The Potrayal of Gods in Iliad
Introduction
The gods, as presented in Homer’s Iliad, present a variety of difficulties for the critic. In their style and highly anthropomorphous form, they lack close parallels in earlier cultures, and compared to the gods of monotheistic religions seem petty, small-minded, and unworthy, perhaps, of veneration.
Moreover, their role as a literary device is highly contested; some authors, assign to them the function of comedy and light relief, their actions affording a hiatus from the intense fighting of the rest of the poem. Others choose to dismiss their more frivolous and sordid behaviour as unimportant, seeing them rather as truly metaphysical beings, whose relaxed lives merely emphasise their separation from and superiority to the suffering race of men.
The two attitudes are intensely polarised, and difficult to reconcile; however, some form of synthesis is vital for a thorough and non-polemical discussion of the role of the gods in the Iliad. The more frivolous aspects of Homer’s portrayal of the gods shall be discussed first, and the more profound and numinous second. Ultimately, an attempt shall be made to reconcile the two ideas into a coherent appreciation of Homeric theology.
The gods as petty and decadent
As has already been mentioned, the gods in the Iliad have vices and passions, and in their human-like failings differ strongly from the perfect deities of Christianity, Islam, or Judaism. This is evident throughout the Iliad – one should remember that the hatred of Hera and Athene for Troy derives largely from the affront to their physical beauty implicit in the judgement of Paris. The continuation of the war, then, may be perceived as having its root in divine vanity. Both goddesses rage unceasingly against Troy from this simple affront by one Trojan; and so great is Hera’s anger, in particular, that she tells Zeus:
Of all cities there are three that are dearest to my own heart:/ Argos and Sparta
The gods, as presented in Homer’s Iliad, present a variety of difficulties for the critic. In their style and highly anthropomorphous form, they lack close parallels in earlier cultures, and compared to the gods of monotheistic religions seem petty, small-minded, and unworthy, perhaps, of veneration.
Moreover, their role as a literary device is highly contested; some authors, assign to them the function of comedy and light relief, their actions affording a hiatus from the intense fighting of the rest of the poem. Others choose to dismiss their more frivolous and sordid behaviour as unimportant, seeing them rather as truly metaphysical beings, whose relaxed lives merely emphasise their separation from and superiority to the suffering race of men.
The two attitudes are intensely polarised, and difficult to reconcile; however, some form of synthesis is vital for a thorough and non-polemical discussion of the role of the gods in the Iliad. The more frivolous aspects of Homer’s portrayal of the gods shall be discussed first, and the more profound and numinous second. Ultimately, an attempt shall be made to reconcile the two ideas into a coherent appreciation of Homeric theology.
The gods as petty and decadent
As has already been mentioned, the gods in the Iliad have vices and passions, and in their human-like failings differ strongly from the perfect deities of Christianity, Islam, or Judaism. This is evident throughout the Iliad – one should remember that the hatred of Hera and Athene for Troy derives largely from the affront to their physical beauty implicit in the judgement of Paris. The continuation of the war, then, may be perceived as having its root in divine vanity. Both goddesses rage unceasingly against Troy from this simple affront by one Trojan; and so great is Hera’s anger, in particular, that she tells Zeus:
Of all cities there are three that are dearest to my own heart:/ Argos and Sparta