Gods in the iliad
Gods in the iliadWith our view of God, comprehending the actions and thinking of the Greek deities can sometimes be difficult. The Christian God does not take such an active role in the affairs of people's lives, where, the Greeks regarded direct involvement by the gods as a uncontrollable part of life. Naturally, divine intervention was a major variable in the equation of Homer's Iliad. Zeus, as the symbol of supreme authority and justice, made judgement calls as to the other gods' involvement in the war and remained impartial. Even when his own son, Sarpedon, was about to die, he chose to let the outcome go unaltered. On the other hand, his wife, Hera, displayed the more typical actions of a god. After Paris judged Aphrodite the fairest over herself and after a young Trojan boy replaced her daughter Hebe as cupbearer to the gods, she was resentful toward Troy. So she sided with the Greeks and would stop at no length to express her will. Scheming and manipulating, she even dared to trick Zeus. Along with Athena, she 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, he tried to help the Greeks in the fight. He 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. Some Gods favored the Trojan side of the conflict. Both Apollo and Artemis gave aid to the city of Troy. Although Artemis takes a minor role, Apollo, perhaps angered by Agamemnon's refusal to ransom Khryseis, was constantly changing the course of the war in favor of the Trojans. Responsible for sending plague to the Greeks, he was the first god to make an appearance in the Iliad. Their mother, Leto, also helped the Trojans. Aphrodite sided with the Trojans. Although she was insignificant on the battlefield, she was successful in convincing Ares, the god of war, to help the Trojans. One view of the gods' constant intervention in the war was that they were just setting fate back on the right course. For instance, when Patroklos was killed outside Troy, Apollo felt no guilt for his doings. It had been decided that Patroklos would not take Troy so he should never have disobeyed Achilles in the first place. As a god, Apollo was just setting fate back in line....
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