The World of Early Greece

The World of Early Greece

Under the Iliad, there is absolutely no mention of human control over fate and destiny. All actions in the story are due to the ideas and whims of the gods; which creates the understanding that people believed that the Gods controlled all aspects of life. The story covers both life and death, of which there was a God responsible for each arena of life.
In the opening of the Iliad, Homer opens the story states that Achilles has started the war “in fulfillment of the will of Zeus,” (Rogers, 60). The war is not credited due to personal outrages or vengeances, but instead the focus turns to how the Gods manipulated humans into performing an action. On page 61, Homer writes “… and the Counselor Zeus is first among them,” referring to the fact that King Agamemnon will be able to continue his warring campaign even without Achilles, his greatest warrior, for the God Zeus supports his cause.
Furthermore, the Gods seemed to direct day to day life in the Iliad, for Athena reportedly came down from the heavens to deliver a message to Achilles. She delivers a prophecy on page 62 which dictates how Achilles will act. While this was a mere suggestion, the image of the Gods holds so much power that even a mere suggestion will control all of man kind in this story.
The belief that the Gods held power over mortals is further conveyed in the scene of Hector and Andromache. In this scene, Hector prays to Zeus to “grant this boy of mine may be, like me, pre-eminent in Troy,” (Rogers, 63). By Hectors prayer, it is conveyed that all classes of society believed that the Gods controlled the actions and fate of man. Hector gives no mention to any characteristics of his son, as such displaying an unquestionable faith to the Gods.
Death is also covered under the arena of the gods, as displayed through such passages as “As for my own death, let it come when Zeus and the other deathless gods decide,” (Rogers, 67), and furthermore in the passage “Zeus now let his enemies...

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