In Greek and Roman mythology, the limits between Gods and humans have been interdependent with distinctions. Gods would aide humans in times of need, such as during war or crisis, while they proved their ranks amongst each other through humans. Ancient novels like The Odyssey and The Iliad prove this. The relationship between humanity and immortality is significant because it examines the limits between humans and Gods, which reveals Gods are immortals in their sphere of existence. Therefore, it is difficult to examine their gradations of powers between each other but within a human realm, their physical, mental, and emotional limits are determined by human qualities.

The story of Oedipus The King exemplifies the physical and mental limits of Gods within the human realm because Oedipus, the king of Thebes, was born into a dooming prophecy, an oracle that was given by the Gods. No matter how times he tried to appeal to Apollo for answers, there was never a response. Oedipus was forced to accept that he was doomed and no matter what he did, that he would end up fulfilling the oracle. Although the gods delayed his fate by allowing him unravel the truth behind his birth, his actions ultimately reveal that in the human realm of existence, Gods were able to "work alongside the fates and have the ability to act against them" (Slattery 4). This is shown in the lines "So then Apollo brought it not to pass. The child should be his father's murderer, Or the dread terror find accomplishment, and Laius be slain by his own son. Such was the prophet's horoscope. 0 king, Regard it not. Whatever the god deems fit. To search, himself unaided will reveal" (Sophocles 719-725). Gods had no control over fate once it was set in motion but they did have influence over the physical and mental  limits of humans, as seen by the fulfillment of Oedipus' oracle. In fact, Gods support oracles in this story and it sets a precedent for later stories in which prophets and oracles are taken seriously, such as when Cassandra foreshadows the fate of Agamemnon, in the story of                 Agamemnon. These powers given to prophets are valuable because of the presence of Gods, but without humans to fulfill their prophecies they would be meaningless. This would undermine the perception of Gods and their role in influencing humans to seek respect, relevance and authority in their lives.

In the Iliad , the physical limits of Gods were violated when Diomedes injured Ares.

Generally, Gods saved humans through divine intervention but in the same way, Gods had to be saved by other Gods in this story. Ares says "We everlasting gods . . . Ah what chilling blows we suffer-thanks to our own conflicting wills- whenever we show these mortal men some kindness" (Iliad 5.1007-10) shows that he had kind intentions, but after he got injured he began to whine and Zeus reprimanded him for that. His childish actions parallel the petty actions of humans within their realm, but it also reveals the larger implication that many Gods displayed human like qualities. In fact, the many petty arguments and fights on Earth reflected power struggles existent in the realm of Gods. In some instances, the Gods would transcend human limits to fight each other, but they would never fight in the war directly because they were Gods. In addition, the theomachus, the hero who would dare and fight with a God, is a recurring theme throughout the Iliad . Gods were allowed to have power struggles in any realm of existence but humans who fought with them for power like the theomachus, were subjected to punishment, seen in the lines "Not long for this world is he who fights with gods, nor will his children at his knees cry out "Papa" when he returns from terrible battle" (Iliad 5.407-9). Humans acted as a medium to demonstrate Godly powers, of ten done in childish ways because of the conflicting views they had amongst each other. Their objectification of human lives is a quality that shows that they demonstrated human qualities as if warriors like Achilles were their prize trophies and they constantly fought for power by manipulating armies. When Poseidon aided the Achaeans, he was told not to fight by Zeus. His involvement was directly influenced by his emotions but Zeus felt that their source of power came from within themselves, not like Poseidon who sought to demonstrate it through human endeavors. This demonstrated the hierarchy of power amongst Gods because Zeus told Poseidon and many other Gods to limit their interactions with humans at times to maintain the delicate balance between humanity and immortality, so that fate might not be disturbed. This delicate balance was mediated by the will of Zeus but in the human realm of existence, it was never consistent. In the Iliad , "Nestor, a steady and wise Greek elder, is frightened when Zeus appears to be partial to the Trojan side during the height of battle, but he realizes that on a daily basis, occurrences happen according to Zeus' temporarily altering his plans to meet circumstances, such as the anger of Achilles" (Slattery 3). This impartiality indicates the immortal pursuance of fate in the human realm had gaps because of the need to establish equality amongst both Gods and humans.

Zeus is traditionally seen as a figure of all that is righteous in Ancient Greece and Rome, but his actions within the human realm suggest that he is clueless in terms of his mental and emotional limits. He is able to balance equality amongst the Gods but he places humans in very awkward situations. When Agamemnon has to sacrifice his daughter to Artemis in order to have the expedition set sail in the Iliad , Artemis is angry about the fact that a pregnant hare was killed in an omen that Calchas predicted success on behalf of the Greeks. However, it was Zeus that sent this omen to encourage him when it is the omen itself that angered Artemis. If Agamemnon chose to preserve his daughter, "Zeus is going to suff er, at least in prestige. If Agamemnon abandons the expedition, Paris will not be punished, and Zeus will have failed in his function of overseeing the laws of hospitality" (Sommerstein 166). These two options present an impossible dilemma in which Agamemnon has no proper choice. The will of Zeus had created a scenario that was not physically solvable by human limits but by only divine intervention. Therefore, Gods do not always present humans with beneficial choices because they must consider themselves first to preserve their own physical, mental, and emotional abilities amongst the other Gods.

