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Portrayal of God in Homer's The Iliad

The gods play an important role in the Iliad and have influence over the lives of humans but are not purely good or evil. Their motivations are not based on morality. Zeus allows Paris to choose Aphrodite and launch the Trojan War. The gods take sides in the war, with Apollo and Ares supporting the Trojans while Poseidon helps the Greeks. The gods intervene directly at times but their power is not absolute over mortal affairs.

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471 views2 pages

Portrayal of God in Homer's The Iliad

The gods play an important role in the Iliad and have influence over the lives of humans but are not purely good or evil. Their motivations are not based on morality. Zeus allows Paris to choose Aphrodite and launch the Trojan War. The gods take sides in the war, with Apollo and Ares supporting the Trojans while Poseidon helps the Greeks. The gods intervene directly at times but their power is not absolute over mortal affairs.

Uploaded by

Raksha Mishra
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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PORTRAYAL OF GODS IN HOMER’S THE ILIAD

1. INTRODUCTION

The Iliad is a book where the gods are clearly a crucial point to the book. The gods play a
role as an interesting fragment and sometimes a remarkable side story as they have many
minor arguments and fights. There is no doubt though that the Ancient Greeks truly believed
that these gods would decide their glory and honour, which is in some ways very much the
same ideas and beliefs we have today. It is truly startling to see how some theories over time
fail to change.

2. DESCRIPTION

The gods in The Iliad and are shown not only to have a straight hand in the lives of
individuals, but also, they are shown to be selective about who they bid to help. The reasons
behind their motivations and decisions aren’t based on any modern Christian notion of who
“deserves” to have the honor “Greek religion comprised powers and fears of all kinds. As we
have comprehended, its gods were in the interior of the world, one that they did not create.
These powers—gods, nymphs, and other spirits—did not die (typically) but were born. The
Greek gods had beloved humans and intruded in human concerns, but they did not live within
the human heart. They were dominant, but their power had restrictions. The gods inhabit an
odd role in the Iliad and the life of Achilles. “The gods do not meet the prospects of the
mortal characters. They do support the Greeks, but for reasons that have nothing to do with
morality. They adore and they dislike, but they never talk about integrity. Thus the narrator
gives us the impression that Troy must in any case fall, that the Trojans are sufferers of a
power that men, however righteous, cannot overcome”

3. FURTHER ANALYSIS
King of the gods, Zeus decides that Paris can judge among three goddesses to see who is the
fairest.
Each of the three goddesses promises Paris something if he agrees to choose her. Hera, the
queen of the gods, promises Paris that he would be the king over all of Europe. Athena, the
goddess of wisdom and war, promises Paris that he would always be successful in battle.
And Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, promises him the mortal Helen of Troy, the
most beautiful woman in the world, for his wife. Unable to resist the last, Paris gives the
apple to Aphrodite, and sails for Sparta.
Of course, Helen's already married, and this is how all the trouble in Troy starts.
Apollo, the god of the sun, poetry, and prophecy, is the biggest champion of the Trojans.
When his priest is dishonoured by the mortal Greek king Agamemnon, Apollo sends a
plague down on the Greek forces. Many die, and Agamemnon seizes the mortal
hero Achilles' concubine, the human Trojan woman named Briseis. This causes a big fight
between the two Greek leaders and almost ends the war right then.
Ares, the god of war, is also on the side of the Trojans. In The Iliad, Ares is not well liked by
the other gods (Zeus calls him hateful). He is the lover of Aphrodite, even though she is
married to someone else.
Poseidon, the god of the sea, is also on the side of the Greeks during the war. He arrives and
secretly helps the Greeks even after Zeus has forbidden the gods from interfering in the war.
Poseidon also plots with Hera to make sure the Greeks are the victors.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Budimir, Milan (1940). On the Iliad and Its Poet.

Mueller, Martin (1984). The Iliad

Fox, Robin Lane (2008). Travelling Heroes: Greeks and their myths in the epic age of Homer.

WORLD WIDE WEB REFERENCES

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/6130/6130-pdf.pdf

https://www.ancient.eu/iliad/ (Ancient History Encyclopaedia)

http://shell.cas.usf.edu/~demilio/2211unit1/iliadplt.htm

http://goblues.org/faculty/rogersb/files/2014/10/Iliad-Summary-and-Commentary-6.08.16.pdf

https://www.scribd.com/document/359283468/Role-of-Gods-in-Iliad

https://study.com/academy/lesson/how-are-the-gods-portrayed-in-the-iliad.html

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