Chapter 6 analyses the unfolding of Zeus’s plan in Books 1–4, often accused of narrative incoherence. In Book 1, Zeus promises Thetis to honour Achilles by making the Trojans prevail. Books 2–4 seemingly threaten this: in Book 2, the Greeks nearly flee, ending the war; in Book 3, the duel between Menelaus and Paris could end it; and in Book 4, Zeus suggests to Hera he wants the war to end. Interpreters often assume Zeus’s promise must be fulfilled immediately and that he never speaks duplicitously. The chapter argues the narrator plays with audience expectations, and Zeus demonstrates mastery in reading Hera’s and Athena’s minds. As discussed in Chapter 2, fate and divine action do not control human actions in every detail. Human unpredictability complicates Zeus’s plan, forcing him to grant the Greeks a temporary victory in Books 4 and 5 before redirecting the course of events.