the actions and thinking of the Greek deities. The Christian God does

not tend to take such an active role in the affairs of people's lives,

where, on the other hand, the Greeks regarded direct involvement by

the gods as a daily, uncontrollable part of life. Needless to say,

divine intervention was a major variable in the equation of Homer's

The gods picked who they would favour for different reasons.

Except Zeus: As the symbol of supreme authority and justice, he makes

judgement calls as to the other gods' involvement in the war, remains

impartial, and doesn't seem to get caught up in picking favourites.

Even when his own son, Sarpedon, was about to die, Zeus chose to let

On the other hand, Zeus's wife, Hera, displayed the more typical

actions of a god. After Paris, a Trojan, judged Aphrodite the fairest

over Hera, and, after her daughter Hebe was replaced as cupbearer to

the gods by a young Trojan boy, she was quite resentful towards Troy

and its people. Obviously she sided with the Greeks and would stop at

no length to express her will. Scheming and manipulating she even

primarily responsible for the kill. Apollo's part in the matter was

of the ocean-faring Greeks. Whenever Zeus turned his back Poseidon

also gave his word to Thetis that Achilles would gain much glory

throughout the poem. A prime example of this trend is in book XXIV.

Aphrodite, obviously supporting Paris's judgement, sided with the

showing his involvement on a personal level.

affected every aspect the poem in some way, shape or form. Yet, from

Some common words found in the essay are:
Homer's Iliad, Thetis Achilles, Trojans Aphrodite, Zeus Zeus, Paris Trojan, Hektor Trojans, Tethering Hektor's, Book Achilles, Trojans Zeus, Christian God, iliad gods, body trojans, apollo artemis, ransom body, ransom body trojans, zeus attempted, setting fate,
Approximate Word count = 1027
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)