ILIAD 3

Zeus

a) As a god, what forces can he control? What forces make him powerless?

Zeus is the king of gods and the god if lightning. Zeus's symbol as the god of lightning is the thunderbolt. As a king of gods and god of lightning, He can control the forces of war. And the forces that make him powerless are the forces of the deception or the imposture of the other gods.

b) What weaknesses does he show in the given chapters? Cite textual proof.

Zeus showed his weakness in book 14. "Hera spots Zeus on Mount Ida, overlooking Troy, and devises a plan to distract him so that she may help the Achaeans behind his back. She visits Aphrodite and tricks her into giving her an enchanted breastband into which the powers of Love and Longing are woven, forceful enough to make the sanest man go mad. She then visits the embodiment of Sleep, and by promising him one of her daughters in marriage, persuades him to lull Zeus to sleep. Sleep follows her to the peak of Mount Ida; disguised as a bird, he hides in a tree. Zeus sees Hera, and the enchanted band seizes him with passion. He makes love to Hera and, as planned, soon falls asleep. Hera then calls to Poseidon, telling him that he now has free rein to steer the Achaeans to victory. Poseidon regroups them, and they charge the Trojans. In the ensuing scuffle, Great Ajax knocks Hector to the ground with a boulder, and the Trojans must carry the hero back to Troy. With Hector gone, the Achaeans soon trounce their enemies, and Trojans die in great numbers as the army flees back to the city." The weaknesses that Zeus showed are getting in trouble over love affairs. And Zeus fall upon goddess and mortal woman alike.

reference: http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/iliad/section8.rhtml

c) Relate his weak and strong characteristics to someone you know today.

Zeus weakness is women, he was passionately fond of female charms. Many men today are also passionately fond of female charms especially the youth. Zeus has also a strong characteristics like being charming, strong and persuasive. Many men today especially the youth are also strong, charming and persuasive like Zeus even though he got trouble over affairs. And I learned that we should fight our weakness and continue our strong characteristics.