Some Gods like Dionysus were not always acknowledged as a God though, and so they had to set an example through humans to demonstrate their own physical, mental, and emotional limits. His unique position can be explained by "Dionysos becomes a god, losing all taint of mortality. His extraordinary second birth from the thigh of Zeus is perhaps the source of his ability to make the transition. Despite the unusual status of these sons of Zeus, they are in no way spared from the tribulations of heroic existence" (Lyons 79). Like many mortals, Dionysus had to prove his heroic existence and make the transition through the human realm, which was possible due to his divine birth. He did this in The Bacchae by punishing Pentheus for his foolishness, demonstrating that human superiority is inferior to that of immortals. The Bacchae who followed him were possessed by his power but this power although seemingly powerful, was subjected to the human realm where it was more significant. In the realm of Gods, his power would be useless because he had to demonstrate to the other Gods that he was capable of being immortal. In order for him to prove his power amongst both realms, he had to display it in the human realm first because that is where power counted and derived positions amongst Olympus. His choice in Pentheus is strategically chosen because Pentheus ruled Thebes at the time, so for him to make an example of Pentheus would exemplif y his divinity in juxtaposition to him, the Gods, and the other humans who would not believe his power such as Autonoe. Dionysus had a difficult time persuading Pentheus as seen by "She'd had the nerve to name Zeus the Fatheras her lover...What gall! What effrontery!" (Euripedes I. 241-245). Pentheus was dedicated to Zeus and refused to believe his aunt was a lover of the God. Therefore, Zeus' will aff ected the ability for humans to pay homage to all Gods as well as have Gods receive their proper respect. Additionally, Dionysus had no regard for the emotional welfare of the humans he manipulated to demonstrate his power and in fact the Bacchae were nearly blinded by his powers, as shown by Pentheus's mother who could not recognize her own actions. Lastly, Dionysus' superior intellectuality was demonstrated through Pentheus because he knew Pentheus' fate and gave him a chance to admit that he was a god, but did not. This form of omnipotence is something that Gods possess in a human realm of existence but only regarding humans, not necessarily themselves. Therefore, by making an example of another human as an immortal that he was able to demonstrate his superior physical, mental, and emotional limits as a God.

Because Gods cared for themselves before humans, humans were carelessly treated in their pursuit for power within the human realm. When Prometheus took the fire away from the Gods, Zeus punished him for taking a characteristic identifiable with the realm of Gods and passing it onto humanity, which brought them one-step closer to being identifiable with Gods. To preserve this distinction of power and exemplify their own limits, he punished him to show that humans could not overstep their limits without punishment yet Gods could interfere in the human realm of existence at any time. Prometheus also challenges Zeus' position amongst the human realm since "he demonstrated compassion in giving the arts to man, the suffering Prometheus himself deserves compassion. He is mankind's intellectual hero: his struggle with Zeus represents the perpetual conflict between power and creative intelligence, between brute strength and genius" (Swanson 218).  The Gods would get angry with humans for violating their shrines and stepping out their boundaries, but could never have respect and loyalty for each other, always seeking for more power over each other and more power in the mortal world.

The Hesiod influenced Homers writings because it set the foundations for mortal and immortal interactions in Greek mythology. In the Hesiod, Zeus was established as the king of Gods and his affairs and objectifications of women were accepted because his power was valued above all. This is important because many pieces of literature that followed the Hesiod were influenced by it, such as the Iliad. Women were continually objectified through Greek stories as seen in the Trojan War because their actions were passively demonstrated in the stories and accepted as values innate to the stories during those times when they were written. In fact, in the novel Gender and Immortality, it was stated that "While connection with a god, whether erotic or not, may be beneficial to a heroin who may prevail and be exalted under divine tutelage, similar contact for heroines is almost always disastrous, resulting in transformation of ten of a radical and unwelcome kind" (101). This idea of ten caused the pacification of heroines in Greek literature, but even then sometimes there were moments when women could go beyond their limits established by culture, such as in the story of Helen when she is able to provide an escape for herself  and Menelaus. On the other hand, women were mediums for men to find their rightful power in humanity but also, Gods used women to demonstrate their own limits such as lust and power, which is able to trump all forms of attraction and desire. Therefore, although each gender may not have required godly assistance to transcend their limits in certain circumstances, whenever the gods needed each gender to transcend and display their own limits, it was shown in varying and unique ways.

