The goddess of wisdom, Athena, and the goddess of sexual desire, Aphrodite, both play significant roles in this poem. These women have the ability to control mortals and even other gods. They are considered one of the powerful forces in this poem because their control over mortal relationships would systematically change the course of mortal conflict and actions. At the beginning of Book I, Homer uses Athena to try to calm Achilles down from an argument with Agamemnon. During this situation the goddess is about to change a situation when she, Athena, declares it