Ulysses as a pawn of the gods in The Odyssey Throughout literature, characters have relied on entities greater than themselves to help them meet the many challenges they face. The Odyssey is the story of Odysseus' epic journey and the many obstacles that prevent him from returning home. But Odysseus is not alone in this struggle and receives help from many gods, including the light-eyed goddess Athena. There are times when Odysseus begs for help from the gods, but other times he is too reckless to receive help even from the immortal gods. In Homer's Odyssey, Odysseus's journey revolves around the cyclical phases of his dependence, independence, and return to dependence with the help of the gods. While with Calypso, Odysseus relies on the gods to decide whether he should return home or whether he is destined to stay with the nymph goddess. Although Odysseus is powerful among mortal men, his attempts to free himself from Calypso's island prove futile. Instead, Odysseus must wait, because “…in the bosom of the gods he lies to say whether he will come to take revenge in his corridors…” (6). Odysseus must comply with the wishes of the gods and it is Athena, rather than Odysseus himself, who convinces the powerful Zeus to free Odysseus and return him home. Athena pleads Odysseus's case to the gods of Olympus and implores her father, begging him that "…if it now pleases the blessed gods that wise Odysseus returns to his own home…" (2) then she will will help on this journey. Without Athena's intervention, Odysseus might never have returned to his homeland and never seen his beloved Ithica again. Through Telemachus, Odysseus's son, the reader sees Odysseus' complete dependence on the help of the gods. During Telemachus' journey, all those...... middle of paper ......Despite this high rank, he still remains a pawn of the whims of the gods. Even though monotheism prevails in today's society, many of Homer's lessons, which he demonstrates through his portrait of Odysseus, apply today. Many people today still believe that a supreme entity determines and governs their destiny and that everyone is just a pawn in the game of life. , Calypso: Contexts and Conventions of the Odyssey, Frankfurt, Athenaeum 1988David W. Tandy and Walter C. Neale (ed. and trans.), The Works and Days of Hesiod: A Translation and Commentary for the Social Sciences. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996. Pp. xiv, 149. Heubeck, Alfred, JB Hainsworth et al. A commentary on Homer's Odyssey. 3 Vol. Oxford PA4167.H4813 1988