In Homer's epic, the Iliad, the poet emphasizes the control of the gods in the war he describes. He creates literary devices around these well-known deities to illustrate their role in the action, conveying to his audience that this war was not just a small conflict between two men over a woman, but a turbulent and inflamed between the gods. For an audience who likely lost their father, brothers, or husband to the Trojan War, it would be a welcome relief to learn that the whole affair was orchestrated by the gods and that the deaths of their loved ones were inevitable and honorable. Part of trying to understand such a tragic war is to justify how rational human beings could behave so savagely. The poet does not mean that all humans are basely vicious, especially when the story can be recited to family members of soldiers, who would like to keep the heroic legacy of their loved ones intact. Instead, Homer uses the gods as metaphors for those destructive human impulses, such as the inclination toward violence and brutality. Ares, the god of bloody war, and Athena, the goddess of strategic warfare, are depicted as the primary motivators for many of the battles fought. When the war begins to calm down in Ilion, the goddess Athena, on the orders of Hera, comes down from Olympos to restart the battle between the Achaeans and the Trojans by influencing Pandaros. She appears to him in the form of a fellow soldier and prompts him to attempt to assassinate Menelaus in order to gain “glory and gratitude in the eyes of all the Trojans” (4.95). Today we know that this act was probably due to the man's warlike impulse, ignited by a desire for honor and prestige. In the poem, however, the appearance of Athena rationalizes...... middle of paper ...... the audience to such an extent that the men who fought were completely seduced, by the will of the gods and the force of uncontrollable emotions sent to them. The importance of human passions, as well as the intervention of the gods, help to arouse sympathy for both the virtues and vices of the heroes. It is said that war brings out the best and worst in those involved: bravery, heroism and sacrifice. mixed with cowardice, savagery and greed. In Homer's Iliad, the audience gets more than a taste of both, but the poet emphasizes the good in the warriors by using the gods as scapegoats for man's folly. From the public's perspective, eliminating human blame shifts the focus from the questionable motivation and execution of this decade-long conflict to the struggles and sacrifices of the soldiers themselves, as he must..