The Iliad, Theology and Fate

Recently finished listening to The Iliad. Some immediate thoughts:

Though the gods appear regularly throughout The Iliad, there's little or no theology. But then, there isn't much theology in the Pentateuch either. Most of the theology comes later in the Bible. One concern both have is the relationship between the divine and the human. In both, the divine has commitments to humans that is both corporal and individual. In both, those relationships are built on a parenthood, though in radically different ways, one pantheistic and the other monotheistic. One l, physical, the other metaphorical. 

Those relationships do much to explain the arbitrariness of life and fate as conceived in both. In The Iliad, the Greeks and the Trojans prevail as a result of interference of the gods in the actions of men. The various gods have chosen sides, and the war goes one way and then the other depending on which god interferes at that moment--often which god is allowed to interfere by Jove. More often than not, which individuals and which side prevails has little to do with the ethos/virtue of the humans involved, but whether they are progeny or not. In The Bible, the fate of the Israelites is based on communal obedience. That holds true for individuals as well (Adam, David). However, this is not a straight reward system. Some individuals, (Jonah, Gideon) do not initially obey God. In fact, some actually head in the opposite direction (Paul), which can make the God of The Bible appear as capricious as the gods of the Greeks.

The first two chapters of Mimesis by Aurbach sheds some light on the differences between the way the two documents portray reality. I need to go back and reread those chapters.

The place of fate in the lives of the Greeks and Trojans is interesting, particularly for Achilles. He is told he is fated to die, but become legendary, if he kills Hector as revenge for the death of Patroclus, but live a long and prosperous life if he chooses to let it go. Thus, his fate does not appear preordained, but to depend on choice. However, his character as revealed in The Illiad, which emphasizes his stubborn anger, suggests that though he might be given two options, he only has one choice, the one that is in line with his ethos.