Plot and power in the Iliad

Abstract

This study explores the poetic implications of power and plot in the Iliad. It examines the nature of Zeus’ power by identifying its scope, its limitations, and its effects on the plot of the Iliad. I focus on three passages in particular: Zeus’ speech to the assembly of the gods at the beginning of Book Eight; the Dios Apate of Book Fourteen; and Agamemnon’s Ate narrative in Book Nineteen. The goal of this study is to determine the structural implications of Zeus’ power.