This powerpoint helps to provide the backstory to the Iliad, and illustrates the key gods in the text along with their affiliation for Greeks or Trojans.

1. The Gods of The Iliad
How the Divine works in Homer’s Epic of War and
Fate

2. The Role of The Divine
 Ask yourself these questions:
 1. Is there such a power as God or gods?
 2. If so, what is God’s job?
 3. What would you like God to do?
 4. Does God ever appear unjust?
 5. What is irreverent behavior to God?
 6. Does God have the right to punish
those who disobey and reward those who
obey?

3. The Gods in the Iliad
 They do everything we probably think
that the Divine should not do.
 They are often used as comic relief.
 They come off as petty, argumentative
and biased.
 We cannot be sure if they genuinely care
about humans.
 Humans often appear more noble in this
epic than the gods.

4. The Gods Take Sides in the Trojan
War
The gods help their favorite mortals both
directly and indirectly. Mortals fight gods
and gods fight each other. The world of
the Iliad is a world of cosmic conflict.
Favoritism is based on many factors:
birth, piety, insults, grudges, using one
human against another—in some cases
we don’t even know why the gods favor
one side over the other.

5. The Division of Support Among the
Gods
 On the side of the  On the side of the
Greeks are: Trojans are:
 Athena  Apollo
 Hera  Artemis
 Poseidon  Leto
 Hermes  Aphrodite
 Hephaestus  Ares (later)
 Thetis  Xanthus (the river
god of Scamander)*

6. What Is Zeus Doing About All This?
Zeus tries to stay above the fray and stand for
justice and fate. He uses the scales of fate and
justice to determine his actions, but he can also be
persuaded by personal petitions and trickery from
the gods.
All of the gods must obey Zeus as he is the
safeguard of fate and the most powerful God of all.
Mortals recognize the superiority of Zeus to all the
other gods.
Despite his authority, Zeus does not behave as we

7. Who Are These Gods?
 Zeus, Ruler of Mount Olympus,
Known by Many Names,
Lord of the Sky,
Rain-God, Cloud-Gatherer,
And Zeus of the Thunderbolt.
The Mighty Zeus, the Greek god known
also as the Roman god Jupiter or Jove.
 Zeus, Greek god of the sky was also the supreme ruler of Mount Olympus
and all the other Greek gods and goddesses of the Olympian pantheon.
As ruler of the sky, the Greek god Zeus was responsible for bringing (or
not, if he so chose) rain, drought, and thunderstorms. No one dared
challenge the authority of the mighty Zeus since he was prone to release
his fearsome thunderbolts to express his displeasure .
Superbly rational, Zeus became an outstanding administrator and a
respected leader. He set high standards and was a very strict
disciplinarian, even-handedly meting out punishments to those who broke
the rules and settling all their disputes with great wisdom and impartiality.
 Seldom acting out of anger, the Greek god Zeus rarely held a grudge and
was usually willing to let "bygones be bygones" once you'd served your
time.

8. Hera: Goddess of Marriage/Wife to
Zeus
 The goddess Hera blessed and protected a woman's marriage,
bringing her fertility, protecting her children, and helping her find
financial security. Hera, called the Queen of Heaven, was a
powerful queen in her own right, long before her marriage to
Zeus, the mighty king of the Olympian gods. The goddess Hera
ruled over the heavens and the earth, responsible for every
aspect of existence, including the seasons and the weather.
 Hera was a jealous wife, who often persecuted Zeus's mistresses
and children. She never forgot an injury and was known for her
vindictive nature. Since Hera was goddess of marriage, she was
often angry with her philandering husband Zeus. According to
mythology, Hera is described as very jealous. She persecuted
Hercules because Zeus was his father, but another woman -
Alcmene - was his mother. Hera persecuted many of the other
women Zeus seduced in one way or another.

