Taken in itself (not having read Snell), this is obviously a reading of the modern physicalist paradigm into Homer, with the gods substituting for physical forces.
Moreover, I don't see what this has to do with individualism, since capitalist ideology has never had a problem with the notion that human actions are the result of either external stimuli or divine planning(predestination), which was kind of a major point in Weber.
^^^^^ CB: I'm thinking that the ruling classes , modern and ancient, put out the gods and God stuff for the ruled classes, while the leading members of the ruling classes were practicing atheists and individualists. See my "Anti-Nietszche" thesis here and there (smile). See Chuck's study of Strauss, too.