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Comparing and contrasting Eve and Pandora

Decent Essays

There are many moral issues between the characters in the book the Iliad, but the biggest issues were with the characters you might least expect: the Greek gods and goddesses. The way these gods were vaunted by the Greeks, you would expect them to be perfect, just, and faultless. But these illustrious gods were anything but that. Their moral priorities were very mixed up to say the least, and they took no notice of it. A big problem with the gods and goddesses was their self absorption; they were extremely prideful and vain. Little did they know this pride would inevitably cause the Trojan War. It all started when the goddess of discord threw a golden apple with the words “for the fairest” inscribed upon it to Hera, …show more content…

One example of this is when the gods were on the battlefield helping either Troy or the Argives. Hera, Athena, and Poseidon were helping the Argives when they saw Aeneas of Troy go up against Achilles. Poseidon took pity on Aeneas who had been urged on by one of the gods to fight Achilles; and Poseidon knew Aeneas would die if he did fight Achilles. So he asked Athena and Hera to help him save Aeneas from death, and Hera’s response to him in the Iliad was this, “Decide in your own mind, god of the earthquake, whether to save Aeneas now or let him die, crushed by Achilles, for all his fighting heart. But time and again we two have sworn our oaths in the eyes of all the gods-I and Pallas Athena- never to drive the fatal day away from the Trojans, not even when all Troy burns in the rampaging flames when the warring sons of Achaea burn her down!” Driven by revenge and a petty grudge, they couldn’t even have compassion on an innocent man because he was a Trojan. Lastly, the gods had a problem with being deceitful, especially with each other. When they really wanted something, they didn’t care if they had to lie or be dishonest to get it. Earlier in the battle, Zeus had told the gods that they couldn’t fight in the battle yet. Some time later, Zeus left the battle scene and went elsewhere to Mount Ida. If any of the gods would dare cross Zeus, the time was now and Poseidon

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