Pain and Suffering in the Odyssey and the Gospel of Matthew In the "great works" of ancient Greece and Christianity, only suffering is described as something to fear. Both Homer's Odyssey and Matthew's Gospel argue that suffering is virtually unbearable when the sufferer has no external support. However, if the tormented person manages to find support in others, these teachings continue, the suffering becomes more tolerable. Both agree that we want to find supporters when we are tormented. Unfortunately, these sources differ on how to find such support. Homer teaches that support can be found knowing that all humanity suffers together, ultimately tormented by the gods. The Gospel of Matthew, however, teaches that by placing faith in God, the tormented person can find support from Him. Furthermore, it teaches that God listens to human beings' requests for help and, if asked with true faith, will give support to all who suffer. To illustrate the teachings of these two works, a brief passage from each is sufficient to give the crux of the matter. respective teachings on this topic: Rag of a man that I am, is this the end of me? I fear that the goddess told everything well, foreseeing great adversities at sea and far from home. Now all things prove her right: the whole circumference of the sky enveloped Zeus in a painful cloud, and the sea raged under such winds. I'm going down, that's for sure. How fortunate were those Danaans who perished on the broad coast of Troy, in the service of the Atreidae! I wish to God I had died there too - I met my end that time the Trojans threw so many throws at me when I stood beside Ahilleus after Death. I should have had a soldier's burial and a eulogy from the Akhanians, not this suffocation waiting for me at sea, lonely and unmarked. (Homer V.309-323)"He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he will; for he hath said 'I am the Son of God.' Even the bandits who had been crucified with him insulted him in the same way. From midday onwards it became dark over the whole town until three in the afternoon. And about three o'clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" When some of those present heard this, they said, "This man is calling Elijah." Immediately one of them ran to get a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick and gave it to him to drink..