Given his position on "lesser goods," consider the role of the women in Augustine's life: his mother, his mistress(es), and his potential wife...

Owing to his experiences with the women in his life, St.
Augustine possessed a perspective that many of his contemporary theologians did not.
While he recognized his mother's wisdom and knowledge of the Christian faith, her
disdain for his beloved, but unnamed concubine, and her unsuccessful attempt at an
arranged marriage caused him great emotional distress, as he notes in his
Confessions.

Perhaps somewhat ahead of
his time, Augustine argued that the greatest good was the love of the One God. However,
because all things created by Him are worthy of love, that the practice of loving
"lesser goods" honors God. No doubt this uncharacteristic view toward imperfect worldly
relationships was influenced by the women in his life, as well as by the ancient
philosophers he acknowledged: Virgil, Aristotle, and
Cicero.

With relation to the Iliad, the influential role of
aristocratic women is quite apparent in Homer's work. Given his love of ancient
mythology, this ancient poem might well have supported Augustine's
argument.