There are multiple different gods and goddesses in the Odyssey and each use their powers in different ways. Many gods try to help Odysseys get home to Ithaca whilst others try to stop or prolong his journey, they were extremely important to the success of the Odyssey.
Zeus has the ultimate power throughout the book although he doesn’t appear very often. He is the god of fate and destiny and so he decided what would happen to Odysseus but other gods, goddesses and monsters change when it will happen. As he is king of the gods he orders other gods what to do. For example, Zeus sends Hermes to deliver a message to Calypso so Odysseus can continue his journey. He adds a lot to the story as he is in charge and at the start says what will …show more content…

She makes the whole Odyssey extremely successful. Although there are many gods that help Odysseus, there are also many gods that that try to kill Odysseus distract him or prolong his journey. The main god that does this is Poseidon. Odysseus blinded his son Polyphemus the Cyclops so Poseidon destroys Odysseus’s raft that he uses to escape from Calypso’s island by creating a storm. Throughout the whole book he often creates storms at sea. It is these gods and goddesses that create drama in the story and make it longer. They don’t help Odysseus in being successful in his journey.
Zeus also doesn’t just help, he also creates a storm but that is more to punish Odysseus’s crew rather than him ad they abused xenia which is a main theme in the odyssey by eating the sun god Helios’s cattle even though they swore an oath not to. He adds so much to the story, a familiar name, background, suspense and a whole subplot. He doesn’t always help Odysseus become successful, but he did help.
Polyphemus is a Cyclops and is a demi-god as Poseidon is his father. He eats six of Odysseus’s men and plans to eat them all, saving Odysseus for last. He is uncivilised as he doesn’t talk to any of his neighbours or work on the land, he is barbaric. He is also very stupid and gullible.
Although Circe isn’t a goddess but a nymph, she uses divine magic to change Odysseus’s men into pigs and delays Odysseus’s journey by a year. Calypso also isn’t a goddess