Control, to the people of ancient Greece, meant having the supremacy to decide the fate of every being. In Homer’s Iliad, the control obtained by the gods played a large part in the lives of many Greeks, and the events that occurred in the book. Homer’s Iliad shows the Greek ideology that the gods had complete control over life and death, humans’ actions, and the outcome of war. First and foremost, the Iliad shows that Greeks believed the gods had the power to decide life and death. A murderous fool named Lycurgus tried to fight Dionysus, resulting in Zeus controlling his death. Homer writes, “…the son of Cronus struck Lycurgus blind. Nor did the man live long, not with the hate of all the gods against him” (6. 200).
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After Zeus sent Athena down to battle, she wanted to encourage the Argives and keep their lust for battle. Homer writes, “There Strife took her stand, raising her high-pitched cry, great and terrible, lashing the fighting-fury in each Achaean’s heart…” (11. 296). Athena controlled the actions of the Greek soldiers by giving them strength and hope, which helped them continue to repel the Trojans. After Meriones tries to sneak away from battle and makes an excuse to Idomeneus, he is urged back into battle. Homer states, “And he went on to war as grim as murderous Ares, his good son Panic stalking beside him, tough, fearless, striking terror in even the combat-hardened veteran…” (13. 351). The gods controlled the actions of Meriones, which resulted in him gaining courage and returning to battle. Another instance where this is displayed is when Hector and his armies enclose the Argives, so they are pushed back against their ships. The Achaeans are clearly struggling. Homer’s Iliad states, “…Queen Hera impelled Agamemnon, out on the run already, to go and rouse his men” (8. 238). Hera strongly supports the Achaeans side in battle, and urges Agamemnon to gather his soldiers and fight back against the
After Zeus sent Athena down to battle, she wanted to encourage the Argives and keep their lust for battle. Homer writes, “There Strife took her stand, raising her high-pitched cry, great and terrible, lashing the fighting-fury in each Achaean’s heart…” (11. 296). Athena controlled the actions of the Greek soldiers by giving them strength and hope, which helped them continue to repel the Trojans. After Meriones tries to sneak away from battle and makes an excuse to Idomeneus, he is urged back into battle. Homer states, “And he went on to war as grim as murderous Ares, his good son Panic stalking beside him, tough, fearless, striking terror in even the combat-hardened veteran…” (13. 351). The gods controlled the actions of Meriones, which resulted in him gaining courage and returning to battle. Another instance where this is displayed is when Hector and his armies enclose the Argives, so they are pushed back against their ships. The Achaeans are clearly struggling. Homer’s Iliad states, “…Queen Hera impelled Agamemnon, out on the run already, to go and rouse his men” (8. 238). Hera strongly supports the Achaeans side in battle, and urges Agamemnon to gather his soldiers and fight back against the