Essay on the Role of the Gods in Homer's Iliad

The Role of the Gods in Homer's Iliad

If one holds the contemporary view of the Christian God then it may be difficult to comprehend the actions and motivation 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"(Guthrie 17). Needless to say, divine intervention was a major variable in the equation of Homer's Iliad.

The gods picked who they would favor for different reasons, except Zeus. As the symbol of supreme authority and justice, he makes judgment calls as to the other gods' involvement in the war, remains impartial, and doesn't seem to get caught up in picking favorites. 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 nothing 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.

There were also Gods who favored the Trojan side of the conflict. Both Apollo and Artemis, twin brother and sister, gave aid to the city of Troy. Although Artemis takes a rather minor role, Apollo, perhaps angered by Agamemmnon's refusal to ransom Khryseis, the daughter of one of his priests, and was constantly changing the course of the war in favor of the Trojans. Responsible for sending plague to the Greeks, Apollo was the first god to make an appearance in the Iliad. Also, mainly because Apollo and Artemis were on the Trojan side, their mother, Leto, also helped the Trojans.