not seen by Christians as having any human characteristics, like the gods of the Iliad are seen by the Greeks. Like the Greek gods, the Christian God too had a mortal son. To Christians he is known as Jesus, and was sent to earth by God (John 3: 1-2). Like a mortal hewas able to die. However, unlike a regular mortal, Christians see his death as a symbol ofsalvation. They believe that he has died for their sins, therefore saving the Christian people. Although the Christians worship only one God, they see him as three people. This includes Godthe Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. In the Iliad of Homer mortals make requests to the gods through verbal prayer. The gods oftenanswer and speak back to the mortals. This can be seen when Chryses prays to Apollo (1.35-42).He is praying to request assistance from the god. He needs help getting his daughter Chryseis back. The god verbally speaks back to Chryses. He then answers his prayer by physically sendinga deadly plague throughout the Achaian camp, killing hundreds of the troops. As can be seenthrough this example, the Greeks in the Iliad had actual one on one conversations with a godduring time of prayer. Christian prayer is similar to Greek prayer in the Iliad, in that it is a verbal request to God. Christian sometimes talk to God during prayer, but mostly prayer is considered a set form ofwords used for a devout request (Our Father, Hail Mary, Creed, etc.). It can take place alone orin a community setting such as church or during mass. It is sometimes, but not always, preformedwhen kneeling. The major difference between Christian prayer and prayer in the Iliad is thatChristian prayer is spoken to God or a saintly figure who is unseen. They are not within physicalreach or touch. When Christians pray God does not verbally answer back as the Greek gods do inthe Iliad. God does not answer Christians back with a physical event, s...
