1.

Apollo: The Iliad begins with his powerful wrath and destructive force but in many instances in the poem Apollo also exhibits his healing powers and desire for order. How is this duality of Apollo expressed in the Iliad? See 1, 15, 16, 21, 22, 24

Greek mythology is made from myths, legends, gods and heroes that the ancient Greeks centered their lives around. But Greek mythology can also be defined as a world of its own, made from divine and non-divine beings, mortals and immortals, stories and dramas, passion and complex relations. This population of characters were spread across from Mt.Olimpic to the depths of the sea, from the courts of palaces to the dark caves, and from the underworld all the way up to the sky. The vast array of Greek mythology is described in Homers epics, one of them being the Iliad. The Iliad describes the events of the Greek-Trojan war, where a significant role in the lives of the characters and the events is played by the gods. The gods influence the lives of mortals. They might help them when they are in trouble and offer them guidance about the future but they also determine the mental will of mortals. There are twelve gods, known as the Olympians, who were present in all spheres of life. During the Greek-Trojan Was the gods were divided into two camps and each picked who they were going to favour for different reasons. The first god that makes an appearance in the Iliad is Apollo. Apollo is a very complex deity. He can be generous and supportive in one moment then devastating and destructive the very next. Apollo is the god of music, medicine and the god of prophecy. The source of all his prophetic powers is Zeus since he is the son of Zeus and Leto ; he also has a twin sister named Artemies.

Apollo plays an influential role in the Greek-Trojan war while siding with the Trojans. Even though he is a constant supporter of the Trojans his decisions on whether to intervene or not are based on his own self serving motives. This can be seen when Apollo becomes furious with Agamemnons refusal to return Chrysies, the daughter of one of his priests in return for the priests ransom. He expresses his anger and simultaneously fulfills the priests prayer as well, by sending the plague to the Greeks for nine days. Apollo fulfilled what the priest asked because the priest was loyal to him and he was going to sacrifice many things in Apollos name. He is greedy and wants more sacrifices than the other gods so he could become more powerful than the other gods.

The involvement of Apollo in the Greek Trojan War can also be seen while he assists the human characters. One of the warriors that Apollo assists is Agenor, Hektor's half- brother, and a Trojan warrior as well. Agenor after debating on whether or not to run into the city of Troy to save the Trojan people, because if he does he probably will be caught and killed by Achilles, finally decides to run into the city and stand and face with Achilles. Agenor hits Achilles with a spear cast and Achilles fights back. But, Apollo intervenes by taking the form of Agenor, and removes him from the battle before Achilles could do anything. Apollo then runs away, to lure Achilles away from the rest of the Trojans, giving them time to get inside the walls. Apollo successfully defends Aphrodites son Aineias, from Diomedes's attacks, and takes Zeus son Sarpedon from the battlefield, anoints him and takes him to Lycia for a proper burial.

At times Apollo is displayed as rational, representing order, harmony, and civilization. Apollo respected Zeus and his enforcing of the laws of fate, without altering it. An example of this is when Patroclus was allowed to wear the Achilles armour into battle to drive the Trojans away from the ships but not to attack the city of Troy. Apollo strikes Patroklos, causing him to get dizzy, he then knocks of his helmet, breaks his spear and makes his shield fall off leaving Patroklos vulnerable and an easy target for Hector. Apollo didnt feel guilty for being primarily responsible for the killing Patroklos outside of Troy, because he was just setting fate back on the right course, he was bringing order. If Apollo were to not kill Patroklos, he would for sure have died later on in the battle because it had already been decided that Patroklos would not take Troy, and Patroklos should never have disobeyed Achilles in the first place. Even though Apollo constantly tries to help the Trojans, in the end he didnt help Hector in his battle against Achilles. At first this seems as a contradiction, but in the eyes of the Greeks fate must never be altered. Thus Apollo cannot change the outcome of the duel. As the story of the Greek-Trojan War evolves Apollo exhibits his healing powers. He heals hectors hand so he could fight Patroklos. He helps heal Glaucus so he could fight against the Lycians and he gets called by Zeus to heal Ares's wounds. Apollo helps put fate in its right track again by using his archery skills. Apollo helps Paris kill Achilles by guiding the arrow Paris shot so it hit Achilles only vulnerable spot.

To conclude the Trojan War is the most famous of all Greek conflicts, and the Iliad perhaps the most famous literary work from ancient Greece. The epic of the Trojan War depicts the dark complexity of Greek mythology. The strength of so many of the myths is their depth of character and complex morality. They are not simple fairy tales of good against evil; they show conflicted characters with both good and bad qualities, ambiguity, and the roughness of life. Apollo as a god represent a higher standard of justice and honour, this is shown when he refuses to allow Hectors body to remain unburied, yet at the same time he shows the same bloodthirstiness and blind favouritism as the warriors on the battlefield. Apollos actions make him a contradictory character but that is understandable because nothing in life is black and white and after mythology was used to explain life.