How do the gods act in the Odyssey, and what is their relationship with mortals?
The gods and mortals in the Odyssey: how gods such as Athena and Poseidon intervene in human lives, the help and harm they bring, and what the poem shows about the proper relationship between gods and people.
How the gods act in Homer's Odyssey: Athena's help to Odysseus, Poseidon's anger and hindrance, the way gods reward respect and punish disrespect, and what the poem shows about the relationship between gods and mortals.
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What this dot point is asking
This dot point covers the gods and mortals in the Odyssey: how gods such as Athena and Poseidon intervene in human lives, the help and harm they bring, and what the poem suggests about the proper relationship between gods and people. The Odyssey is full of divine action, but it does not show mortals as helpless puppets. Understanding how the gods act, and how far humans remain responsible, is the heart of this topic and a frequent evaluative question.
Because Classical Studies is comparative, you are expected to connect the poem's gods to Greek religion and to modern ideas about fate and responsibility. Questions are usually Describe (set out the gods' role) or an evaluative "how far" (judge how much the gods control events), so learn the facts and how to weigh them.
The answer
The gods are constantly involved in the Odyssey, helping some mortals and harming others. Odysseus's great protector is Athena, goddess of wisdom, who advises and guides him and his son Telemachus, often appearing in disguise. His great enemy is Poseidon, god of the sea, who sends storms to delay and wreck him in revenge for the blinding of his son, the Cyclops. Above them, Zeus and the council of gods decide the broad shape of Odysseus's fate, for example agreeing that he should be freed from Calypso, with the messenger Hermes sent to deliver the order. The gods reward mortals who respect them and the sacred rules of hospitality, and punish those who do not, such as the suitors. Yet the poem also stresses human responsibility: Odysseus brings Poseidon's anger on himself by his pride, and his men choose to eat the sun god's cattle despite clear warnings and so cause their own destruction. The relationship is therefore one of powerful gods who shape events but mortals who remain answerable for their own choices.
Athena the helper and Poseidon the enemy
The clearest pattern is the contrast between a helping god and a hostile one. Athena favours Odysseus for his cleverness, which mirrors her own, and acts as his guide and protector: she encourages Telemachus to seek news of his father, smooths Odysseus's path home, and helps him plan the defeat of the suitors, often disguised as a mortal. Poseidon, by contrast, is Odysseus's enemy because Odysseus blinded his son Polyphemus, so he raises storms and prolongs the journey. A mortal's fortunes in the poem often depend on which gods favour or oppose him.
How the gods act among mortals
The gods of the Odyssey behave in characteristic ways. They meet in council, often on Olympus, and Zeus oversees the broad course of events, as when the gods agree that Odysseus must be released by Calypso and send Hermes with the command. Gods frequently disguise themselves as humans to test mortals or to help in secret, so a stranger might be a god in disguise. They watch how mortals behave, especially towards guests and strangers, and they hand out reward and punishment accordingly. This makes respect for the gods, and for the customs they protect, a matter of survival.
Gods and human responsibility
Crucially, the poem does not let mortals off the hook. Right at the start, Zeus complains that mortals blame the gods for troubles they bring on themselves through their own folly. The story bears this out: Odysseus angers Poseidon by his own proud boast, and his men, warned not to touch the sun god's sacred cattle, eat them anyway and so doom themselves. The gods may reward and punish, but mortals make real choices for which they are held responsible. This balance between divine power and human accountability is what an evaluative question explores.
Examples in context
A Describe question asks you to set out the gods' role, so you list facts: Athena helps and guides Odysseus and Telemachus; Poseidon hinders him out of revenge; the gods decide his fate in council; they appear in disguise; they reward respect and punish disrespect; and Hermes carries their orders.
A "how far" question asks how much the gods control events, so you weigh Athena's help and Poseidon's anger against the human choices that cause harm, Odysseus's pride and the crew eating the sacred cattle, before judging that gods shape events but mortals stay responsible.
Try this
Q1. Which goddess helps Odysseus, and why does she favour him? [2 marks]
- What the marker wants. Athena, goddess of wisdom; she favours him for his cleverness, which is like her own, and acts as his guide and protector.