9. Aphrodite:
Aphrodite is known as the Greek Goddess (Roman Venus)
of love, desire, beauty, fertility, the sea, and vegetation. It
is said that when Cronus (father of Zeus, Hera, Poseidon,
Hades_ was castrated by Uranus (father of Cronus-creator
of heaven and earth), and his part was thrown into the sea,
Aphrodite was thus born and arose on a large shell, which
was then carried to land, thus her name being translated
"foam-risen". The sea nymphs dressed her and adorned
her with flowers and gold. She now represents Erotic Love
as a form of Divine influence, which has resulted in many
men becoming capable of falling in love with her. There are
many other tales of Aphrodite, as her Roman name is
Venus, she is also known as the daughter of Zeus and
Dione.
She is the mother of Aenaus, cousin of Hector who
becomes his ally in the Trojan War. She is the lover of
many, including Ares, Atlas, Hermes, Dionysus and many
mortals.

10. Apollo: A Multi-Faceted God
The son of Zeus and Leto, Apollo was the god of music (principally
the lyre, and he directed the choir of the Muses) and also of
prophecy, colonization, medicine, archery (but not for war or
hunting), poetry, dance, intellectual inquiry and the caretaker of
herds and flocks. He was also a god of light, known as "Phoebus"
(radiant or beaming, and he was sometimes identified with Helios
the sun god).
He was also the god of plague and was known as the destroyer of
rats and locust, and according to Homer's Iliad, Apollo shot arrows
of plague into the Greek camp. Apollo being the god of religious
healing would give those guilty of murder and other immoral
deeds a ritual purification. Sacred to Apollo are the swan, the wolf
and the dolphin. His attributes are the bow and arrows, on his
head a laurel crown, and he carries a lyre. But his most famous
attribute is the tripod, the symbol of his prophetic powers.
He was Troy’s greatest supporter, and it took Zeus to stop him
from defending Hector when Achilles came to find him.

11. Athena
Daughter of Zeus, and only by him, the Goddess Athena was not
generated by any woman. She leaped from the head of Zeus, already
adult, dressed with her armor.
In the Iliad, she is the patron of honor and glory in war. She appears
as a warrior who defends the Greeks
She later becomes the patron goddess of Athens.
In the Iliad, Athena is the Goddess of ferocious and implacable fight, but, wherever she can
be found, she only is a warrior to defend the State and the native land against the enemies
coming from outside.
She is the protectress of civilized life, of artesian activities, and of agriculture. She also
invented the horse-bit, which, for the first time, tamed horses, allowing men to use them.
She is a great supporter of the Greeks, helping Diomedes after Achilles refuses to fight, and
she loves Odysseus most of all—this is more evident in the Odyssey. She is the goddess who
stands by Achilles as he faces Hector in front of the Trojan walls.

12. Xanthus: God of the River
 The river god, who was the son of Zeus (Iliad, 14.434), received
sacrifices from the Trojans, who had appointed a priest for
him(5.77). Book 21 of the Iliad is entirely devoted to Achilles'
murderous fight against the Trojans in the river, which results in
the god's request to continue the struggle somewhere else
because there were too many dead bodies within his waters
(214-221). Although Achilles wants to do this, he still has to cross
the river, and the river god attacks him.
 The Scamander is not a very large river, but it has become famous
because it is frequently mentioned in the Iliad(6.4). The poet
mentions that it had deep swirls (20.73), was flowing smoothly
(21.2), and was by the gods called Xanthus ("the blond
one"; 20.74)
 (Note: Xanthus is also the name of one of the immortal horses of
Achilles, but there is no relation to this god.?

13. Ares: The God of Bloody War
Ares was the great Olympian god of war, battle-lust, civil order and manly courage. In
Greek art he was depicted as either a mature, bearded warrior dressed in battle arms,
or a nude beardless youth with helm and spear. He is the son of Zeus and Hera.
The character of Ares in Greek mythology will be best understood if we compare it with
that of other divinities who are connected with war. Athena represents thoughtfulness
and wisdom in the affairs of war, and protects men and their habitations during its
)
ravages. Ares, on the other hand, is nothing but the personification of bold force and
strength, and not so much the god of war as of its tumult, confusion, and horrors.
This fierce and handsome god loved and was beloved by Aphrodite.
When Aphrodite loved Adonis, Ares in his jealousy changed himself
into a bear, and killed his rival. He switched sides from the Greeks
to the Trojans for her. Athena never forgave him for that betrayal.
The savage character of Ares makes him
hated by the other gods and his own
parents. In the Iliad, he appears surrounded by
the personifications of all the fearful
phenomena and effects of war.

