A contrast of beliefs Spirituality, religion and the divine creation of human beings have been central topics for many years. From the texts we have read, we see a great distinction between the views of Western and Eastern society. Western philosophy, as we have seen through our ancient Greek texts, was focused on the divine, spirituality, and gods. Eastern philosophy and the views of philosophers like Confucius revolved around ethics, oneself, and connecting with nature. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Within the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Iliad, and the Aeneid, gods and spirituality are prevalent and given the utmost importance. Odysseus, Achilles, Gilgamesh, and other characters in Homeric texts relied on the gods for almost everything. The gods were responsible for nature, mortals, actions, cities, etc. The gods had the ability to cause natural disasters and determine a person's place in the afterlife. This earned the gods a tremendous amount of respect and adoration. In book 24 of the Iliad, when King Priam speaks he says: “Revere the gods, Achilles! Have mercy on me in my right…” (145). This quote shows the respect expected from the gods during that time. All actions of the Trojan War were due to the gods themselves and the roles they filled. As we have read from the texts, we see that there is really no clear outcome for the future of the characters in the Iliad and the Aeneid. . The future was to be controlled and predetermined by the gods. No matter how hard people tried, the gods had to decide on everything. A Greek poet named Hesoid, who lived in Homer's time, also spoke briefly about the importance of the gods. Hesoid stated that: “First there is the void, then the earth, and only then do the gods appear. And, when the gods appear on the scene, they behave in a rather disorderly manner, and often bend the operations of nature according to their whims. These explanations for the gods can be seen as both philosophically and religiously based. It is known that Greek philosophers during the Western period mainly focused on both of these two things. Confucius and most Eastern philosophical teachings were never too focused on the divine and the gods. As mentioned above, Confucius believed exclusively in the “realm of the concrete and the human” (380). Going deeper into this topic, Confucius strongly believed in morality and that human beings are the ones who should be in touch with themselves. There must have been no other gods or spirits controlling things. We are responsible for our human capabilities and everything that happens to us. He believed that it was essential to be in tune with ourselves and with the nature that surrounds our Earth. We as human beings in nature are all similar but we can be known for the habit of doing good or doing bad. Despite the bad deeds of others, Confucius reflects on the love for humanity we should have. He talks about this many times in The Analects while also further discussing the importance of human nature in humanity. “What nature puts together, habit separates.” (392). I have a feeling that many Eastern philosophers saw things that way and how they were related, so they looked for the pursuit of happiness through nature and self-discovery. Eastern and Confucian philosophy wanted to emphasize behavior and how an individual should act. For example, it was known that a child should respect his parents and.