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
The Iliad uncovers the truth behind what Greeks believed to be the role of women in society. The Greek goddesses and the mortal women represent two sides that women had in society. The Greek goddesses held power over the war, whereas, the mortal women are there as prizes or timé. Aphrodite is the prime example of a goddess who held a lot of power, mainly by using manipulation, in the Trojan War. Helen represents the quintessential idea of a woman representing timé. These two portrayals of women in Greek society depict how people recognized women’s role in society, with Aphrodite representing a woman with power as a manipulative goddess and Helen representing a woman who was merely timé, a prize to be obtained.
A classic example of this divine involvement occurs within the first page of The Iliad. Achilles, the great hero of the Achaean armies, and Agamemnon the commander-in-chief of the Argives clash bitterly, and the entire epic centers on this conflict. Homer details the cause of this
Throughout Greek mythology, Athena is the goddess of wisdom, war, art, literature, and more. She is also known of in her Roman form, Minerva. She appears in The Iliad, The Odyssey, and numerous other Greek epics throughout history. In this essay, the controversy of Athena’s favoritism between heroes, or demigods, will be analyzed. In The Iliad, Athena uses supernatural intervention to interfere with mortal warfare; she assists and favors select heroes, like Odysseus, in which she honors them with kleos (glory) for accommodation in war.
The Iliad during the Trojan war is a very interesting story that could cause debate upon fellow readers. It brings up a lot of questions and thoughts about the gods and greeks of this time period, such as what is more important to them, justice or mercy? Also, it highlights the view that they have on war and whether it is tragic or glorious to them. During the Iliad, justice and mercy both play very important roles throughout the multiple books and are seen by different characters during the war. Also, it shows what the gods are like and how they view themselves and humans.
It’s hard to believe that simply an apple started the Trojan War, isn’t it? Three goddesses, Hera, the queen of all the gods, Athene,
In Edith Hamilton's Mythology, the behavior of the Greek gods illustrates that in Greek society, the Greeks understand the fundamental nature of having flaws. The Trojan war started due to the actions of a Greek goddess of discord Erin who was not invited to a banquet, “Resenting this deeply, [Erin] determined to make trouble—and she succeeded very well indeed” (Hamilton 254).Erin's jealousy and wrath cause her to disrupt the peace among the gods and start the Trojan War. The Greeks recognized this ability to be imperfect and evil among humans as well as gods. The understood this significance so much that they created gods that were evil or impure in nature like Erin, rather than making every god perfect. Another example of a god exhibiting
Although Zeus is the greatest of the immortals and is able to control their actions, the other gods have distinct abilities that allow them to either help the Trojans or the Achaeans. Poseidon’s loyalty lies with the Achaeans; however, he decides to help out the Trojans by saving Aeneas. In my eyes, Poseidon is not a traitor and rather a responsible and compassionate immortal. Sometimes, moral obligations outweigh personal responsibilities. For example, as much as Zeus wants to save his son from his fated death, he does not allow for his personal desires to get in the way of his job of protecting the prophecy. Because the gods of Olympus are so involved in the war effort, the mortal warriors are aware of the intervention of the immortals at times. When paranormal and unexplainable activities occur on the battlefield, such as the disappearance of Aeneas, the warriors do not think much about it since they understand that the gods must have intervened. The personal connections many gods feel to the mortals results in their intervention in the Trojan
In, “This was just, and the Trojans would have agreed if Athena, at Hera's prompting, had not interfered. Hera was determined that the war should not end until Troy was ruined. Athena, sweeping down to the battlefield, persuaded the foolish heart of Pandarus, a Trojan, to break the truce and shoot an arrow at Menelaus,” Mythology page 192, it is perspicuous that these two goddesses are meddling in the affairs of mortals. They want Troy demolished, Paris dead, and Aphrodite defeated, and the way the go about this is through humans. Athena coaxes Pandarus to loose his arrow at the Spartan king, knowing the Greeks will be peeved at this and resume the battle. During the onslaught, Olympians are wounded alongside men. Aphrodite is hurt by Diomedes, brave because of Hera, and the Greek’s spear, guided by Athena, also strikes Ares. Such actions prompted by these two goddesses are clear evidence that the Olympians are involved in the Trojan War. In addition, the consequences of the behavior of Eris show this particular type of violence. Sly and sneaky, the goddess of discord was not invited to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, and was naturally angered by this. She flung an apple, marked For The Fairest, into the party. The events that occurred afterward would become legendary. Olympus became divided over Troy,
When looking at the book, The Odyssey you often come across Greek gods. The gods’ ultimately have total control over humans through their supernatural powers without the humans knowing about. The Greek god’s would interfere with fate and cause things to happen that might have not happened in the beginning. Zeus in particularly is the king of all kings when it comes down to the Greek gods, followed by his daughter Athena who is full of wisdom. The gods interfered with other people’s fate instead of letting them make their own choices.
