We everlasting gods…Ah what chilling blows
we suffer – thanks to our own conflicting wills –
whenever we show these mortal men some kindness.
– Homer
The Iliad, Book 5, lines 1008-1010. God of war Ares, after being wounded by Diomedes, indulges in a little self-pitying whining. Homer’s gods frequently interfere in the mortal world out of some kind of emotional attachment to the object of their intervention. Ares calls that "kindness." In the Trojan War each god favors different warriors, and that gives rise to war among the gods. This is what Ares means by "chilling blows" as a result of their own "conflicting wills."