It Has to be Bad if Divinity has to get Involved

In book 20, Zeus calls the gods to assembly, or Themis if technicality—and the text—counts. Once the gods are in attendance, Zeus recounts how since Achilles is mourning for the death of Patroclus—in a very unhealthy but macho masculine way—that he is removing the previous injunction about the gods interfering and that the gods must involve themselves now in the war to stop Achilles from decimating the Greeks. Much to his chagrin, the gods are content enough to sit on the sidelines and watch how their football team plays out. Poseidon, Athena, and Hera are on the side of the Greeks while Aphrodite, Apollo and Ares are on the side of the Trojans.

Before he resigns himself to a passive role, however, Apollo encourages Aeneas to challenge Achilles. The two heroes meet on the battlefield and exchange insults. Achilles is about to stab Aeneas fatally when Poseidon, in a burst of sympathy for the Trojan—and much to the irritation of the other, pro-Greek gods—whisks Aeneas away. Hector then approaches, but Apollo persuades him not to strike up a duel in front of the ranks but rather to wait with the other soldiers until Achilles comes to him. Hector initially obeys, but when he sees Achilles so smoothly slaughtering the Trojans, among them one of Hector’s brothers, he again challenges Achilles. The fight goes poorly for Hector, and Apollo is forced to save him a second time.

In an epic that mostly focuses on mortals and their war, having the gods involved places a mystical element on the war itself, its surreal identity now highlighted. Beforehand, everything was realistic in the sense that it was humans doing the fighting and the rituals and the mourning. But now with the gods involved, it feels like it places more significance on fate (the death of Hector and Achilles, the fall of Troy) and juxtaposes the dramatic tension as stated previously in another blog post.