “the gods will carry out his threats and then it will be our fate to die in Troy” (159). When they say “his threats”, they are talking about Hector, the greatest warrior on the Trojan side. The Argives are also aware that the gods are in control over the outcome of any of the battles. Whatever they do is guaranteed to affect everything. The
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