Q2. Why is Poseidon hostile to Odysseus? [2 marks]
- What the marker wants. Because Odysseus blinded Poseidon's son, the Cyclops Polyphemus, so the sea god takes revenge by hindering his journey.
Q3. Give one way the poem shows that mortals, not just gods, are responsible for what happens. [2 marks]
- What the marker wants. Any one, for example: Odysseus angers Poseidon by his own proud boast, or the crew eat the sun god's cattle despite warnings and cause their own deaths.
A note on sources
This guide is AI-written and not individually human-reviewed. The content follows the standard account taught for the SQA National 5 Classical Studies area Classical Literature, Life and Myth, based on Homer's Odyssey; verify it against the current SQA (Qualifications Scotland) course specification and past papers at sqa.org.uk, and confirm the text your centre studies.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of SQA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
SQA N5 style6 marksDescribe the part the gods play in the Odyssey. (6 marks)Show worked answer →
A Describe question, so make six separate, accurate, developed points of fact from recall.
Possible points: the goddess Athena is Odysseus's protector and helper, guiding and advising him and his son Telemachus; the sea god Poseidon is his enemy, sending storms to delay him because Odysseus blinded his son the Cyclops; the gods meet and decide his fate, with Zeus allowing him to be freed from Calypso; gods often appear in disguise to test or help mortals; the gods reward those who respect them and the rules of hospitality and punish those who do not; the messenger god Hermes carries the gods' orders, for example telling Calypso to release Odysseus; and the gods can both help and harm, so mortals must keep them favourable.
Any six accurate, developed points reach full marks.
SQA N5 style8 marksHow far do the gods control what happens to mortals in the Odyssey? (8 marks)Show worked answer →
An evaluative "how far" question, so weigh the gods' control against human responsibility, then judge.
Strong divine control: Athena helps Odysseus throughout and Poseidon hinders him, so a god's favour or anger shapes his fate; the gods in council decide he may go home; and the gods reward and punish mortals as they choose.
Human responsibility to balance it: Odysseus brings Poseidon's anger on himself by his pride; his men choose to eat the sun god's cattle despite warnings and so cause their own deaths; and mortals are blamed for their own foolish choices, as Zeus says at the start of the poem.
Judgement: conclude that the gods strongly influence events and can help or harm at will, yet mortals are still held responsible for their own choices, so the poem shows a shared responsibility rather than gods controlling everything. State the judgement clearly for the evaluation marks.
Related dot points
- The story of the Odyssey: Odysseus's ten-year journey home from Troy, his key adventures such as the Cyclops, the Sirens and the underworld, and his return to Ithaca to defeat the suitors.
The story of Homer's Odyssey: Odysseus's long struggle to return home from the Trojan War, his key adventures including the Cyclops, the Lotus-Eaters, Circe, the Sirens and the underworld, and his secret return to Ithaca to defeat his wife's suitors.
- Odysseus as a hero: the heroic qualities he shows, especially cunning, courage and endurance, his flaws such as pride, and what this reveals about Greek ideas of heroism.
What makes Odysseus a hero in the Odyssey: his cunning and cleverness, his courage and endurance through years of hardship, his leadership, and his flaws such as pride and curiosity, and what this reveals about the Greek idea of heroism.
- Fate and free will in the Odyssey: the idea of a destined homecoming, the warnings and prophecies that shape the story, and the way characters' own choices still decide their fortunes.
The theme of fate and free will in Homer's Odyssey: Odysseus's destined return home, the prophecies and warnings that guide the plot, and how characters' own choices, good and bad, still decide their fate, raising the question of how far human lives are fixed.
- Values in the Odyssey: the sacred duty of hospitality (xenia) and how good and bad hosts are judged, alongside the values of loyalty, cunning and respect for the gods.
The values promoted in Homer's Odyssey: the sacred guest-host duty of hospitality (xenia) and how good and bad hosts such as the Phaeacians and the Cyclops are judged, together with loyalty, cunning and respect for the gods.
- Greek religion: the Olympian gods and their characters, the central practice of sacrifice and prayer, the role of temples, festivals and oracles, and how religion ran through public and private life.
Greek religion in classical Athens: the Olympian gods and their human-like characters, the central practice of animal sacrifice and prayer, the role of temples and priests, the great civic festivals, the use of oracles, and how religion was woven through both public and private life.