Nelson 2minor role, Apollo perhaps angered by Agamemnon’s refusal to ransom Khryseis, the daughter of one of his priests and was constantly changing the course of the war in favor of the Trojans (Griffin 114). Responsible for sending plague and disease to the Greeks, Apollo was the first god to make an appearance in the Iliad (Avery 69). Also, mainly because Apollo and Artemis were on the Trojan side, their mother, Leto, also helped the Trojans.Aphrodite, obviously supporting Paris's judgment, sided with the Trojans. Although she was insignificant on the battlefield, Aphrodite was successful in convincing Ares, her lover and the god of war, to help the Trojans. One view of the gods' seemingly constant intervention in the war was that they were just setting fate back on the right course. For instance, when Patroklos was killed outside of Troy, Apollo felt no guilt for his doings (Peterson 172). It had already been decided that Patroklos would not take Troy, and he should never have disobeyed Achilles in the first place. As a god, he was just setting fate on a straight line (Griffin 89). Achilles laid blame on Hector and the Trojans. He did not even consider accusing Apollo, who never came into question, although he was primarily responsible for the kill. Apollo's part in the matter was merely accepted as a natural disaster or as illness would be today (A.D.A.M.).This general acceptance of a god's will is a recurring trend throughout the poem. A prime example of this trend is in book twenty-four. Achilles, angry over the death of Patroklos brutally disgraced Hector's body. Tethering Hector's corpse through the ankles, Achilles dragged him around Patroklos's tomb every day for twelve days (Griffin 135). This barbaric treatment was not called for and displeased the gods a great deal. Achilles mother, Thetis, was sent by Nelson 3Zeus to tell him to ransom the body back to the Trojans. One may think Achilles would be pos...
