Hera in Book 16
In yet another book, Homer shows the influence Hera has over Zeus. Despite being the "strongest" of all the gods, Zeus has been manipulated or influenced by Hera many times throughout the story. Earlier, he willingly slept with Hera despite likely having some idea that she was manipulating him for her gain, and in this book, we see Hera again influence Zeus's actions. Initially, when he saw Sarpoden dying, he wanted to bring him back to life, but chose not to after hearing Hera's complaint that other gods would also want to bring back their children. However, Zeus has made it a point of showing how much more powerful he is than the other gods, and even went as far as physically threatening them if they didn't cooperate. I thought Zeus would disregard Hera and bring Saropden back to life, but just like many other times, he chose to listen to her and not follow his own desires. This really stands out to me because I always thought of Zeus as having the ultimate say in things, such as when he prevented other gods from interfering in the war, but clearly, this is not the case. This conversation between Zeus and Hera took place in Book 16.440-463.
Zeus has this overly confident approach to things thinking he is mightier than any other god. But I also see a lack of confidence in this scene when he is torn between keeping Sarpoden alive. Hera almost acts as a voice of reason and I think maybe because she was his wife, her opinions count more. They have an interesting relationship.
ReplyDeleteI am playing with the idea that Zeus really just has a master chess game going on his head with the goal being to kill off all of the demi-gods. So although he really wants to bring Saropden back to life, perhaps the possibility of other gods then doing the same would ultimately make him loose the end game. And so it may seem that he is taking Hera’s advice, but it’s actually coming from a self-centered egotistical place.
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