Answer should consist of:
-How important are the Gods?
-What would the poem be like without them?
The involvement of the Gods and the Goddesses in the Iliad had a large impact upon the lives of the characters and events of the poem, which in turn impacts upon my appreciation of the epic. Through the actions of the Gods, Homer allows us to compare and contrast the immortals to the mortals, emphasising the strengths and weaknesses of the individual characters.
Talk about:
-Introduction
-Prolong the Trojan War/"Aphrodite took Pandaros' wits away from him'
-Pick sides/ Hera & Athena vs. Aphrodite (Judgement of Paris is only referred to once)
-Form of entertainment - pick their favourites ie. Sarpedon BUT when faced to it they won't save them. ("Do it then, but we Gods will not accept you")
-Apollo kills Patroclus ("Zeus only granted half his prayer" & "bewilderment took his mind")/Athene confuses Hector pretending to be Deiphobus, ultimately resulting in his death
-Thetis pleas for Zeus to give the Trojans wins, to give control (he goes behind Hera's back to do so)
-Hephaestus makes Achilleus' new armour (unrivalled armour very intricately designed - shows life OUTSIDE the war)
-Zeus rescues Sarpedon's body & Hector's body is preserved from Achilleus, but Patroclus "loved of Zeus" is not.
-Thetis and Achilles / Exception to the Goddesses as she genuinely cares about the death of Achilleus.
- Conclusion, to what extent this affects my appreciation.
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