Iliad
Role of Greek Gods In the Illiad
With our view of God, it can sometimes be difficult to comprehend
the actions and thinking of the Greek deities. The Christian God does
not tend to take such an active role in the affairs of people's lives,
where, on the other hand, the Greeks regarded direct involvement by
the gods as a daily, uncontrollable part of life. Needless to say,
divine intervention was a major variable in the equation of Homer's
Iliad.
The gods picked who they would favour for different reasons.
Except Zeus: As the symbol of supreme authority and justice, he makes
judgement calls as to the other gods' involvement in the war, remains
impartial, and doesn't seem to get caught up in picking favourites.
Even when his own son, Sarpedon, was about to die, Zeus chose to let
the outcome go unaltered.
On the other hand, Zeus's wife, Hera, displayed the more typical
actions of a god. After Paris, a Trojan, judged Aphrodite the fairest
over Hera, and, after her daughter Hebe was replaced as cupbearer to
the gods by a young Trojan boy, she was quite resentful towards Troy
and its people. Obviously she sided with the Greeks and would stop at
no length to express her will. Scheming and manipulating she even
dared to trick her husband, King of the Gods. Hera, along with Athena,
who was also passed over by Paris, is seen as the chief divine aid to
the Greeks.
Being the god of the sea, Poseidon was another strong supporter
of the ocean-faring Greeks. Whenever Zeus turned his back Poseidon
tried to help the Greeks in the fight. Poseidon felt that he was
somewhat Zeus's equal as his brother, but recognizing Zeus's authority
and experience, he looked to Zeus as an elder.
...
View Full Essay