Throughout Homer's Odyssey, I've noticed quite an inconsistency with the gods and goddesses, and the actions they choose to take, especially when it involves the mortal humans, even more particularly, Odysseus himself. I am not well versed in Greek mythology, though I generally understand the roles the gods played in human life. However, I find it interesting the liberties so many of the gods/goddesses take (Poseidon, Circes, Calypso) when it comes to the ruin of Odysseus, but when something good is to be bestowed upon Odysseus, Athena (his patroness) must go before the father-god, Zeus, to ask his permission.
The gods seem to be a disassembled force, but are expected to be united in a decision of well-being. I find this to be very confusing and think this might be a reason why Good and Evil have such greyed lines throughout Greek mythology, and more specifically, The Odyssey. For example, the times Odysseus is found sharing a bed with enchantresses, there is never a question of right or wrong. But when Odysseus desires to slice the head of one of his mates, Eurylochus, in anger, he recognizes he is held back by the other men for good reason. I think the gods directly influence the expectation of what is acceptable and what is not, what is good and evil, what is right and wrong, and because they are the ruling forces in this mythological world, the humans act according to the standard set.
P.S. I commented on Ethan's and Nate's.
The gods tend to be very bipolar with their decisions, I agree. In the beginning, Zeus was against the whole escapade of Odysseus' return home and wanted nothing to do with it, so he, basically, left it all to Athena to control. Later in the Odyssey, we see Athena coming to Zeus to attain permission to free Odysseus when she could do it herself. In retrospect, Zeus is a boss for a company of community services, but instead of doing work along with the other gods, he seems to take credit for the services performed by saying that he was the one who told Athena and Hermes to convince the nymph to let Odysseus leave. I understand your concern with the inconsistency and incoherence of the gods though, very interesting.
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