book 7 " Zeus's intervention"

 In book 7 there was a stand off once again between both sides. At first when reading this part of the epic I was intrigued at how they have another attempt to end the war by having two of each sides greatest warrior face off. This makes me wonder why this is done so frequently, or at the same time it was intended by the author to display how desperate the soldier are to have a conclusion to the war. Mainly, there was one part of book 7 that had me thinking about the immortals. At line 280 book 7, Zeus intervenes by sending his messenger Apollo to  prevent   Aias  from striking the finishing blow on Hektor. These type of actions by the gods can be found several times already prior to book seven, and I wonder what the intention of each one of them is when to commit to these actions. These being are asked for guidance, and power, strength ect; so for Zeus to stop the defeat of a man, to me it shows him favoring once side and  potential preventing an action that would disrupt the grand scheme of things. In the end it is  Zeus and  to do something such as saving Hektor in this moment  maybe not be as insignificant as one would initially think.