The Difference Between Gods and Mortals in the Illiad

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Mortal exchange In many cultures, Gods act extremely different from humans. They are usually more all-knowing and responsible, not making mistakes they always do the right thing. However, in the Iliad it seems like the Gods act more like humans. Through the Iliad we read narrations from two points of view, the humans and the gods. Sometimes it’s hard to tell whose point of view your reading from because they often seem to switch roles. The mortals act more like gods than those living on Mt. Olympus. This is proven to be true several times in the story. Some of the times being in book five and six. The gods complain to Zeus and squabble among themselves, while the mortal engage in their own armed warfare. When the gods don’t get what they want they complain and moan and then decide to involve themselves in the mortal war only because the tide of war doesn’t flow in the direction that the gods desire. When they do involve themselves in battle Aphrodite and complain when they get hurt. In this instance it seems to me as if they are not used to using simple logic and reason, they involve themselves in battle yet expect to have no harm done to them. This makes me question their judgment. The gods choose sides not by what they feel is right but by routing for their favorite war hero, almost like today’s modern version of football. In contrast with the glorious tragedy of the human moral conflict, the conflicts between the gods seem less serious, more frivolous, and extremely petty. The humans seem more “god-like” to me because the fight not for drama but for justice and freedom. We are reminded in the Iliad by the mortals that in battle you should not sneak up on your enemy, surprise attack then and stab them in the back. This would not be honorable. It is also said that it is dishonorable to steal the armor that of which is on your defeated enemy’s back. The mortals

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