The Iliad is filled with many great scenes and themes. We get to experience the heart of battle and the triumph of victory. Another important aspect of the poem is the fact that it was one of the first tales told that gave us personal insight into the gods and goddesses and what their personalities were like. All throughout the story, we have close encounters with these devious players who seem to passionately take part in the affairs of mortal men and women. Analyzing the use of the gods' actions in this poem gives us keen insight into the mentality of the Greeks at that time and how they viewed their religion and their way of life. Through examination of the poem one can attempt to answer whether or not the gods made the really important decisions in the story. Particularly we will focus our attention on Zeus, the king of the gods, and his son Apollo. We will attempt to determine how much of their influence played an integral part in the story.

Divine intervention was a major variable in the equation of Homer's Iliad. The gods picked whom they would favor for different reasons. Except Zeus: As the symbol of supreme authority and justice, he makes judgement calls as to the ot

One view of the gods' seemingly constant intervention in the war was that they were just setting fate back on the right course. For instance, when Patroklos was killed outside of Troy, Apollo felt no guilt for his doings. It had already been decided that Patroklos would not take Troy, he should never have disobeyed Achilles in the first place. As a god, he was just setting fate on a straight line. Achilles laid blame on Hektor and the Trojans. He did not even consider accusing Apollo, who never came into question, although he was primarily responsible for the kill. Apollo's part in the matter was merely accepted as a natural disaster or illness would be today. This general acceptance of a god's will is a recurring trend throughout the poem. A prime example of this trend is in book twenty-four. Achilles, angry over the death of Patroklos brutally disgraced Hektor's body. Tethering Hektor's corpse through the ankles, Achilles dragged him around Patroklos's tomb every day for twelve days. This barbaric treatment was uncalled for and displeased the gods greatly. Achilles mother, Thetis, was sent by Zeus to tell him to ransom the body back to the Trojans. One may think Achilles would be possessive of the body and attempt to put up a fuss as he did before with Agamemnon in Book I but Achilles showed humility and respect for the gods and immediately agreed to ransom the body to the Trojans. Thus, he showed that all mortals, even god-like Achilles, were answerable to the gods.

Homer used the gods and their actions to establish twists on th

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1051
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)