The Greek gods and the mortals have a fine line separating the two that can often

be blurred. There are examples of this through out many Greek writings such as The Iliad, written by Homey in 750 BC. The gods in all of these writings associate themselves with the mortals. These encounters between gods and mortals show us how alike they really are. The dividing boundary between the gods and mortals exists only to be hazed due to the gods having mortal traits, the mortals having god-like traits, then the gods often intervening with fate and participating in battle. The Greek gods have many mortal human like characteristics. They were similar to mortals in physical appearance; in their emotions and feelings; and in their mindset on views and attitudes towards each other. The gods looked just like humans according to every single artwork discovered from the time period. All of the depictions of gods were very fit human beings. As mentioned by Professor Pyron in his lectures, the only reason we know Poseidon is the god of water Poseidon is because of his trident in all his depictions. If not for this, he would just be another Greek warrior with a spear. The famous sculpture of David might as well be any of the gods. A second human trait that the gods possess is all of the human emotions. In The Iliad we see how the gods were split by the Trojan War because of their emotional ties to certain mortals on each side. For example, Zeus had trouble not intervening with the death of Hector in The Iliad because

Hector was in Zeus family line. Another example in The Iliad is when Hera distracts Zeus from the war with sex and then sleep. She is aided by the god of sleep to put Zeus in a deep slumber after she makes love to him; in which Aphrodite aided her indirectly when Hera stole jewelry that would entice Zeus to sleep with Hera. We also know the gods had many affairs with mortals, creating many demigods. The greatest example of this is the most famous of all Greek heroes, Heracles (or as the Roman name Hercules). The gods are not the only ones that cross this fine line between the mortals and gods, the mortals are also guilty of having god like traits. The demigods, again, the offspring of a god and mortal are possibly the best example of this. These demigods were mortals, however usually possessed a strange power.Another classic example from The Iliad is that of the great hero, Achilles. Achilles mother, a nymph named Thetis, tried to make Achilles in the river of Styx. In order to dip him as a baby she had to grab him by his heel, the only part of Achilles that is mortal and vulnerable. This then made him in essence indestructible, and he was also a fierce warrior. He would eventually die due to a wound he suffered in his vulnerable heel. Finally, the gods often crossed the line by engaging with the mortals and intervening with fate and battles. As already established, the gods had numerous affairs with the mortals. They would disguise themselves from anything to bulls and swans to other mortals, as in

the case of Heracles; Zeus disguised himself as the actual husband of Heracles mortal mother. Another instance of the gods intervening is in The Iliad when Poseidon intervenes fate and saves the Trojan Aeneas from death in Book 20. Another prime example of the gods playing roles in battles is the death of Hector. His death was fate, but Athena assisted in ensuring it were to happen by appearing to Hector as his brother Deiphobus, in Book 22 lines 273 and on. Athena tricked Hector by giving him false confidence to stop running away from Achilles in which Achilles then slaughtered Hector. In conclusion, there is a fine line distinguishing the Greek gods and mortals, that many a times, is crossed. There are many instances of this occurring through out Greek writings. The gods mingle with the mortals through the Greek writing thus showing us how similar the gods are to the mortals. The delicate border splitting the gods from the mortals can be obscure due to the human traits of the gods, the mortals have god-like traits, and the gods often intervening in battle and fate.