One of the most interesting and complex aspects of The Iliad is the relationship and interactions that the gods have with the characters involved. Often times we find the gods not only have human actions but the flaws of mortals as well. The whole cause of the Trojan war is based around the fact that even gods can feel emotions such as jealousy anger and vengeance. It was due to the Prince of Troy choosing Aphrodite as the most beautiful goddess. The gods also choose the men that they like and often times help them in order to change the fate of events. They argue among themselves as to who they should help and how things should occur. “We everlasting gods . . . Ah what chilling blows
we suffer—thanks to our own conflicting wills—
whenever we show these mortal men some kindness. Although the gods possess great powers and are immortals they still reflect the flaws of human kind and where those flaws can take us to. Often their decisions and lack of Godliness leads to more trouble, even war and death. As the statement says, they are everlasting and yet they sometimes do not demonstrate the wisdom that they possess. However it is still interesting how Ares states that it is only a blow because after all they can never be truly harmed by mortals. His kindness is conflicting because if he helps one man, he hurts another which lead to his being injured. The mere statement reflects the whole problem gods have, even they cannot always have the right answer as they have conflicting wills, deep desires that don’t reflect one another and oftentimes lead to these blows.