The work is riddled with references to the Gods, as well as tales of their squabbles, works, projects, and blessings. In no part of the epic was the author parsimonious in providing detail or background. He described everything from Hector's prayer to Zeus for glory for his son (b.6, l.565-574) to a three-page rendition of the risks and exploits of Bellerophon (b.6, l.170-278), to the origin of the wines the Argives drank (b.7, l.540-544).
A substantial percentage of these minor stories and descriptions could be considered filler and background. When there are entire books of it one must reconsider the aim of the epic. Even the time and situation are not shared by all the sub stories, as there are many long and significant flashbacks and recountings of previous adventures (such as the tale of Bellerophon).
Initially, it is easier to accept that the focus of the Iliad is the end of the Trojan War than the story of Achilles. The Trojan War thesis would account for the seemingly random series of events and subplots, as almost all of them are directly connected to the war. The emphasis on Diomedes and Patroclus becomes less awkward when their aristeias are major points on their own, as opposed to stepping-stones for the grand finale of Achilles" own shining moment.
Though attractive, this labeling of the Iliad too has problems. The opening lines cannot be dismissed so easily. They are too specific. "Rage-Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus" son Achilles, murderous, doomed, that cost the Achaeans countless losses" (b.1, l.1-2). The rage of Achilles, the proposed subject, fills the story arch from the clash of wills at its beginning to the fulfillment of his "doomed" fate. While the rage of Achilles chronologically fits snuggly between the covers of this work, the Trojan War itself does not fit the Iliad's timetable. The war had raged on for nine years (b.2, l.346) before the events of the Iliad began and continued on after the war's end.