These sorts of battles and gang ups between the gods occur all throughout the book because while the gods are trying to control the fate of human activity, they are also competing with the other gods around them. For example, later on in book XXI, Hera and Artemis get into a fight over mere mortals, “She spoke, and caught both of her arms at the wrists in her left hand and with her right hand stripped away the bow from her shoulders, then with her own bow, smiling, boxed her ears as Artemis tried to twist away, and the flying arrows were scattered” (21. 489-492). This example of the gods fighting connects with the intervention between Achilles and Skamandros because in both cases, gods hold different sides on arguments and tend to fight (verbally or physically) over
Homer’s, The Iliad, is an ancient Greek poem that opens up ten years into the Trojan War. The protagonist is Akhilleus, the greatest warrior of the Achaean army. His rage and quarrel with Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae, condemns the Achaean army to catastrophe. The epic poem preludes to the origins of the Trojan War as Paris, prince of Troy, was lured by Aphrodite and broke the Greek Alliance by seducing Helen, wife of King Menelaus, and abducting her to Troy. The book, “Literature of the Western World, Volume I, The Ancient World: Through the Renaissance,” portrays the Greek gods loftier to human beings through their power, beauty and immortality. Contradictory to Yahveh, the Hebrew God, they did not follow a set of principles which
Christine makes the right decision when she unmasks Erik. In doing so, this reveals the basis of his love; truly, he does not love her, he desires her only to fulfill himself. In reaction to her, when his mask comes off, he declares, “So I shall keep you here!. . . . (Leroux, 123).” Realizing she will not stay, he holds her back, “now that you know my hideousness, you would run away for good. . . .(123).” True love does not “imprison” a person “underground, for love! . . . (119).” Even more, after announcing his desire for marriage, he tells Christine what will happen if she refuses, “...answer...no, every body will be dead and buried! (211)” This means that if she chose no, he would kill “everyone,” more accurately, she would be the instrument of their demise for “If you turn the grasshopper...we shall all be blown up (235).” If he really loved her, he would not have reserved killing her as a last
They can disrupt the war whenever they feel is best. Since Zeus promises to help the Trojans he finds several ways corrupt the efforts of the Archaeans (Book II). Hera sees men fleeing to their ship after Agamemnon fakes a forfeit, and Athena convinces Odysseus to call back the men (Book II). Aphrodite also saves Paris from death against Menelaus. In all of these instances, the mortals could have had different outcomes without the intervention of the gods. The gods’ favored sides also aid in the successes and failures of the war. For example, Apollo helps the Archaeans by wounding Patroclus so that Hector can kill him (Book 16). Additionally, Apollo gets Zeus to tell Thetis to negotiate with Achilles about getting Hector’s body as a ransom (Book 24). It comes to show that the gods can easily manipulate the mortals to do anything they ask. In athletic competitions, such as the one that Achilles holds after Patroclus’ funeral, Diomedes wins with the help of Athena (Book 23).
To a certain extent, the role of the gods in Homer's Iliad can be summed up by the following remark by a character in an entirely different literary work, Gloucester from Shakespeare's King Lear: "As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods; / they kill us for their sport."
In the Iliad, the Gods seem to see the Human people as a game and toys, that they are not that important. When the war between Menelaus and Paris, the God’s was an audience from above wagering bets on who would win over Helen. The gods did not care a bit about them. Zeus and many other Gods “sat in council conferring across Olympus’ golden floor as noble Hebe poured them rounds of nectar. They lifted golden beakers pledging each other warmly, gazing down on Troy…” (Book Four, 1-4), The Gods watch the people of Troy fight for their lives as they gather a party. This is different from many cultures because if the Gods see something negative happen, they execute something to try to fix it instead of enjoying the people’s pain and suffering. At this point of The Iliad, the Gods that we have read