Iliad and Troy comparing and contrasting

First of all let us look at one of the things that the Greeks considered to be one of the most important things in their lives, religion. The gods played a huge part in ancient Greek literature. In the Iliad, most of the choices made by characters and parts that had to do with something happening was usually a result of a divine intervention. Now in Troy that is a completely different scenario. For example, when Achilles is arguing with Agammemnon, in the Iliad the goddess Aphrodite comes down from Mount Olympus to stop Achilles from trying to kill Agammemnon. But in the movie Troy, it is actually the priestess girl, Briseis, who stops the fight and tells Achilles not to fight. Now what could be the reason for replacing the gods with a girl? Well for one, most people nowadays dont believe in the supernatural, therefore people may find the movie a bit boring or over the top. Also, having the girl break up the fight would not have been custom for Greek culture. Women were considered property and very low. Women did not have much say in war and would never oppose a man for fear of her life. Another difference we see is the character of Hector. Now by character I mean the way he lives and acts. In the Iliad he is portrayed as someone who is out to kill everyone. He is shown as more of a violent person, but in Troy, he is a kind man. He has honor and is respected for being a man with those qualities.

And now to the matter of comparing. As you can see their are many similarities for the Iliad and Troy. For intstance, most of the characters are the same. Achilles, Odysseus, Aggammemnon, Hector, Paris, Priam, Menelaus, Helen, Patrocles and Ajax are all mentioned in both the Iliad and Troy. Another thing that is the same is the scene when Priam comes to talk with Achilles. He is begging for the body of his son to be returned and is humbling himself before Achilles. This scene I believe is important to keep in Troy because it gives us a little in depth look at Achilles sensitive and sympathetic side. He allows Priam to take the body back and is remorseful for taking the body and dragging it through the dirt in the first place. Besides this scene we are barely shown Achilles sensitive side, unlike the Iliad where it gives a few scenarios in which Achilles shows his emotions.