The Iliad reveals the truth behind what the Greeks believed to be the role of women in society. Greek goddesses and mortal women represent two facets of women in society. Greek goddesses held power over war, while mortal women are there as rewards or time. Aphrodite is the perfect example of a goddess who held a lot of power, mostly through manipulation, during the Trojan War. Helen represents the quintessential idea of ​​a woman representing Timé. These two depictions of women in Greek society show how people recognized the role of women in society, with Aphrodite representing a powerful woman as a manipulative goddess and Helen representing a woman who was only a time, a prize to be obtained . Aphrodite expressed her power by manipulating a man to get what she wanted, which caused the Trojan War. Aphrodite; although she is a woman, she is considered one of the "most powerful and fearful" gods, which is manifested in her "sexual passion" (Tait 58). This is seen in his manipulation of Paris before the start of The Iliad. At the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, Eris threw a golden apple and told the gods to give it to the fairest among them. No one wanted to choose between Hera, Athena and Aphrodite; they therefore called on Paris to choose. Aphrodite promised Helen, who was married to Menelaus, to marry in Paris if he chose Aphrodite, and he did so (Cook 279). Paris then kidnapped Helen while Menelaus was away. Aphrodite's selfishness triggers a ten-year siege of Troy by the Greeks in order to reclaim Helen. Aphrodite's manipulation of Paris not only starts the war, but also determines Hera and Athena's loyalty to the Greeks (Kullman 3). Homer perceived women as sexual manipulators, as is clearly shown middle of paper......the Present. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2006. Print.Euripedes and William Allan. Cambridge Classical Greek and Latin. Cambridge UP, 2008. Print. Groten, JR., FJ “Homer's Helen”. Greece and Rome 2nd ser. 15.1 (1968): 33-39. JSTOR. Internet. March 6, 2011. “The Iliad.” Project Gutenberg. Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, September 2006. Web. March 6, 2011. Kullman, Wolfgang. “Gods and men in The Iliad and the Odyssey”. Harvard Studies in Classical Philology 89 (1985): 1-23. JSTOR. Internet. March 6, 2011. Roisman, Hannah. "Helen in the Iliad; Causa Belli and victim of war: silence." American Journal of Philology 127.1 (2006): 1-36. MUSE project. Internet. March 8, 2011. Tait, Marion. “The tragic philosophy of the Iliad”. Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association 74 (1943): 49-59. JSTOR. Internet. March 6. 2011.