In two of the books of the Iliad, by Homer, gods and goddess directly interfere with human fate. The first book that a god or goddess interferes in is The Rage of Achilles. The god Apollo interferes by sending a plague on the Greek people and the goddess Athena interferers by de-escalating a situation between two powerful Greeks. The second book that a god or goddess interferes in is The Death of Hector. The god Apollo interferes by helping a Trojan warrior and the goddess Athena interfere by helping a Greek warrior. Apollo and Athena interfere due to favoritism of nations but what they interfere with could be the fate of one's life.
In the story the Iliad: The Rage of Achilles the god Apollo directly interfered with human fate by sending a plague on the Greek people. He did this because Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and Greek Commander, took Chryseis as a “war prize.” Chryseis was the daughter of one of Apollo’s priest, who was from Troy. Agamemnon refuses to give her back and her father prays to Apollo for help. Apollo, who favors the Trojans, sends a plague to the Greek people to punish them for what their ruler Agamemnon has done.
…show more content…
Achilles, the mightiest Greek warrior, is enraged when he finds out why Apollo has sent a plague on the Greeks. Achilles confronts Agamemnon and asks him to give back Chryseis. Agamemnon doesn't want to give her back. He only agrees to comply if Achilles gives him his war prize, Briseis. Achilles infuriated by this request takes out his sword to kill Agamemnon. He is suddenly stopped when Athena, who favors the Greeks, appears. She convinces Achilles to put back his weapon ensuring him that Agamemnon will pay his life for what he has done in the
The Iliad begins with the clash between Achilles and Agamemnon. Agamemnon has little, if any, respect for the gods. This is displayed by his irreverent behavior towards the priest, Chryses. Agamemnon refuses to release the princess even when the Achaean soldiers suggested "`Respect the priest, accept the shining ransom!' But it brought no joy to the heart of Agamemnon" (104). Achilles is, unlike Agamemnon, respectful of and revered by the gods. In order to expose the cause of Apollo's wrath against the Argive army, Achilles uses the prophet, Calchas. Achilles already knows why Apollo is angry, but decides the fact should be stated by someone other than himself. He knows that Agamemnon will become angry once the truth is revealed. I believe that in this instance he is trying to keep his rage in check by avoiding a direct confrontation with Agamemnon. Calchas also fears for his life because he also knows Agamemnon's fury is unyielding at times. However, with a great deal of encouragement from Achilles, Calchas "spoke out, bravely: `Beware-The god's enraged because Agamemnon spurned his priest'" (106). When the truth is exposed, Agamemnon be...
The Greek gods were not only intimately involved in the action of the Trojan War, they were also the impetus for the war. Although the overt cause of the war was Paris' abduction of Helen, this act was the result of quarrelling goddesses. The Trojan prince Paris was forced to choose the fairest amongst the goddesses Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena. Each goddess attempted to sway Paris with offerings, and Aphrodite's temptation was Helen; this leads to the war and the immortal alliances that overshadow its mortal activities. The story that the poem implicitly addresses is of the Achaen king Agamemnon and his daughter Iphigenia. The Achaen forces have gathered at Aulis before mounting their attack on Troy when one of Artemis' stags is killed; this, coupled with Agamemnon's boasting of the act, is why "Artemis is offended" (51). In retaliation, the goddess imprisons the troops at Aulis by preventing the wind from powering their fleet. In order to appease the goddess and begin the war, Agamemnon sacrifices his own daughter Iphigenia as "the child" who will become "the victim of Aulis." Although Artemis intervenes and makes Iphigenia one of her priestesses, only the goddess knows that Iphigenia escaped death.
In the process, he is going to selfishly put his honor above the well-being of his fellow troops and friends. Achilles is a "man born and shaped for battle, who values life, his own included, as nothing (35). " When he is insulted, he draws his sword and contemplates killing Agamemnon at that very instant, but is stopped by Athena who assures him that his honor will be restored. At this point, it can be seen that Achilles is willing to chance a long peaceful life for honor's sake. He asks his mother for the Trojans to gain power so that he will be called upon for his great worrier skills.
Achilles is known for his many battles and achievements during the war, where he gained his pride. It is when Agamemnon has to suck up his pride by giving back Apollo priest daughter for the good of his people: But I am willing to give her back, even so, if that is best for all. What I really want is to keep my people safe, not see them dying.
Agamemnon ,the king of Mycenae and commander in chief of the Achaean's army. Achilles withdrew from the war any many of their armies had died because of his own wrath. From that period, Achilles led the Greek army in the harbor of Aulis, on the coast of Boeotia. The army wasn't able to take the city. Before all of this took place, Achilles asked his mother , Thetis to speak with Zeus who is the King of Olympia nor supreme god.
