In examining the role of the gods in Homer's The Iliad, our inquiry must be twofold. In most Greek mythology the gods display both enormous power and influence over the mortal realm, as well as demonstrating human characteristics in the field of thought and emotion, sometimes to the point in which the conflicts and vacillations of the gods are identical to that of the mortals, differentiated only by their smaller number and greater power. Quoting Xenophanes, Walter Burkert writes, “'Homer and Hesiod have attributed to the gods all things which among men are reproach and blame: stealing, adultery, and mutual deception'.” In the case of the Iliad, the gods follow this trend quite perfectly. In fact, we see these transgressions represented clearly in the episode of Achilles appealing to his mother, the goddess Thetis, to avenge his dishonor by asking Zeus to take action against Agamemnon and the Greeks. He deceives Hera by omission and Agamemnon by illusion, upon the request of one whom he owes a favor. “The Homeric gods are ageless and immortal, can possess great knowledge of the future, and are influenced by pleas of one another and the prayers of mortals” (World Mythology, Donna Rosenberg). We must discover both why the gods are so similar to mortals in their whims and ways, and what role they play in the context of The Iliad.
One thing that we must take into account is the corpus of mythology, from which the Greek readers of The Iliad would have been intimately familiar with the characters of the gods. For example, in the tale of Heracles, Zeus resolves that his son should be put through his labors in part on account of his wife Hera, in order to pacify her. “The lord of Olympus wanted to be certain that Heracles earned eternal fame, but he also wanted to please Hera, who hated his children by other women. Therefore, Zeus promised Hera that Heracles would have to perform for King Eurystheus of Tiryns whatever ten labors the king commanded. Only then would Zeus make Heracles immortal” (Rosenberg).
Even though Heracles is the son of Zeus, in the immediate moment the appeasement of Hera is more important than the life of another of his illegitimate children. Clearly Zeus wants great things for his son Heracles, and his decision to put him through the labors demonstrates two things: first that the needs and conflicts of the gods supercede even the lives of mortals; second that the gods appreciate heroes and heroism, and like to reward heroic deeds. Both of these ideas are important in our analysis of The Iliad, in that they illustrate important points of exploration.
The participation of the gods in the affairs of the mortals is based on these concepts, as they intercede either on the account of other gods (and by extension, the children of gods) and on the account of the heroes to whom they have given their support. “The Homeric gods clearly have their favorites among mortals and make an effort to help them” (Rosenberg). These are ideas that the Greek readers would have been aware of, either consciously or unconsciously, through the cultural phenomenon of mythology.
“[Myth literalists] tend to seek factual or historical bases for a given mythological narrative while advocates of one of the many symbolic approaches prefer to regard the narrative as a code requiring some mode of decipher-ment. It is important to realize that the literal and symbolic exegeses of myth are not necessarily mutually exclusive” (The Flood Myth, Alan Dundes). We know for certain that the literalist school has some basis for legitimacy through the excavations of Heinrich Schliemann, who found Troy of The Iliad, as well as Tiryns of the aforementioned Heracles myth, and Mycenae. However, by virtue of the very fact that the gods are active and operating within these stories, we must assume some degree of metaphor and symbolic interpretation. It is imperative that we take into account the deeper levels of meaning which have been attributed to these myths over the millennia.
In a way, the gods themselves, especially Zeus, are the greatest of all heroes, having overthrown the Titans and paved the way for the current world of humankind. Were the gods perfect, pristine, and without sin, they would be impossible models for the mortal Greek heroes, and would have little want to support them, imperfect as the heroes would be by comparison. “The Homeric hero feels the presence or absence of his gods. He often attributes all of his success on the battlefield to them or blames them for his failures and bad luck” (Rosenberg). In
The Iliad, the contact of the gods with the heroes is incredibly important, to the point where oftentimes their success or failure does indeed become dependent upon the favor of the gods whom they serve or pay obeisance to. The gods and their faults - emotions and the like - are necessary components of recognizing the power and glory of mortal heroes, particularly in The Iliad. If we return to the event of Achilles's request to his mother Thetis, and of her appeal to Zeus on her son's behalf, we see this demonstrated case in point. If the gods were not possessed of imperfect, human-like characteristics, the action of The Iliad would have halted here, for Thetis, being a goddess, would have no care for a mortal's troubles, nor would Zeus. Instead, Thetis is troubled intensely by her beloved son's chagrin and calls in a favor from Zeus, by virtue of having saved his life and his kingship from the other gods. The Thunderer's recognition of his debt to Thetis is yet another case in point example of the necessity of the gods' emotions for the sake of the both the action of the story, and the eminence of the hero Achilles.
