Question

from the iliad of homer
translated by richard lattimore
book twenty-two
so along the city the trojans, who had run like fawns, dried
the sweat off from their bodies and drank and slaked their thirst, leaning
along the magnificent battlements. meanwhile the achaians
sloping their shields across their shoulders came close to the rampart.
but his deadly fate held hektor shackled, so that he stood fast
in front of ilion and the skaian gates. now phoibos
apollo spoke aloud to peleion: “why, son of peleus,
do you keep after me in the speed of your feet, being mortal
while i am an immortal god? even yet you have not
seen that i am a god, but strain after me in your fury.
now hard fighting with the trojans whom you stampeded means nothing
to you. they are crowded in the city, but you bent away here.
you will never kill me. i am not one who is fated.”

deeply vexed achilleus of the swift feet spoke to him:
“you have balked me, striker from afar, most malignant of all gods,
when you turned me here away from the rampart, else many trojans
would have caught the soil in their teeth before they got back into ilion.
now you have robbed me of great glory, and rescued these people
lightly, since you have no retribution to fear hereafter.
else i would punish you, if only the strength were in me.”

he trembled, and stalked spear against the rim with high thoughts

how does the excerpt reveal ancient greek beliefs?

by illustrating a community’s respect for funeral rites

by illustrating hektor’s quest for heroism

by showing a deity’s involvement in human lives

by showing the triumph of hektor’s physical strength

Explanation:

To determine how the excerpt reveals ancient Greek beliefs, we analyze each option:

• The first option about funeral rites: The excerpt does not mention funeral rites, so this is incorrect.
• The second option about Hektor’s quest for heroism: The excerpt focuses on the interaction between Achilleus and the god Apollo, not Hektor’s quest for heroism, so this is incorrect.
• The third option about a deity’s involvement in human lives: The excerpt shows Apollo (a deity) speaking to Achilleus (a human) and intervening in the human conflict (affecting the battle and Achilleus’ actions), which aligns with ancient Greek beliefs where gods actively participated in human affairs.
• The fourth option about the triumph of Hektor’s physical strength: The excerpt does not emphasize Hektor’s physical strength; instead, it focuses on the divine intervention, so this is incorrect.

Answer:

by showing a deity’s involvement in human lives