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Relationships In The Illiad

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Relationships impact all lives. Familial bonds, friendships, and finding a partner are desires people have. Homer successfully executes the working relationships in the poem. The Illiad circumnavigates through the hardships of relationships. It also shows how important and vital they can be. The relationships between the gods and the mortals add a balance to the corrupt world they live in. Additionally, their similarities tie them together to create everlasting relationships. Nonetheless, the relationships between the mortals and gods are strong. Through their alikeness and need for control they create an atmosphere of comfort for each other. The gods are known as being divine, but they also have human qualities. They have affairs, …show more content…

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). The gods do not have the need to follow their fate, humans, however, have to follow their fate. The gods follow their ideal fate in order to keep balance in the world. For example, when Zeus’ son, Sarpedon, is in "...the hands of Menoitios' son Patroklos...” (Book 16), Zeus thinks about saving him. The issue with this is, if Zeus decides to save him, the other gods are going to believe that they can do the same and save their children. This will alter the fate of a

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