The work was written by one author but gave two diverse views on the nature of the Olympian Gods, their relationship to humankind, and the general lot of mortals throughout their all too brief lives. For the reason that of these differences, both novels end up sending, different messages about life in general. In the Iliad, the supernatural denizens of Olympus are representing as false, power-hungry, and above all unreliable beings that are always at each other's throats. Factionalism abounds, and neither the bonds of marriage, nor the ties of relationship can contain keep it under control. A great example is when Ares betrays his mother, Hera, and his sister, Athene, by aiding the Trojans instead of the Greeks. When he is revealed, Athena strikes him down in battle through Diomedes. In the Odyssey, however, the Gods of Olympus display far more unity and civility toward each other. They argue and disagree, but their disagreements are never carried out to the extremes found in the Iliad. When Poseidon punishes Odysseys for blinding the Cyclopes, Athena does not take revenge. Even though Odyssey's is her favorite human, she respects Poseidon's right to punish him. In addition, the betrayal among the Gods that is so prevalent in the Iliad, is nowhere to be found in the Odyssey.
Achilles, the greatest of the Greek warriors, is portrayed as a hero in some ways but, on the other hand, performs some controversial acts in the Iliad. Throughout the entire Trojan war, Achilles spent most of his time pouting in his tent after Agamemnon kidnapped his prized maiden, Chryseis.
Throughout Homer’s epic poem, The Iliad, gods are presented as remarkably human in almost every way. While it is assumed that gods are divine entities incapable of human transgression, they are portrayed with all the flaws of mortals in The Iliad. The gods are a manifestation of human emotions consequently helping to explain the behavior of the humans in The Iliad. The actions of the heroes are what determine their fate, not divine intervention. Ultimately, the humans in The Iliad have inherent characteristics that provide the driving force behind their actions: the gods simply act in concert with them, allowing the human beings to exercise free will of
Agamemnon tries to use Achilles rage and fury to get him to give up and retreat back to the army he left. Even though Achilles felt rage and sorrow, he keeps to his word. He wants to obey Athena’s orders of to not fight back. Although he is sad, he will not let Agamemnon’s threat get to his
The Iliad is a classic epic poem written by Homer about the Trojan War and the rage of an Achaean warrior, Achilles. The book introduces the reader to the war and the personal battle between Achilles and King Agamemnon; because of this argument between these two major characters, Homer introduces the role of the gods when Achilles asks his mother, Thetis, to go to Zeus and beg for his interference on Achilles’ behalf. The major role the gods play in the Iliad is their interference in the Trojan War as immortal versus immortal and mortal versus immortal.
Achilles is introduced into The Iliad getting into a debacle with the leader of the Greek army, Agamemnon, during the last year of the Trojan War. Achilles starts a quarrel with Agamemnon because he has demanded possession of Achilles’ woman, Briseis, in consolation for having to give up his woman, Chryseis, so that the gods will end their plague upon the Greek soldiers. Achilles does all he can to get his loved one back, but he knows that nothing will waver Agamemnon’s decision. This is when Achil...
The first reason Achilles is an epic hero is because he embodied the characteristics of the ideal Greek citizen at the time Homer wrote; he is in a position of power and regards honor highly. “O my mother! I was born to die young, it is true, but honour I was to have from Zeus, Olympian, thunderer on high! And now he has not given me one little bit! Yes, my lord king Agamemnon has insulted me! He has taken my prize and keeps it, he has robbed me myself” (page 17), Achilles cried to his mother. Agamemnon stole Achilles’ prize, Briseis, so Achilles is begging his mother, the sea nymph Thetis, to help him regain his honor. In Greece, honor was crucial and by taking Achilles’ prize, Agamemnon has stripped him not only of his hard-won prize but of his honor as well. Such a double loss would have been catastrophic for a Greek citizen. Classicist Ian Johnston highlights the significance of his loss, suggesting that “the greatest harm that can occur to a particular warrior is shame, the community’s public recognition that he has let the group down or failed to live up to its shared rules.”Being shamed, in this case, by Agamemnon, would cause the Achaeans to lose respect for Achilles, and as one of their leaders, this would be a tragedy for him. Achilles’ desire to regain his honor sho...
One of the most compelling topics The Iliad raises is that of the intricate affiliations between fate, man and the gods. Many events related by Homer in his epic poem exhibit how these three connections interweave and eventually determine the very lives of the men and women involved in the war. Homer leaves these complex relationships slightly unclear throughout the epic, never spelling out the exact bonds connecting men's fate to the gods and what can be considered the power of fate. The motivation for the ambiguousness present in The Iliad is not easily understood, but it is a question that enriches and helps weave an even greater significance of the results into Homer's masterpiece. I feel that the interaction between man, god, and fate can be shown to be one great fluidity that ultimately leaves life mysterious, giving much more depth and complexity to the bonds between the three.
Divine Intervention is a “direct and obvious intervention by a god or goddess in the affairs of humans”. In various myths such as the Iliad, the Epic of Gilgamesh, and Herakles, divine intervention was called upon in order to restrain a hero’s destructive or too powerful forces. Although the divine intervention was used to impair different heroes, the purpose to constrain was the same in all the narratives.
Greek mythology has systematically included the intervention of gods and goddesses in matters of the mortal world, and Homer’s The Iliad is no different. The story is littered with divine intervention, with both positive and negative outcomes for the humans involved.