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Confusion In Iliad

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In reading the Iliad, there is a confusion about the gods and if they are omnipotent or not. The evidence in the text of the poem itself points in the direction that the gods are limited in more then one aspect. At the end of this chapter a question is posed about Zeus not disinviting Eris from the wedding of Peleus and Thetis (Harris and Platzner 321). The answer to this question is related directly to whether the gods are all powerful or not. This confusion needs to be unpacked and we need to answer a question to get a clear picture of the limitations of the gods. We, therefore, need to ask if the gods are really all powerful? There seems to be a confusion with the word omnipotent, it looks as if a hierarchy is placed on the term omnipotence, but there is a problem with attributing a hierarchical structure to the omnipotent …show more content…

The first thing that needs to be investigated is the limitation of the metaphysical powers that the gods really have. Regardless of all these powers, there are somethings that are beyond the control of the gods. The text gives an example of this by pointing out the fact that “Zeus…is unable to force the Olympians to comply with his wishes” because he is either “unwilling or unable to do so” (Harris and Platzner 243). This leads us to a second comment in the text, that the gods have absolutely no control over the behavior of men (Harris and Platzner 243). In investigating the first point we can ask why Zeus is unwilling to force his will on the other gods? Is it because Zeus, for example, has a higher authority that has more power that he needs to comply with or is he just easy to manipulate? Fate and manipulation are seen scattered throughout the epic of the Iliad and I will highlight a few instances were gods are victims of these two limitations. One instance is within the chase scene between

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“Father Zeus, doesn’t it infuriate you to see this violence? We gods get the worst of it from each other whenever we try to help out men. Why did you have to give birth to that madwoman, your marauding daughter who is always breaking the rules? All the rest of us gods, everyone on Olympus, listens to you. But she can say or do whatever she wants.”

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Therefore after punishing the king, Dionysus says “And if you had known how to be wise when you did not wish to be, you would have acquired Zeus' son as an ally, and would now be happy.” The author explains that peace and happiness can only be achieved by praying to the Gods and that making the Gods your enemy never a good thought. When the grandfather of the kings asks for forgiveness saying, “Gods should not resemble mortals in their anger.” Dionysus replies, “My father Zeus approved this long ago”. From the above we can say that even a God could be unforgiving and unsympathetic.

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But, this omen that Zeus sends is a false one, as he sends a message to Troy about the Achaians’ plan, so that the Trojans can defeat them. Instead of fighting the two sides duel, but the duel ends inconclusive. In book eight, Zeus forbids the gods from participating in the war. This ban on intervention allows Zeus to direct the war against the Greeks as he promised the Achilleus.

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Zeus is the deliver of fate throughout the play. When Hyllus declares everything that has happened is Zeus’s doing, he is silicifying the theme that Zeus acts as fate in the eyes of the characters (Women of Trachis 1278). Throughout the play, the characters turn to Zeus to explain why everything is happening. Greeks seem to be comforted by the idea the gods are controlling their lives because it takes blame off of humans for tragic

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When thinking of Greek gods and goddesses, most would assume they are perfect in all ways. This however, is not the case, the text explains, “The Greeks created gods in the image of humans; that is, their gods had many human qualities even though they were gods. The gods constantly fought among themselves, behaved irrationally and unfairly, and were often jealous of each other”(“Gods, Goddesses and Heroes”). This demonstrates how they are faulty, similarly to humans and for this reason many conflicts are created with one another. It also demonstrates, “The Greek gods were highly emotional and behaved inconsistently and sometimes immorally.

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Divine intervention, or the role of the gods, plays a predominant role in the development of the eventual fate of the main characters; Odysseus, his son, Telemachus and his wife, Penelope. Homer is able to effectively incorporate the employment of divine forces as facilitators in destiny, as well as efficiently engage the readers through his vivid description of the various predicaments faced by Odysseus. Divine intervention is a phenomenon widely used in mythological epics. The gods play protagonistic and antagonistic roles; they essentially toy with the character until his fate is evident. Homer utilizes this right from the very beginning; we see Athena coming to the aid of Odysseus when Zeus refuses to have sympathy for him due to the fact that most heroes blame the Gods for their doom;

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The gods acceptance of fate implies that they do not control it, but rather they could affect it and cause it to take different paths. This is seen when Achilles comes close to his death in a fight with the river god, Xanthus. However, once Zeus realizes the situation and its possible outcome, he steps in and says, “It’s not ordained that you’re to die here, killed by some river, which will soon recede, as you will see. We have advice for you, if you’ll listen” (book 21, line 360). Zeus intervened because he cared for Achilles and didn’t want to see him die.

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In the epic poem The Odyssey, Homer portrays Greek gods and goddesses as possessing human qualities and faults. Through their actions and emotions, Homer emphasizes the detrimental effects of lust, envy, wrath, and greed in ancient Grecian society. He also never fails to remind readers of the importance of respect for holy figures because of their powerful abilities to create chaos and wonder". Homer wants to prove that gods and humans share a variety of traits, and the only difference is that god don’t allow these flaws negatively to impact their society. To help further his argument, we can compare Greek gods and goddesses to that of Christianity.

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614 Words | 3 Pages

They are allowed to interfere with humans in certain ways to certain extents, they have rules, and by punishing/rewarding humans, they create an order of morals/hierarchy so they serve a purpose as well. This presentation of the gods reveals that the Greeks see them as powerful, smarter, and "magically" significant beings. I think that the story shows that they see the Gods to be like us, but with power and authority.

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610 Words | 3 Pages

Instead of being perfect omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent gods, they have limited power and influence, and are often driven by humanistic emotions and desires. While the gods do show concern over some mortals, they don’t make decisions solely concerning the wellbeing or interests of the humans, but instead, like the humans themselves, usually act with their own interests at heart. Athena and Poseidon both acts in accordance to their desires and emotions, and have a biased view on particular humans. Unlike the perfect deities we have in mind when we think of the divine, Greek gods are just immortal beings who are just as fallible and imperfect as the humans they preside

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