When one thinks of a god, an almost immediate association with powers and miracles comes to mind. Gods are portrayed as almighty beings who contribute to historical events ranging from uncontrollable earthly forces to the outcome of a treacherous battle. We know much today of legends and myths because of oral tradition passed from friend to friend, family to family, and culture to culture. Writers and poets are highly responsible, as well, for the great knowledge we attain of gods from long ago. A certain poet, however, by the name of Homer contributed an enormous understanding of the will of the gods through his epic poem, The Iliad. Known today as one of the world's greatest literary achievements, The Iliad establishes an insight into the lives of the Olympian gods by simply exposing not only their right to exercise the impossible but also revealing their inept human-like qualities.
             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. In Book 1, the god Apollo casts a plague on the Greek army at the request of Chryses, a priest of Apollo. Chryses prayed for such destruction because Agamemnon, the leader of the Achaean forces, had taken his daughter, Chryseis, from their Trojan-ally town. Agamemnon decides to give back the beautiful maiden to stop the plague, but only in exchange for Briseis, who "belongs" to Achilles. Achilles wants to kill Agamemnon for this action, but the gods come into play again when Hera, queen of the gods, sends the goddess Athena to calm him. The gods are now portrayed as both external and internal force es among the characters, as well as the agitator and mediator of the opening position in Homer's work. Achilles' anger is not withdrawn, and as most characters in this epic do in times of need, he turns to the immortals for help. Achilles prays to his mother, Thetis, a...