The Role of the Gods in Homer's Iliad If you hold to the contemporary view of the Christian God, then it can be difficult to understand the actions and motivations of the Greek deities. The Christian God does not tend to take such an active role in the affairs of people's lives, where, on the other hand, "the Greeks regarded the direct involvement of the gods as an everyday and uncontrollable part of life" (Guthrie 17). Needless to say, divine intervention was an important variable in the equation of Homer's Iliad. The gods chose who they would favor for different reasons, except Zeus. As a symbol of supreme authority and justice, he makes judgments about the other gods' involvement in the war, remains impartial, and does not seem to get caught up in choosing favorites. Even when his son Sarpedon was about to die, Zeus chose to leave the outcome unchanged. On the other hand, Zeus' wife Hera displayed the most typical actions of a god. After Paris, a Trojan, he judged Aphrodite to be the most beautiful of Hera, and, after her daughter Hebe was replaced as cupbearer of the gods by a young Trojan boy. , she was quite resentful towards Troy and its people. She obviously took the side of the Greeks and would stop at nothing to express her will. By scheming and manipulating, she even dared to deceive her husband, the king of the gods. Hera, along with Athena, also ignored by Paris, is seen as the main divine help for the Greeks. Being the god of the sea, Poseidon was another strong supporter of the oceanic Greeks. Every time Zeus turned his back, Poseidon tried to help the Greeks in the fight. Poseidon felt that he was in some way equal to Zeus, as a brother, but recognizing Zeus' authority and experience, he regarded Zeus as an elder. There were also gods who favored the Trojan side of the conflict. Both Apollo and Artemis, twin brother and sister, gave aid to the city of Troy. Although Artemis plays a rather minor role, Apollo, perhaps angered by Agammnon's refusal to ransom Chryseis, the daughter of one of his priests, steadily changed the course of the war in favor of the Trojans. Responsible for sending the plague to the Greeks, Apollo was the first god to make an appearance in the Iliad. Furthermore, especially because Apollo and Artemis were on the side of the Trojans, their mother, Leto, also aided the Trojans.