Gods in Odyssey and Bible
The Greek Gods in Homer's The Odyssey and the God of Abraham in the Bible both play the feared and respected role of the master while the humans act as their subordinates. Although the Gods are similar in their master-servant relationship with humans, their nature and moral values differ sharply from god to god. The destiny of humans is driven by Poseidon's fickle nature or Athena's passionate personality or the God of Abraham's just and forgiving tendency. Even the power humans supposedly have over their own destiny is based on the amount of freewill given to them by each of the gods. The tragic journey faced by Odysseus, the exile of Cain, and the rewarding life given to Abraham, Moses and Job are instances where clashes between gods or a consistent agreement with the god's beliefs shape human lives. The Greek Gods and the God of Abraham are powerful beings that demand service and sacrifice from humans and favor those that satisfy their requirements. However, the demands of all the Greek Gods are hard to satisfy as there is a lack of agreement of what makes a human more favorable over another or what is necessary for a human to repent a sin because of the gods' different natures. The Greek Gods are given human-like characteri
The Greek Gods' impulsive human-like nature leaves victims themselves with practically no chance for redemption, such as the death of Odysseus' crew after they killed Helios' cattle. The God of Abraham is consistent in his method of rewarding His people. (I, 66-7) She apparently believes that exemptions from punishment can be made if it is the will of the gods - even if the human deserves the punishment. His decisions are more credible because of His divine characteristics. Although hospitality is favored by the gods, Poseidon unjustly punishes the Phaiakians for transporting Odysseus back to Ithaka not because the Phaiakian's actions were sinful but because they did not acknowledge Poseidon's blind hatred towards Odysseus. Equally, the fact that Poseidon did not pursue the truth of what occurred between Odysseus and Kyklops demonstrates injustice. "You must not commit adultery" and "You must not testify falsely as a witness against your fellowman" (Exodus 20:14,16) are both violated by the Greek Gods. The fickle and biased nature of the Greek Gods led to extreme consequences faced by humans - ranging from tragedy if rebuked by the gods to wealth if favored. /Seven days you are to eat unfermented cakes. Rather than inflicting punishment in order Wong 4to lead humans away from sin or to teach moral lessons, the Greek Gods merely use their power to satisfy their own desires. In addition, chastity is cherished in the Bible, as illustrated by the incident where Shechem's people were killed for "defiling their sister, [Dinah]". The God of Abraham places judgment on Cain not when he feels anger towards God but after He gives Cain an opportunity to redeem himself.
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