ology would seem to give the gods a sort of unlimited freedom on earth; although, the gods could not always do as they pleased and eventually had to come before Zeus. Zeus acted as a balance of sorts throughout the Iliad. He had to keep the gods in order and make sure that what fate decreed would happen. For example, after Achilles re-enters the battle Zeus declared that if Achilles was allowed to go on slaughtering the Trojans with nothing to slow him down, he would take Troy before fate said it would happen. Therefore, to counter Achilles massive retaliation against the Trojans, Zeus allowed the gods to go back to the battlefield. In Zeus's own interests, he preferred to deal with issues more personal to the individual heroes of the Iliad. This can be seen throughout the book as Zeus attempted to increase the honor of certain individuals. Zeus knew that Hector was going to be killed by Achilles, and, feeling sorry for Hector Zeus attempted to allow Hector to die an honorable death. For instance, when Hector stripped Achilles armor off Patroclus, Zeus helped Hector "fill out" the armor so he would not seem like less of a man then Achilles. Zeus also gave his word to Thetis that Achilles would gain much glory showing his involvement on a personal level. Homer used the gods and their actions to establish twists on the plot of the war. It would not have been possible for him to write the story without the divine interventions of the gods. Indeed, they affected every aspect the poem in some way, shape or form. Yet, from the immortal perspective of the Greek god, the Trojan War, and everything related to it, was only a passing adventure in the great expanse of time....
