Discuss The Ways In Which Homer Portrays The Ancient Greek Gods

1. Epic is a long narrative poem involving heroic figures and supernatural events and written in elevated style. Identify some elements of epic in the Iliad. *Two of the many conventions that make up an epic poem include an epic hero and divine intervention. Homer characterized Achilles as a god-like, nearly invincible man. He is also the key to the Greeks’ success and is of a divine birth. Though one could also classify Hector as an epic hero, he, “lost his nerve” (Puchner 148) and ran from battle when Achilles drew near. The Iliad consists of many examples of the divines meddling with human affairs. For instance, Athena tricks Hector into fighting Achilles through appearing to him as, “the spitting image of Deïphobus” (Puchner 151), Hector’s favorite brother.

2. Discuss the ways in which Homer portrays the ancient Greek deities (gods and goddesses). How are they similar to and/or different from the Judeo-Christian God in their characterization? *The ancient Greek deities exhibited different behavior from that of the Judeo-Christian God. Whereas the Judeo-Christian God is portrayed as
The husband often takes care of his family and takes the burden of serving during war time. The wife mainly stays at home and takes care of the daily tasks, such as cooking and taking care of the children. Women also had very little control over their lives. As seen in the quarrel between Agamemnon and Achilles, women are often “prizes of honor” to be earned as a gift after fighting in a winning battle. This also shows that women are of value, but not always due to their own actions. Women are directly linked to the man’s honor. After Agamemnon took Briseis, Achilles cried, “Olympian Zeus was supposed to grant me honor. Well, he hasn’t given me any at all. Agamemnon has taken away my prize and dishonored me” (Puchner 138). He was not only upset because his prize was taken, but also due to his honor being stripped