Will of Zeus

... he Trojans are now winning in the Trojan War while the Achaeans are losing. At I.11.079, this fact is attributed to the Will of Zeus: the god ‘wishes’ for this to happen, as expressed b ... Continue reading

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... e epic as we have it, however, such an agency of Apollo is subsumed under the ultimate divine agency represented by the Will of Zeus. In earlier versions of the Iliad, on the other hand ... Continue reading

The theme of the Will of Zeus is relevant to questions of juridical responsibility, as expressed by the adjective aitios ‘responsible’. The theme of the Will of Zeus is rel ... Continue reading

comment on aitios in the context of discussion of the theme of the Will of Zeus Continue reading

... , will be enhanced by the mētis or ‘intelligence’ of Thetis, immortal mother of Achilles; and it will be enacted by the Will of Zeus. In the words of the mortal hero Achilles, speaking ... Continue reading

... nis ‘anger’, which in turn will lead to the collective akhos ‘grief’ of all the Achaeans, and it will be enacted by the Will of Zeus, who is the father that Achilles never had. And the ... Continue reading

Once the Achaeans collectively have akhos ‘grief’, ordained by the Will of Zeus, the Trojans will correspondingly have kratos ‘winning-power’, likewise ordained by the god. This correspondence is relevant to the etymology ... Continue reading

The Will of Zeus, which is made coextensive with the plot or narrative arc of the Iliad, is formalized by the all-powerful god when he nods his head, as he doe ... Continue reading

The action of Zeus in nodding his head to express his Will results in his making contact, by way of metonymy, with the emotions of Achilles. The effect of such divine metonymy in m ... Continue reading

The reference here to the Will of Zeus, as recapitulated in the words of the goddess Hērā, repeats a main theme in the plot or narrative arc of the Iliad: the damaging of the tīmē ‘ ... Continue reading

The False Dream that is sent by Zeus to the sleeping Agamemnon is a false Will of Zeus. Whereas the true Will of Zeus is the real plot or narrative arc of the Iliad, as noted in the comments on I.01.005 and on I.01.558–559, the f ... Continue reading

... s formulation at I.02.065–69. I note that Zeus does not instruct the False Dream to say that these instructions are the Will of Zeus, though the wording of the False Dream implies it. T ... Continue reading

These verses describe most accurately how Agamemnon, dreaming his False Dream, misunderstands the Will of Zeus. As we read at I.02.036 here, Agamemnon is thinking things that will definitely not ‘come to fulfillment’, teleîsthai, through the will of the ... Continue reading

When Agamemnon wakes up from dreaming the False Dream, he experiences the sensation of an omphē ‘oracular voice’ that has just now been poured all over him. This idea of omphē as a ... Continue reading

By referring to the will of the gods in general instead of the Will of Zeus in particular, Priam avoids saying directly that the abduction of Helen is part of the overarching plot of the Homeric Iliad. By referring to ... Continue reading

... f the word selas ‘flash of light’ in the Iliad. In occurrences to come, we will see that this powerful word signals the Will of Zeus. The momentum of the fighting between the Achaeans ... Continue reading

... Achaeans’, is stopped dead in its tracks. Zeus signals it with his thunder and lightning, I.08.133, and now we see the Will of Zeus come alive, as anticipated already at I.08.066–077. ... Continue reading

Three times Zeus thunders from on high on top of Mount Ida, I.08.170, making a sēma ‘sign’, Ι.08.171, signaling that nīkē ‘victory’ will now go to the Trojans, not to the Achaeans, ... Continue reading

... pēma to Achaeans when he withdraws from fighting and when he dies and to Trojans when he fights, and this matching the Will of ZeusHector recognizes the Will of Zeus here, as signaled ... Continue reading

... magery of fire and wind in descriptions of kratos of Trojans and akhos/penthos of AchaeansIn the words of Diomedes, the Will of Zeus is now in effect: the plan of the god is to give kra ... Continue reading

comment on Hektor as pēma, in the context of discussing Achilles as pēma to TrojansIn the words of Diomedes, Hector is a pēma ‘pain’ for the Achaeans, I.11.347. The pain that he in ... Continue reading

Hektor’s recognizing that the Will of Zeus entails the kudos of victory for the Trojans and pēma for the AchaeansHector here says that he understands the Will of Zeus, and that the god ... Continue reading

In the words of the god Poseidon, it is conceded that Agamemnon is aitios ‘responsible’, I.13.111, for having ‘dishonored’ Achilles, I.13.113, as expressed by the verb a-tīmân. In ... Continue reading

Zeus here reaffirms what he wishes or wills, that is, he reaffirms his plan. And this Plan of Zeus, which is the wish or Will of Zeus, will be coextensive with the plot or narrative arc of the Iliad, starting with the original promise of Zeus to Thetis at the beginning of the ... Continue reading

... rror, that the dreaded moment has arrived. Now that the fire of Hector is about to reach the ships of the Achaeans, the Will of Zeus is finally about to be fulfilled: what Zeus now lite ... Continue reading

... 7, referring to the wife’s fond hope to be reunited with her loving husband. See also the comment on I.22.444. Thus the Will of Zeus, the god’s plan, is to create an exquisite artistic ... Continue reading

... r specifically entailing that Trojans should prevail until they reach the ships of the Achaeans, coextensiveness of the Will of Zeus and Achilles’ prayerIn this retrospective narrative, ... Continue reading

... that will appear when the first of the beached Achaean ships is set on fire. Once this divine vision is visualized, the Will of Zeus will have been fulfilled. Thus this word selas ‘flas ... Continue reading

... then is this special occasion? Or, to put it in terms of the question that Poseidon asks of Zeus, I.20.015, what is the Will of Zeus here? In response, Zeus tells Poseidon that, yes, th ... Continue reading

... must own their mistakes. It is essential to note here that the destruction of the companions here is caused not by the Will of Zeus: rather, they are destroyed because they suffer the ... Continue reading

... e countless algea ‘pains’, I.01.002, suffered in the Trojan War, the Master Narrator declares that his narration is the Will of Zeus in the process of reaching fulfillment, I.01.005. Ne ... Continue reading

... indesthai, O.08.081, and this boulder will crush anyone that stands in its way. And all that pain will be caused by the Will of Zeus, O.08.082. For another comparable misunderstanding o ... Continue reading

Odysseus blames the misfortunes of Ajax on the Will of Zeus, saying that the god is aitios ‘responsible’. See the comments on I.01.153, I.11.078–079, I.19.086–088, O.01.032–034. Odysseus blames the misf ... Continue reading