Book 20: Is Zeus Tired Of This War?
In Book 20 of the Iliad, I was surprised to see the Zeus tell the rest of the gods to once
again, go get involved in the battle. Zeus replies, “I shall stay here upon the
fold of Olympus sitting still, watching, to pleasure my heart. Meanwhile all
you others go down, wherever you may go among the Achaianas and Trojans and
give help to either side, as your own pleasure directs you” (line22-25). I
found it confusing because this battle has been going on for about nine years
and Zeus is in a way is showing that he is tired. Either tired of getting
involved in the war or tired of just watching the war continue on. It got me thinking
how much war can really drain the energy of a human and even a god. Zeus on the
other had is not like the rest of the gods. He ordered everyone to do as he
pleases. So in a way this whole war has been his entertainment for years.
I agree, I was also really surprised, when I came to know that Zeus involved the other gods on to the battle, because to me Zeus looks like someone who would never give control to anyone else.
ReplyDeleteI think that he is worried that Achilleus will win the war since he is too powerful. If he won, then that would mean that Aineias died and wouldn't fufill his destiny to be the survivor.
ReplyDeleteOne would think that the intervention of gods would speed this war up. Yet we see that this war has taken a span of 9 years. So maybe the interference is a setback and adds more to their plate of the armies fighting against each other.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Lauren and with the idea that the intervention of the Gods only brings setbacks. For each time that the Gods intervene, they usually save someone from the battlefield and delay their actions, which only prevents the war from coming to a solid conclusion.
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