『일리아스』에 나타난 호메로스의 신들

Abstract

Ilias, as the first and most influential work of the Western canon till now, has proved as a living influence to western literature and culture as the very origin of classical resources. Ilias, along with Odysseia, attributed to Homeros, is among the oldest extant works of Western literature, and its written version, usually dated to around the eighth century BC. This paper purposes to examine the Homeric gods in Ilias, who are 'the ever- present characters' in the epic. In the literary Trojan War of the Ilias, the Olympic gods, goddesses, and demigods fight and play great roles in human warfare. Is the divine intervention is a discrete occurrence for its own sake, or are such godly behaviors mere human character metaphors? Classic-era authors, such as Thuchydides and Plato limited their intellectural interest to their utility as "a way of talking about human life rather than a description or a truth."The close observation of the portrayal of major deities in Ilias leads to the conclusion: Homeric gods are nothing but “the gay and delightful invention” of the poet, suiting the poet's narrative purpose. These gods, representing as they do the blind forces of the universe which man cannot control, are not thought of as connected with morality. Morality is a human creation. The true concern of Homeros is with men after all. "A humanized world" is a revolution in thought of mankind. It is the miracle of Greek mythology, and at its center we find Homeros. And the anthropocentric emphasis Homeros imposed on his poems has made an important contribution to the Western mind.