A study of social and gender expectations as well as family dynamics with a rural aristocratic backdrop.
ps: This is not a historical novel even if inspiration was drawn. Please, do not treat it as such.
themes explored: sexuality, identity exploration, masculinity and femininity in both male and female characters, character development, romantic vs platonic love, male-female friendship, co-dependence, loyalty, family dynamics, self-awareness, self-discovery, discrimination, emotion vs rationality, restraint and expression
The interaction between fate and free will A complicated theme, the interaction between fate and free will is present in every book of the Iliad. At times it seems that men have no real freedom. The gods intercede repeatedly, altering events as they please. But Homer was no determinist, and there is a place in the Iliad for human agency. At key points, Homer makes it clear that mortals make important choices, and a few times mortals nearly overturn the dictates of fate itself. Zeus's will determines much of fate, but even he is sometimes subject to a higher necessity that is never personalized in the Iliad