What impression have you formed of the Gods from books 1 and 3 of "The Iliad"?

by jessiiee (student)

What impression have you formed of the Gods from books 1 and 3 of the Iliad?

The Gods appear to be just as complex as their human counterparts, experiencing many of the same emotions, just with a lot more power to influence the fate of those around them. These emotions, such as jealousy, anger and love, can be seen clearly in their actions throughout books 1 and 3.

In book 1, many of these emotions can be seen immediately from Apollo. He is angry that his priest has been dishonoured – this could suggest that he cares for Chryses, therefore helping us to relate to him, but it could also be that he is angry because if his priest is dishonoured it means that he himself is dishonoured. ‘Down he came from the peaks of Olympos, with anger in his heart’. Here the reciprocal relationship between men and Gods is seen for the first time, as Apollo sends a plague onto the Achaians, in order that his priest’s daughter will be returned to him. At first glance it may seem good of Apollo to rescue Chryses’ honour, but to do this Apollo is causing the death of hundreds if not thousands of innocents. This is rather unfair, I feel, because surely Agamemnon alone should be punished for taking Chryseis away? Instead Apollo is punishing his entire army for the honour of one man. This may be a sign of the Gods’ extravagance – they seem to like to go over the top when handing out fate.

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Similarly to humans, the Gods have mortals whom have captured their favour. An example of the Gods intervening in the lives of those they care for is prominent in book 1. Hera sends Athene to stop Achilleus from killing Agamemnon because she cares for both men equally. It seems that although thousands of lives can be wasted and mean nothing to the Gods, if one of their favourites is in peril they immediately leap to their rescue – ‘The white-armed goddess Hera sent me, as she loves both of you alike in her heart and cares for you equally.’ Another prime example of the Gods caring for mortals is Thetis, Achilleus’ mother. She loved a mortal man which led to her giving birth to Achilleus. Had she not cared for her half mortal son she would not have dipped him in the river Nyx so he would become immortal. This love echoes the love a human mother has and her actions reflect how a human mother would want to give her child the best life possible. In this way Thetis seems to be the most relatable of the Gods – when Achilleus is upset she ‘stroked him with her hand’ and ‘answered him with her tears falling’. She is genuinely upset that he is in pain and wishes to do anything she can to take that pain away. ‘If only you could sit by your ships without tears or sorrow’. She knows that Zeus could harm her and may be angry with her for asking him to help her son, yet she goes anyway. This shows a more gentle side to the Gods that we don’t often see when they are at war with one another.

At the end of book 1 the Gods make snide comments to one another and argue over the fate of mortals. They appear here to be far ruder to one another than humans are. However they make peace very quickly with one another as though to them the quarrel over mortal lives is trivial. Although these lives hang in the balance the Gods easily feast and drink, suggesting that they care little for mortals. In this last section, Thetis is purely seen as trying to help her son which, as discussed earlier, is an honourable thing to do. Zeus agrees to help Thetis but angers his wife, Hera in doing so. He appears not to care about her anger and even threatens to beat her. This is shocking to a modern audience abuse is never a good thing in our culture. This alienates us from the Gods, helping us to realise that we are not as similar as we sometimes think. Hera is caring in this part towards the Achaians and is upset thinking harm will come to them. She is even willing to verbally challenge Zeus over this which is when we see that it is possible for Gods to be afraid, too. Zeus comes across as arrogant and using his power to manipulate those around him. Hephaistos is anxious for his mother, Hera, not to be hurt which again echoes a human mother/son relationship. However he also makes it clear that humans are unworthy of their time and that, ultimately, they mean little to the Gods. ‘We shall have no pleasure in the excellent feast, since unworthy things will be foremost.’ The Gods then laugh at Hephaistos’ hobble because he is crippled which make the Gods seem mean and uncaring. It also shows how quickly they are able to disregard thoughts of men.

Another example of Gods having favourites is when Aphrodite saves Paris in book 3. This is seen as unfair and selfish but if humans had the same power, no doubt they would do exactly the same. However Aphrodite does not seem to care that hundreds more will die because of her actions here. She then takes Helen back to Paris and does not consider the fact that Helen has emotions and may not want to go back. When Helen does try to speak out, the Goddess just threatens her ‘do not provoke me, wilful girl, in case I grow angry and abandon you’. She then ensures that feelings of desire are planted in both their heads, showing that she is manipulative and does not care about others beyond herself and Paris. This creates a bad impression of Aphrodite and does not endear her to the audience.

Therefore the overall impression that the Gods give is that although they share many human emotions, the Gods ultimately see themselves as better than mortals – because they are more powerful - and that mortal lives mean little to them, because to them mortal lives are fleeting seconds in comparison to their immortality. It almost seems as though they consider humans to be pawns in a game.

Jessica Ellis