Throughout Homer’s works, he talks about the gods in a less than positive light. Why? How did Homer see the world?
Let’s look into the story that sets the stage for The Iliad. This is where Homer’s story begins, perhaps for a reason.
Pre-Iliad, the Goddess Eris is not invited to a party being held by the other gods, in envy Eris throws a golden apple into the midst of the celebration, this apple has the words written, “To the fairest.” Well, every lady there says that has to be for her, so Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite fight over this apple.
Long story short, this causes the Trojan War. So how does this show humanity within the gods? The Goddess Eris causes chaos, because she’s petty, three immortal beings the humans worship cause a war over who might be deemed the fairest by one person, and the rest of the gods allow this to persist.
This is a common theme throughout Homer’s tails, and even those he did not write. For example, Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite all decide to go to a mortal and bribe him to find out who is the fairest. The gods tend to assist in wars that they start, but don’t stick around for, they metal in the lives of mortals, saving others from their fates and leaving the rest to die. Another example from within the story. Apollo aids in what ultimately angers Achilles into refusing to assist the Acheans. No one corrects this until Achilles’ close friend, Patroclus, dies standing for the cause Achilles abandoned.
So what influences did Homer have when writing the gods this way? In The Iliad, the gods show humanity, unlike the way most modern religious practices view their God(s). Those who worshiped the Greek pantheon of gods used their religion to explain the happenings of the world that were unexplainable at the time. The story of Kore is a great example of this. She had been kidnapped by Hades and taken into the Underworld for a quarter of the year. Her mother Demeter brought winter out of sadness. (This story can be found in The Hymn of Demeter.)
Weather, famine, sickness, war, and death, are all inevitable. All can be viewed as merciless and unfair. The Greeks choose to believe that their bringers of these things are almost as human as them, the gods get angry, and pick sides, and are petty and unfair. The people do not love their gods, only appease them to cure these unfortunate truths of life. This is the world Homer was living in when he wrote his books, this is how he viewed his version of the rulers of the earth and afterlife.
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