Ancient greek conception of humankind

As I was reading The Illiad, I was attracted to a particular scene where Zeus talks with Achilles horses; it's very consterning because in the entire work Zeus does not speak directly with humans (they always look for intersessors, as Tethis is to Achilles); but in this scene Zeus is moved by the sadness of the horses, and decides to give them a short talk; so for the first time he descends to the conflicting zone just to encourage the inmortal animals. And what he says is also a matter of astonishment. "From all creatures living on Earth, the human is the most unlucky as he is neither a soulless animal, so as not to care about its destiny, but neither a God, so he is mortal and must live suffering for its condition", or something like that (I read a spanish version). Also, compare the battle of the gods (more like familiy disputes than real fights) with the massacre among humans. Its interesteing to read this conceptions about the order of the world, there is lots to talk about this.

Coragyps,

I am really interested in those passages. I have not read The Iliad, but now I will. Like many folk, I have only read The Odyssey. Thanks for the inspiration.

The Iliad also points out the emotions that were the driving forces of individuals in the Greek world. The opening scene with the confrontation between Achilles and Agamemnon was all about pride. That emotion and the desire for glory were driving forces for the heroes in the book. There was no interest in financial gain or power. As set forth in the Iliad the Greek world was alien to our present day. I am sure that someone with an education in the classics could explain it better. I would recommend The Greek Way for an exposition of how that world functioned and the vast differences from 21st century America.