14. Hephaestus
 Hephaestus, the god of fire, especially the
blacksmith's fire, was the patron of all craftsmen,
principally those working with metals.
 Born crippled and rejected by his parents, Zeus
and Hera, he returns to Mount Olympus to marry
Aphrodite—Zeus sees this as a safeguard against
other gods who will want her. But she is
constantly unfaithful.
 Thetis, mother of Achilles, turns to him to make
glorious armor for Achilles—nothing like it has
ever been made or will ever be made again.

15. Thetis: Mother of Achilles
 Zeus attempts to seduce her, but she rejects his advances.
 The goddess Themis, who is an oracle, revealed that Thetis was
fated to bear a son who was mightier than his father. Fearing for
his dominion, Zeus gave Thetis as bride to a mortal, Peleus, who is
seen as the greatest of all mortals. All the gods attended the
wedding, save one—see the story of the golden apple.
 Thetis bore one son, Achilles, whom she tried unsuccessfully to
make immortal. In one version of the story, she anointed the
infant's body with ambrosia and then placed it upon a fire in order
to burn away the mortal parts; when she was interrupted by the
child's horrified father, she deserted their household in a rage. In a
later version, she dipped the child in the river Styx holding him by
the heel; all the parts that the river touched became invulnerable,
but the heel remained dry.
 Thetis is a reoccuring character in the epic. Peleus is known only
through the recollections of others, even though he is still alive.
Achilles loves both of his parents dearly.

16. Poseidon: God of the Seas
 Poseidon has a more dominant role in The Odyssey, in which
Odysseus angers him and he keeps him at sea for 10 years.
 Brother of Zeus and Hades: all three picked lots for the
control of the heavens and earth. Hades got the underworld,
Zeus got heaven and earth, while Poseidon ruled the seas.
 Poseidon was sent to serve King Laomedon of Troy, father of
Priam and grandfather to Hector.. He had him build huge
walls around the city( these walls were impregnable). The
king promised to reward him, but he refused to fulfill it.
Poseidon could not forgive that slight, so he sided with the
Greeks in the Trojan war.
 Poseidon always carries a trident—see illustration.
Even though he sides with the Greeks, he takes pity on
Aenaus, a cousin of Hector, and saves him from death at
Achilles’ hand. Aenaus, who is also half-divine, is later
believed to have fathered the founders of Rome.

17. Other Gods With Minor Roles in The Iliad
 Hermes: the messenger god and a loyal servant to Zeus.
He sides with the Greeks, but on Zeus’ command, he
aids Priam, the Trojan king.
 Leto: Mother to Apollo and his twin sister, Artemis. She
sides with the Trojans.
 Artemis: Also known as the maiden goddess and the
goddess of the hunt. She sides with the Trojans.
 The goddess Isis also serves as a messenger from Zeus.
It is not clear if she has sided in the conflict, but it is
presumed to be on the side of the Greeks.

18. The Story of the Golden Apple
 Zeus wanted to seduce Thetis until he heard the prophesy that her son would be greater
than his father. So he married her off to Peleus , seen as the greatest of mortals. Peleus
and Thetis had not invited Eris, the goddess of discord, to their marriage. The indignant
goddess threw a golden apple onto the table at the wedding. A note was attached: to the
fairest.
 Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite each reached for the apple. Zeus proclaimed that Paris,
prince of Troy and thought to be the most beautiful man alive, would act as the judge.
 Hermes went to Paris, and Paris agreed to act as the judge. Hera promised him power,
Athena promised him wealth, and Aphrodite promised the most beautiful woman in the
world.
 Paris chose Aphrodite, and she promised him that Helen, wife of Menelaus, would be his
wife. Paris then prepared to set off for Sparta to capture Helen. His sister, Cassandra and
his mother, Hecuba tried to persuade him against such action. But Paris would not listen,
and he set off for Sparta.
 In Sparta, Menelaus, husband of Helen, treated Paris as a royal guest. However, when
Menelaus left Sparta to go to a funeral, Paris abducted Helen and also carried off much
of Menelaus' wealth. Paris violated the sacred laws of hospitality. He also brought many
of the Greeks into the fight: all former suitors of Helen swore an oath to protect her in
case she came to harm. Thus the Trojan War began.