With our view of God, it can sometimes be difficult to comprehend the actions and thinking of the Greek gods. The Christian God does not tend to take such an active role in the affairs of people's lives, where, on the other hand, the Greeks regarded direct involvement by the gods as a daily, uncontrollable part of life. Needless to say, divine intervention was a major variable in the equation of Homer's Iliad.The gods picked whom they would favor for different reasons, with the exception of Zeus. As the symbol of “supreme authority and justice” (Griffin 21), he makes judgment calls as to the other gods' involvement in the war, remains impartial, and does not seem to get caught up in picking favorites. Even when his own son, Sarpedon, was about to die, Zeus chose to let the outcome go unaltered (Avery 102). On the other hand, Zeus's wife, Hera, displayed the more typical actions of a Greek god. After Paris, a Trojan, judged Aphrodite the fairest over Hera, and, after her daughter Hebe was replaced as "cupbearer" (Beye 51) to the gods by a young Trojan boy, she was quite resentful towards Troy and its people. Obviously she sided with the Greeks and would stop at no length to express her will of Greek victory (Avery 159). Scheming and manipulating she even dared to trick her husband, Zeus, King of the Gods. Hera, along with Athena, who was also passed over by Paris, is seen as the chief divine aid to the Greeks. Being the god of the sea, Poseidon was another strong supporter of the “ocean-faring” (A.D.A.M.) Greeks. Whenever Zeus turned his back, Poseidon tried to help the Greeks in the fight. Poseidon felt that he was somewhat Zeus's equal as his brother, but recognizing Zeus's authority and experience, he looked to Zeus as an elder.There were also Gods who favored the Trojan side of the conflict. Apollo and Artemis, twin brother and sister, gave aid to the city of Troy. Although Artemis takes a rather...
