The king of the gods, Zeus’ power greatly exceeds his fellow immortals. The fate of the war is changed when Zeus promises Thetis that he will give glory to Achilles by turning the war against the Achaeans. Hera is his wife, and Apollo, Athena, and Ares are among his many children.
Zeus Quotes in The Iliad
The The Iliad quotes below are all either spoken by Zeus or refer to Zeus. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Book 1
Quotes
Rage—Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus’ son Achilles,
murderous, doomed, that cost the Achaeans countless losses,
hurling down to the House of Death so many sturdy souls,
great fighter’ souls, but made their body carrion,
feasts for the dogs and birds,
and the will of Zeus was moving toward its end.
Begin, Muse, when the two first broke and clashed,
Agamemnon lord of men and brilliant Achilles.
Book 4
Quotes
We claim we are far, far greater than our fathers.
We are the ones who stormed the seven gates of Thebes,
heading a weaker force and facing stronger walls
but obeying the gods’ signs and backed by Zeus.
Our fathers? Fools. Their own bravado killed them.
Don’t tell me you rank our fathers with ourselves!
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Book 9
Quotes
Cronus’ son has entangled me in madness, blinding ruin—
Zeus is a harsh, cruel god.
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Book 13
Quotes
One man is a splendid fighter—a god has made him so—
one’s a dancer, another skilled at lyre and song,
and deep in the next man’s chest farseeing Zeus
plants the gift of judgment, good clear sense.
Book 14
Quotes
With that the son of Cronus caught his wife in his arms
and under them now the holy earth burst with fresh green grass…
And so, deep in peace, the Father slept on Gargaron peak, conquered by Sleep
and strong assaults of Love.
Book 16
Quotes
Do as you please, Zeus . . .
but none of the deathless gods will ever praise you…
if you send Sarpedon home, living still, beware!
Then surely some other god will want to sweep
his own son clear of the heavy fighting too.
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Book 17
Quotes
There is nothing alive more agonized than man
of all that breathe and crawl across the earth.
Related Characters:
Zeus (speaker)
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Book 19
Quotes
Ruin, eldest daughter of Zeus, she blinds us all,
that fatal madness—she with those delicate feet of hers,
never touching the earth, gliding over the heads of men
to trap us all. She entangles one man, now another.
Why, she and her frenzy blinded Zeus one time,
highest, greatest of men and gods, they say
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Book 22
Quotes
Past the threshold of old age…
and Father Zeus will waste me with a hideous fate,
and after I’ve lived to look on so much horror!
My sons laid low, my daughters dragged away…
Ah for a young man
all looks fine and noble if he goes down in war,
hacked to pieces…When an old man’s killed
and the dogs go at the gray head and the gray beard…that is the cruelest sight
in all our wretched lives!
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Get the entire The Iliad LitChart as a printable PDF.
Zeus Character Timeline in The Iliad
The timeline below shows where the character Zeus appears in The Iliad. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 1
...story of the rage of Achilles. The outcome of Achilles’ anger is the will of Zeus, but it also killed a huge number of Achaean soldiers. The story opens in the...
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...side, sensing his grief. Achilles explains the situation and asks his mother to plead with Zeus to take action. He notes that Zeus owes Thetis a favor, as Thetis once helped...
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After twelve days, Zeus returns to Olympus. Thetis goes to see him and kneels before him, asking him to...
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Although Zeus attempted to make his promise to Thetis in secret, Hera has seen everything. She taunts...
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...in front of all of the gods, attempting to defuse the quarrel between his parents Zeus and Hera. He tells Hera that Zeus is far too strong, and gives a comic...
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Book 2
Zeus is kept up at night trying to devise the best plan to honor Achilles by...
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...courage of his soldiers, and tells the assembled soldiers that despite the original prophecy of Zeus and that fact that they outnumber the Trojans, the time has come to give up...
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...armies disperse and the men make sacrifices to the gods. Agamemnon sacrifices an ox to Zeus, praying to defeat the Trojans, but Zeus is not yet prepared to grant his request....
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As the armies of Achaea storm out to battle, Zeus sends his messenger Iris to Troy, alerting them to assemble their own armies to meet...
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Book 3
...is finished. The troops pray for the oath to be kept, but Homer notes that “Zeus would not fulfill their prayers”. Priam, unable to bear the sight of his son’s potential...
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...Paris throws his spear, hitting Menelaus’ shield but failing to break through. Menelaus prays to Zeus for revenge, and his spear throw almost hits Paris, who barely dodges it. Menelaus then...
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Book 4
The gods sit in council on Mt. Olympus, watching events take place in Troy. Zeus begins to taunt Hera, mocking her and Athena for standing by while Aphrodite rescues Paris....
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Zeus, satisfied with Hera’s offer, agrees to ensure Troy’s destruction. He orders Athena to fly down...
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Book 5
Odysseus, seeing the death of Tlepolemus, kills several of Sarpedon’s men in response. Sarpedon is Zeus’ son and is not fated to be killed by Odysseus. Hector pushes past the injured...
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...the Achaeans pushed back, harness Hera’s chariot and put on their armor. They appeal to Zeus to help the Achaeans, and he allows them to do so. They fly to the...
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On Olympus, Ares displays his wound to Zeus, complaining of Athena’s violence and of Diomedes’ attacks on the gods. Zeus replies that he...
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Book 7
Ajax prays to Zeus and prepares himself for battle. The duel begins, and Hector’s spear throw fails to pierce...
