Perhaps, one of the first civilizations to recognize this phenomenon is the ancient Greeks. It is true that many ancient cultures were largely polytheistic and believed in many gods and goddesses. The ancient Greeks themselves believed in their own deities who were known as the Olympians. The Olympians possessed great power and wielded it with such a tremendous intensity. Some of them included Poseidon, the god of the seas, whose fury can cause shattering earthquakes and the most devastating of sea storms. Another was Hades, the Greek god of death, who resided in the underworld and commanded legions of the undead. The most important one of all was Zeus, the king of the gods and the god of the heavens. His signature weapon was a mighty thunderbolt that could smite any mortal or god instantly. These mythic figures were later used in many Greek epic poems and some of them were portrayed as the mortal hero's adversaries and sought to destroy him. This is most evident in Homer's The Odyssey.
In Homer's The Odyssey, the protagonist of the story, Odysseus, was a valiant warrior, who along with his men fought in the famed Trojan War and came out as the victors. Now, Odysseus and his brave warrior troops must return home to reunite with their people and loved ones again. Their eagerly anticipated journey turns into their worst nightmare come to life. The heroes must endure countless threats against them that seek to destroy them, as well as keeping them from reaching their homeland. Their adversaries range from vengeful gods to seductive nymphs and even the deadly natural elements themselves endangered the lives of Odysseus and his lot. Regrettably, all of Odysseus' companions met their gruesome ends at the hands of the various malevolent forces that befell them. In spite of this tragedy, Odysseus was able to survive these horrors and reunite with his family albeit under difficult circumstances.
