Kathleen Leone

September 3, 2016
Great Books: Ancient World

Gods vs Humans in The Iliad

In the Iliad, Homer portrays mortals and immortals as vastly conflicting beings. Not only do they
differ in terms of mortality, but their basic worldviews are completely separate. The gods of most
cultures care about mankind in some way or another, but the Greek gods of the Iliad are
ruthlessly apathetic to the plights of the warring mortals. Throughout the Iliad, this pattern
continues. Exploring why Homer decided to have the immortals act this way is a fascinating
topic, and it calls attention to Christ, and how blessed mankind is to be created by a loving God.

The Greek gods immortality plays a prominent role in the contrasting nature of humans and
immortals in the Iliad. Interestingly, Homer does not often use the word gods when alluding to
the aforementioned. Instead, he almost always refers to humans and gods as mortals and
immortals. This may imply that Homer has a negative opinion of the gods as true deities. His
portrayal of them as pugnacious and unholy seems to point to a possible disbelief in their
existence.

Another interesting point about the gods compared to the humans is the idea of bravery. Homer
puts quite a bit of emphasis on this topic. The humans of the Iliad are almost obsessed with the
idea of glory, honor, and bravery in the face of death. Hector laments to Andromache that he

would feel deep shame before the Trojans, and the Trojan women with trailing garments, if like
a coward I were to shrink from the fighting; and the spirit will not let me, since I have learned to
be valiant. (VI, 441-444)1 Hector obviously holds courage close to his heart, as do most of the
human characters in the Iliad. However, the immortals are not as enthralled with these traits as
the humans are. How could they be? Bravery is nonexistent when one has nothing to fear, and
the gods have very little. Mortals fear death. They always have, and most likely always will. It is
the ultimate human fear. Therefore, courage, as the ability to face fear, is most prominent when
in the face of death. The gods of the Iliad are immortal, so it follows that they cannot and will
not ever possess the bravery that mankind is capable of.

Hectors portrayal of the gods is argumentative at best; their issues are petty and stupid when
compared with the devastation going on in the mortal world. A simple explanation for this is the
concept of their immortality. Why do humans frown upon pettiness? It is seen as a waste of time.
There are better things to do. However, when one has eternity to live, why not engage in every
argument that comes along? There is no final goal; there is no final anything, so almost
everything is acceptable. This contrasts greatly with the Homers representation of mortal codes
of conduct. The humans of the Iliad acknowledge their mortality. One of the most important
goals in their lives is to die a glorious death. They also place much importance on legacy and
honor. Since they know that they will die, their lives have much more meaning than those of the
immortals.

1 All parenthetical citations are taken from The Iliad of Homer, translated by
Richmond Lattimore.

The humans are not the only ones whose lives are heavily influenced by emotions. The emotions
of the gods are volatile and passionate. Both the mortals and immortals have trouble overcoming
their emotions and turning to rational thought instead. This is especially true for the gods, whose
lives are completely ruled by their own feelings. Love, anger, and sorrow are experienced by
humans and gods, but they sometimes show themselves in separate ways among the two groups.

For example, both humans and gods experience intense love in the Iliad, but Homer illustrates
the love differently. In the case of the humans, for the most part, the love is caring and deep. This
is seen clearly in Hector and Andromaches relationship. Near the end of Book Six, Andromoche
begs Hector to stay home from the war, for the sake of her and their child. Hector recognizes her
pleas, but explains to her that for the sake of his honor and the Trojans, he must go back into
battle. However, he attempts to comfort her with words of love and loyalty. On the other hand,
the most prominent relationship of the godsZeus and Herais laced with deceit and treachery.
At one point, Hera even drugs Zeus with a sleeping potion, in order to assist her side of the
war. The passion in their relationship is clear; Zeus once cries out to Hera, For never before has
love for any goddess or woman so melted about the heart inside me, broken it to submission, as
now (XIV, 315-316) However, immediately after this declaration of love, Zeus goes on to
mention multitudes of previous lovers. The true love in this relationship is not easy to see, if at
all.

Another emotion both gods and humans experience is rage, which is an especially prominent
topic in Homers Iliad. Although the humans and gods differ in many ways, they are similar in
that both their storylines are pervaded with fury. However, the anger itself is different in both

groups. The anger of Achilles pushes the entire plot into existence, and continues to develop
throughout the story. Achilles anger is somewhat understandable. On the contrary, the anger of
the gods is ridiculously selfish and petty. Their arguments are often portrayed as comic relief.
This is ironic, because in most cultures, gods are benevolent, sacred rulers. These Greek gods do
not seem any holier than the humans. In fact, Homer portrays them as almost worse than those of
the mortal world.

One more emotion which is experienced by the characters in the Iliad is sorrow, an emotion
which is strikingly similar amongst gods and humans. Grief over a lost friend or family member
can easily turn to rage against the cause of their death. This is shown in the case of Achilles and
mortal Patroklos, but it is also portrayed sharply in Zeus mourning of Sarpedon, and his eventual
revenge. Homer uses revenge as a theme many times throughout the Iliad, which shows just how
damaging loss is to a persons soul.

Another interesting difference between the gods and the mortals is the way in which they treat
women. Among the gods, Homer portrays women as equal. The goddesses fight, scheme, and
play just as crucial a role in the story as the gods do. Humans of the Iliad, on the other hand,
often treat women as property, and there are few human women who matter to the plot of the
story. For example, Agamemnon refers to Briseis as an object when he says to Achilles, I shall
take the fair-cheeked Briseis, your prize. (I, 184-185) Homer also uses the mortal women to
humanize his male characters; for example, Hectors interaction with his wife, Andromoche, is
one of the only places in the story where Hector shows love or sorrow. Nevertheless, the female

mortals play a tiny role in the plot when compared with the males. Ironically, the mortal males
objectify the mortal females in the same way that the gods objectify the humans in general.

This objectification of humans is rampant throughout the Iliad. The gods treat the mortals as their
personal playthings, almost as if the humans war is a game to them. They watch the fighting like
modern humans watch a football game. Homer once says of Poseidon, he sat and admired the
fighting and the run of the battle. (XIII, 10-11) The gods admired the destruction of innocent
lives. These immortals even held what could be called parties while casually watching and
placing bets upon the pain of the mortal world. In Book Four, many of the gods were sitting in
council over the golden floor, and among them the goddess Hebe poured them nectar as wine,
while they in the golden drinking-cups drank to each other, gazing down on the city of the
Trojans. (IV, 1-4) This nonchalant attitude about life and death is one of the most disturbing
aspects of the immortals.

The gods and humans of the Iliad both play crucial roles in Homers epic poem. Their
interactions with each other are some of the most important parts of the plot, and the differences
between them highlight the similarities between humans and the God of Christianity. Compared
with Jesus Christ, the Greek gods are simple-minded fools, who are more like stupid humans
than almighty deities.