In The Iliad, we saw Homer’s view of women as items of exchange and merely markers of the men who held possession over them, but The Iliad certainly contains strong female characters. Two of those characters in this epic poem are Athena Goddess of Wisdom and Hera the Goddess of Marriage and Queen of Heaven. Hera is known not only as the wife of Zeus but she is also his sister. As the poem goes along each even in their own small role demonstrated their power and how cunning both could be to get their viewpoint across.
Hera daughter of Rhea and Chronus married to her brother Zeus. Hera Her main role in the Trojan War is not a combat position, but one of subtle and backhanded military strategy. She successfully manipulates Zeus into taking his …show more content…
Child of Zeus and Metis some debate this though. In the Iliad, Athena was mentioned far more then Hera. Athena was the divine form of the heroic, martial ideal: she personified excellence in close combat, victory, and glory. Her most distinguishing feature mentioned in The Iliad several times was her grey eyes. When the Trojans begged for help, "Athena turned her head away" (Homer The Iliad) They lost, that one sentence can show you just how much power she has. The Iliad portrays her mainly as a warrior goddess. Through the goddess Athena, war becomes personified by a female. The female archetype is often used to show chaos, fervor, compassion, and a respect for the surrounding warriors and environment. All of these themes are present in the Trojan war, and so aspects of Athena's personality bleed into every fight. Zeus considers his daughter Athena, who is by far the most traditionally masculine and physically powerful goddess on Olympus as his equal. She embodies Wisdom and the glories of honorable combat, and is the only one of the three to actively take part in the fighting in Troy. Like many of the heroes in the Iliad, Athena settles disputes and solves problems by contests or shows of physical force; this is a quality that is revered in many of the mortal male heroes, as up-front combat is representative of courage and honor. She also helped Achilles kill Hector by bringing back his spear that Hector first
Hera daughter of Rhea and Chronus married to her brother Zeus. Hera Her main role in the Trojan War is not a combat position, but one of subtle and backhanded military strategy. She successfully manipulates Zeus into taking his …show more content…
Child of Zeus and Metis some debate this though. In the Iliad, Athena was mentioned far more then Hera. Athena was the divine form of the heroic, martial ideal: she personified excellence in close combat, victory, and glory. Her most distinguishing feature mentioned in The Iliad several times was her grey eyes. When the Trojans begged for help, "Athena turned her head away" (Homer The Iliad) They lost, that one sentence can show you just how much power she has. The Iliad portrays her mainly as a warrior goddess. Through the goddess Athena, war becomes personified by a female. The female archetype is often used to show chaos, fervor, compassion, and a respect for the surrounding warriors and environment. All of these themes are present in the Trojan war, and so aspects of Athena's personality bleed into every fight. Zeus considers his daughter Athena, who is by far the most traditionally masculine and physically powerful goddess on Olympus as his equal. She embodies Wisdom and the glories of honorable combat, and is the only one of the three to actively take part in the fighting in Troy. Like many of the heroes in the Iliad, Athena settles disputes and solves problems by contests or shows of physical force; this is a quality that is revered in many of the mortal male heroes, as up-front combat is representative of courage and honor. She also helped Achilles kill Hector by bringing back his spear that Hector first