The Iliad Uncomeplete

A detailed Summary of The Iliad Uncomeplete

In Homer's The Iliad the roles of the Greek gods and goddesses in the Trojan War often involve the death and treachery of mortals. The gods usually decide who dies and who lives, and they determine the mental will of a person, but ultimately it is Fate that governs what happens to an individual. Only thinking of themselves, the immortal gods cannot relate to death or human affairs and often give little thought to the value of human life. The gods' and goddesses' influence on the life of mortals, whether it is deciding the victor of a battle, the winner of a race, or fulfillment of one's destiny, never strays from the character's inevitable Fate.

The gods of The Iliad play a crucial role in determining later happenings or the fulfillment of mortal destinies. A mortal's Fate dictates his entire life, everything important he will do is already set, it is only how and when he does these things that the gods control. Because of this plan the gods must keep everything together by balancing their own actions and the mortals. When Agamemnon will not return Chrysies Apollo sets a plague upon the Achaeans. Because it is prophesied that Troy will fall, Hera must intervene through Calchas the seer to prevent the archer-god from decimating th

The intervention of the gods can decides how a battle develops, whether or not certain warriors will live or die, and how those who perish will do so. The selfishness of the gods drives them to manipulate a situation in order to achieve an outcome that is satisfactory to them. They can do this by giving power to a person or group, dealing death to a person, or altering opinions or feelings. In one battle a spear is hurled at Odysseus, "but Pallas Athena would not let it run into his flesh" because she knows it is not his fate to die in the Trojan War (Homer 209). The gods must always comply with a mortal's fate, so even if Athena had not seen the battle and missed the fatal spear another god would have saved Odysseus. Although sometimes the gods are pleased with a mortal's fate and gladly aid them, there are times when a god is reluctant to allow a mortal's fate to be carried out. When Zeus realizes that his son, Sarpedon, is to be killed by Patroclus, he has two minds to "snatch him up and set him down alive in the rich lands of Lycia...or let him fall to [Patroclus]" (304). Zeus wishes he could stop his son's death, but even as a mighty immortal god, he must not interfere with Fate. Sometimes the gods may become overzealous in

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 832
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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