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Essay / Homer's depiction of the gods in The Iliad
Pieces of great literature are hard to find, especially those written before Christ. Homer was an ancient Greek poet. He wrote a well-known epic poem called The Iliad. This poem takes place during the Trojan War, in Troy. The poem covers ten days throughout the war. Paris, the Trojan prince, captured Menelaus' wife, Helen of Troy. Not only do the Greeks fight against each other, but the gods intervene several times throughout the poem. This epic poem takes you on a journey between love, tragedy, satire and much more. In The Iliad, Homer presents the gods as similar to mortals by illustrating that the gods possess similar qualities. Say no to plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get Original EssayHomer presents the gods as comparable to mortals by recording how gods and mortals acquire advantages, as well as disadvantages. First, as everyone knows, humans have many weaknesses. In the Iliad, Hector seemed to act in a shameful, dishonorable way. The text states: “...he fled, frightened”. In the text, Hector decided to give in to his fears and instead of gathering his strength, he decided to flee. This shows that humans are also flawed because Hector decided to act cowardly, other mortals can too. But the gods also carry weaknesses, like Athena, which are little known. In the text, Homer states: “Athena lured him with all her immortal cunning and now, at last, as the two drew near to kill him. » Athena deceived Hector, who had trusted her. This can be seen as a weakness as the gods are considered perfect, but in the text we can clearly see one of his flaws. This confirms the fact that mortals and gods really aren't that individual. In most human minds we place the gods above us when in reality we are not so different since both mortals and gods argue. For example, Homer states: “Achilles,...you order me to explain the anger of Apollo. » Apollo was furious and, because of his frustration, he spread plague in the camp. Apollo let his emotions get the best of him. In the same way, King Priam let his inner thoughts and feelings take over and declared: “Hurry up, you wicked children, my disgraces. I wish you had all been killed alongside the advancing ships instead of Hektor.'' Priam told his children, all except Hector. Hector is a brave soldier and therefore Priam's favorite. Priam was easily disappointed by his other children, which led him to resent them. Priam let his true annoyance reveal itself once he declared that he wished his other children were dead. King Priam, a mortal, and Apollo, a god, both experienced severe emotions and gave in to the emotions, thus causing quarrels among others. The gods had the same control over the events that unfolded as humans did over the events. fate. In the Iliad, it was stated that "Before Patroclus came to the day of his destiny...no one could escape death," Achilles had said. Achilles talked about how Patroclus' death was inevitable. Patroclus wanted to fight and win his honor, but as a sacrifice he had to give up his own life. Patroclus, a mortal, could not change his destiny, and no god could change it, for it was inevitable. Indiscernibly, Homer also said: “Hector…was distraught to the point of death. »..