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...gives up his war-belt. The two armies return to their camps. The Achaeans sacrifice to Zeus and lay out a banquet, where Ajax receives a choice cut of meat.
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...Olympus, Poseidon is angered that the Achaeans are building fortifications without sacrificing to the gods. Zeus calms him, and tells him that he may destroy the fortifications as soon as the...
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Book 8
The next day, Zeus summons the gods to assembly, forbidding them to interfere any further in the war. He...
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The Achaeans and Trojans enter into battle once more. Zeus, holding a golden scale, tips the balance of the war in favor of the Trojans....
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...pity on the Achaeans and curse Hector. They decide to assist the Achaeans directly, despite Zeus’ warning, and arm themselves for battle. Zeus sees the goddesses preparing for battle, and sends...
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Zeus returns to Olympus and mocks Hera and Athena for their failed efforts. Hera tells Zeus...
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...battlefield, so as to not let the Achaeans escape in the night. He prays to Zeus that the Achaeans will finally be defeated the next day. The Trojans light many watch...
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Book 9
...summons a meeting of the armies and tearfully declares the war a failure, stating that Zeus has “entangled me in madness.” He tells the Achaeans that it is time to sail...
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...in order to bring him back into battle. Agamemnon agrees with Nestor, stating again that Zeus seized him with madness to make him quarrel with Achilles. Agamemnon sets aside a massive...
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Book 11
As dawn rises, Zeus sets the goddess Strife upon the Achaeans, encouraging them to fight. Agamemnon puts on his...
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Zeus sends his messenger Iris to Hector, telling the soldier to hold back and command his...
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Book 13
Zeus, pleased with the Trojan dominance, takes his eyes off of the battlefield, not suspecting than...
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Homer briefly remarks on the clash of wills between Zeus and Poseidon. Zeus favors the Trojans in order to give Achilles more glory, but Poseidon...
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Book 14
...actions of Poseidon and is pleased. She plots to help her brother by further diverting Zeus’ attention away from Troy. Hera decides to dress in all of her finery and enchant...
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...flies to the dwelling places of the god Sleep. She asks the god to put Zeus to sleep for her, and Sleep is initially resistant. He recalls that he once performed...
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Hera flies to Mount Ida, where Zeus is enthroned. Sleep hides nearby in the form of a bird, waiting to perform his...
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Sleep sends word to Poseidon that Zeus is asleep and that he may do as he pleases. Poseidon orders the Achaeans to...
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Book 15
Zeus awakes from his slumber and sees the catastrophe created in his absence. Feeling pity for...
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Hera agrees to Zeus’ plan and returns to Olympus. She tells the god Themis about Zeus’ unrelenting anger, and...
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Zeus gives Iris her message for Poseidon, telling him to back down. Zeus warns that he...
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On Zeus’ orders, Apollo goes to Hector and rouses him from his stupor. Hector says that he...
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Hector notices Teucer’s bow break and takes it as a sign from Zeus. He rallies his troops to push forward, just as Great Ajax urges his men to...
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Book 16
...Achilles’ chariot is yoked and Achilles stirs up the Myrmidons, his troops. Achilles prays to Zeus, asking him to fill Patroclus with courage and to bring him back safely from battle....
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...kills every Trojan he encounters. Patroclus faces Sarpedon, a Trojan ally and a son of Zeus, and eventually kills him. Zeus considers saving Sarpedon from Patroclus, but Hera scolds him, telling...
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Zeus briefly deliberates whether to kill Patroclus now in reprisal for Sarpedon, or to let him...
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Book 17
...Sarpedon’s body behind and accuses him of fearing Great Ajax. Hector dons Achilles’ armor, and Zeus endows him with great strength. Hector rallies the Trojan troops, telling them that the man...
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...died. Achilles’ horses, immortal gifts from the gods, sense the death and begin to weep. Zeus pities the horses and fills them with strength. They take their driver Automedon back into...
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Book 18
...the Achaeans were difficult enough foes without Achilles, and now he is sure to return. Zeus causes Hector to reject Polydamas’ advice, calling it cowardice, and commands the Trojans to camp...
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Book 19
...come to reconcile. Agamemnon agrees, but notes that he is not to blame, indicating that Zeus's daughter Atë (Ruin) had blinded his judgment when he chose to quarrel with Achilles. Agamemnon...
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...for the living, and convinces Achilles to let the men eat. The captains sacrifice to Zeus and eat.
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...something, but Achilles refuses, overfilled with grief. Achilles addresses Patroclus with a speech of mourning. Zeus, filled with pity, sends Athena to nourish Achilles with the food of the gods without...
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Book 20
As the Achaeans prepare for battle, Zeus summons the gods to a council. Zeus tells the assembled gods that they may return...
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Book 22
...Achilles begins to chase Hector, and they run around the walls of Troy three times. Zeus, filled with pity for Hector, wonders if she should rescue him, but Athena tells him...
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...circuit of Troy, Achilles cannot gain on Hector, but Hector cannot escape from Achilles’ speed. Zeus takes up his scales and tips the balance against Hector, sentencing Hector to death. Athena...
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Book 24
...Achilles is the son of a god, and that he and Hector cannot be equals. Zeus agrees with Hera, but also indicates that the gods loved Hector dearly. He sends Iris...
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Zeus sends Iris to Troy, letting Priam know that he must travel alone to the Achaean...
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Zeus tells Hermes to go to Troy and ensure Priam’s safe travel. Hermes appears to Priam...
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