In ancient Greek society, Gods were worshipped based off their nonexistent physical limitations. They have human qualities yet they are incapable of dying, they do not require food and they are eternal. Humans on the other hand, are physically limited because they are mortal, they require food and they die of old age. Immortal eating habits show that "gods are careful to keep exclusively for themselves this nourishment that is "ambrosian" like their own bodies.

Thus, once the table is set at the summit of Mount Olympos, the gods are those who, nourished by nectar and ambrosia, eat the dishes of immortality, and at the same time, those immortal bodies know no hunger and have no need to eat at all to eat" (Vemant 35). If there were no need to eat as a God, it would not be necessary to address the limit in amongst other Gods. However, in the human realm it does matter because it distinguishes them from men who "inhabited by a hunger that is endlessly renewed, cannot survive without eating" (Vemant 34). When Achilles finds out about the death of Patroclus, he proceeds to enter the war directly without eating.

Although he may have successfully conquered Troy, it demonstrates this parallel between Achilles and the Gods who have no need to eat as superior as they are. If Achilles were to go fight alongside the rest of his Greek men however, they would be slaughtered due to their need for constant sustenance. That is why the Gods tell him to wait and fill him with food. These structural differences between humans and Gods explain why Gods are superior to humans, but it also shows how humans need Gods to bridge their imperfections within the human world.

Likewise, the Gods use humans to display their powers through their superior physical, mental and emotional limits.

Gods have human like qualities when interacting with humans like in Book V of the Iliad , in which Diomedes sees that the Gods can injure themselves. Furthermore, in The Trojan Women, Cassandra is able to prophesize because of her interactions with the God Apollo.

However, although the ability to foretell the future is financially beneficial, it means nothing to Cassandra and she throws her insignia on the floor to demonstrate this. The visions she has are of violence and destruction, qualities that the Gods have innately expressed through their emphasis of power within the human realm. Humans maybe capable of violence and destruction but the Gods have actually provoked it more rather than prevent it from happening, as fate had commanded in certain situations. Instead, power was always important and demonstrating it in the most grandiose manner possible was a necessity for Gods. Beauty was one demonstration of power in these times. It was rumored that Helen, who Menelaus sought to retrieve from Paris, was actually just a deception and she actually lied in Egypt the whole time. The Gods had deceived the Greek and Trojan armies to reveal something very important, that they fought over nothing. It may have been an honorable cause in the moment when individuals fought, but it was fought for nothing. The Gods made it seem much more important than it was, and made then seem more necessary than they actually were. Without the existence of drama between humans, their role would have been diminished in the Iliad . Their ability to influence the lives of humans do not occur out of human necessity but rather divine intervention, which is beyond human capability and understanding.

Divine intervention was not the only thing beyond human capability and understanding, but structural physical interactions were very important too to show the differences between mortals and immortals. In the human realm, humans cannot identify immortals unless they were revealed to them directly "to see a god face to face, as he or she is authentically in his (or her) uncovered body, is far more than human strength can bear" (Vernant 44). Gods would have to identify themselves by taking on forms of mortals, animals, or even appear cloaked in mist.

These subtle disguises allowed Gods to be apart of the human realm without causing widespread f ear and directly demonstrating their powers. Their immense beauty also gave them the ability to affect the beauty of other humans, such as when Athena makes Odysseus more attractive to Nausicaa in the Odyssey. However, their disguises are not completely hidden because some humans are able to tell when they are in the presence of immortals. For example, in the Iliad , the son of Oileus says "No, that is not Kalchas the seer. Without difficulty, I recognized from behind the trace of his feet and legs, while he was going away. The gods are recognizable" (Iliad 13.70- 72). The traces align with the paradoxical design of Gods which are unique but very heavy too but weightless at the same time. Their descriptions are paradoxical because the human mind cannot comprehend their immortal limits, which are beyond the human realm. They do maintain the balance between mortals and immortals however and demonstrate why human like characteristics, through their paradoxical physical descriptions, define immortal limits.

These distinctions between Gods and humans reveal a relationship of interdependence and balance. Gods were worshipped in Ancient Greek and Roman society for their immortality and extraordinary limits in juxtaposition with limited human capabilities. Although humans were inferior physically, mentally, and emotionally, Gods did occasionally parallel these inferior qualities. These inferior qualities stemmed from hierarchal arguments about power, a necessity for anyone in the ancient world. By viewing these Gods in the human realm, one could understand their physical, mental and emotional limits through society's human qualities. These limits however, reveal that humans and Gods are very similar. Gods may be superior in several aspects, but they would be inferior without the presence of humans to justify their powers.

Alternatively, humans needed Gods to bridge their own structural flaws and guide them towards what was right. It is difficult to determine what was seen as righteous in these times because Gods put their interests first while humans came second. These needs sometimes worked to benefit each realm but there were consequences too. Regardless, this relationship constantly adjusted based on the needs during certain times, which reveals how the interdependence and balance between Gods and humans was constantly shifting.

Works Cited