Gods Essay Research Paper The Division of

Gods Essay, Research Paper

The Division of Honors and Journeying Among the Gods

In this midterm essay I will discuss why Gods Journey.

I believe that Gods

journey for two reasons. One reason is to seek out honor for themselves.

The other reason is to regain honors they have lost. To demonstrate this I

will first discuss the journeys of Hades in the Homeric hymn “To Demeter”

comparing it to the journey of Hermes in “To Hermes”. I fell that both of

these companion journeys were attempts by these Gods to win honors they did

not already have. Next I will look at the companion journeys of Demeter and

Apollo. I think that both of these Gods journeyed to regain honors they’d

previously had, but lost. Lastly I will conclude by showing how all four

Gods had to compromise and divide up the honors amongst themselves.

“Earth with its wide roads gaped and then over the Nysian field the

lord and

All receiver, the many named son of Kronos, sprang out upon her with his

immortal horses…Not an unseemly bridegroom among the immortals is

Aidoneus, Lord on Many, your own brother from the same seed; to his share

fell honor when in the beginning a triple division was made, and he dwells

among those over whom his lot made him lord” (To Demeter 16-18, 83-87).

I think that these two sets of lines show that Hades viewed Persephone as a

prize. Honor was one of the things Hades won when he, Zeus, and Poseidon

divided up the world. Thus Hades felt justified in journeying up from the

underworld to earth to claim Persephone as his bride. I feel that he felt he

deserved to have her, according to his logic, because honor was something he

was entitled to as a God.

I feel that Hermes journey was similar to that of Hades in that he traveled

in order to win honor for himself and for his Mother Maia.

“A watcher by night and a gate keeper, soon destined to show forth glorious

deeds among the immortal gods. Born at dawn, by midday he played his lyre,

and at evening he stole the cattle of far shooting Apollon…But I shall be

master of whatever skill is best to provide for you and me forever; we

shall not suffer, as you bid me, to stay right here and be the only two

immortals not plied with gifts and prayers. It is better to be forever in

the gods’ intimate circle, rich, affluent, and with an abundance of grain,

than to sit in this dark cave; and as for honor, I, too, shall claim the

rite of which Apollon is a master” (To Hermes 15-18, 166- 173).

Hermes much like Hades was destined to achieve glorious deeds and win honor.

He felt he was entitled to steal Apollo’s cattle, just as Hades felt

entitled to steal Persephone, because neither he nor Maia were receiving

their just honors from the Gods. I think that honor is one of the most

important and significant things among the Gods. It is truly the one area in

which Gods are able to distinguish themselves from other gods. I think that

both of these Gods risked earning the wrath of other Gods because honor was

so important to them, and they felt they were lacking of such.

Both of these journeys represent one of the key reasons why I feel that Gods

travel. Both of these Gods were not receiving the honors that they felt they

deserved as Gods. Furthermore both of them lived in isolated places, Hades

in the underworld and Hermes in an isolated cave, away from the other gods

who lived on MT. Olympus. Thus these Gods could easily be forgotten and

dismissed by the people, and the other Gods. I think that Hermes wanted to

own something so people would honor him and his mother in the same fashion

they honored the other Gods on Mt. Olympus. I feel that Hades wanted someone

whom he could claim as a bride to keep him company in his rule of the

underworld isolated away from the other Gods.

While both of these Gods were able to temporarily steal away these honors

for themselves, they had to take them from other Gods. Once these other Gods

found out about their thievery they responded in kind with a journey of their

own to reclaim honors which had been there’s before and which they felt

should still rightfully be theirs.

“For nine days then all over the earth mighty Deo roamed about with bright

torches in her hands, and in her sorrow never tasted ambrosia or nectar

sweet to drink,and never bathed her skin… Afterwards, angered with

Kronion, lord of black clouds, she withdrew from the assembly of the gods

and from lofty Olympos and went through the cities of men and the wealth

of their labors, tearing at her hair form for a long time” (To Demeter

47-50, 91-94);

Demeter was so distraught over the rape of Persephone that she roamed the

Earth for nine days seeking out her daughter. While the loss of Persephone

was perhaps not a loss of honor to her in the same way the stealing

Persephone was an ‘honor’ to Hades, Demeter still

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