The Trojan WarThe Trojan War
Background to The Odyssey
Background to The Odyssey
Causes of the War:The Fairer Sex
Causes of the War:The Fairer Sex
The marriage of Peleus and Thetis, mother of Achilles
Eris (goddess of discord) not invited, becomes the wedding crasher
Throws down the Apple of Discord: “For the Fairest”
Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite all reach for it. . . .
The marriage of Peleus and Thetis, mother of Achilles
Eris (goddess of discord) not invited, becomes the wedding crasher
Throws down the Apple of Discord: “For the Fairest”
Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite all reach for it. . . .
Causes of the War:The Weaker Sex
Causes of the War:The Weaker Sex
Zeus appoints Pretty Boy Paris, a Trojan prince, as the judge
Enticing party favors are offered: Hera = greatness, power, wealth Athena = prowess in war Aphrodite = the love of the most
beautiful woman in the worldand the winner is . . .
Zeus appoints Pretty Boy Paris, a Trojan prince, as the judge
Enticing party favors are offered: Hera = greatness, power, wealth Athena = prowess in war Aphrodite = the love of the most
beautiful woman in the worldand the winner is . . .
Aphrodite!Aphrodite!
Causes of the War:The Weaker Sex
Causes of the War:The Weaker Sex
Party favor = Helen, wife of Menelaus, King of Sparta
Menelaus’ brother = Agamemnon, King of Mycenae
Hera and Athena vow revenge against Paris and Troy. . .
Party favor = Helen, wife of Menelaus, King of Sparta
Menelaus’ brother = Agamemnon, King of Mycenae
Hera and Athena vow revenge against Paris and Troy. . .
Causes of the War:Causes of the War:
Paris visits Menelaus, and is treated to lavish Greek hospitality
Paris then runs off with his host’s wife and other “booty”
Paris marries Helen in 1200 B.C.
Paris visits Menelaus, and is treated to lavish Greek hospitality
Paris then runs off with his host’s wife and other “booty”
Paris marries Helen in 1200 B.C.
“Was this the face that launched a thousand ships
And burnt the topless towers of Ilium (Troy)?”
-Christopher MarloweDr. Faustus
“Was this the face that launched a thousand ships
And burnt the topless towers of Ilium (Troy)?”
-Christopher MarloweDr. Faustus
Preparation for War:Battlefield of the GodsPreparation for War:
Battlefield of the Gods
Achaian (Greek) SideAthena, goddess of
wisdomHera, wife of ZeusHermes, ambassador
to the godsPoseidon, god of the
sea
Achaian (Greek) SideAthena, goddess of
wisdomHera, wife of ZeusHermes, ambassador
to the godsPoseidon, god of the
sea
Trojan SideAphrodite, goddess of
loveApollo, god of
prophecy, light, poetry
Ares, god of warArtemis, goddess of
the huntZeus, sympathetic to
the Trojans
Trojan SideAphrodite, goddess of
loveApollo, god of
prophecy, light, poetry
Ares, god of warArtemis, goddess of
the huntZeus, sympathetic to
the Trojans
Preparation for War:Menelaus Rallies the Troops
Preparation for War:Menelaus Rallies the Troops
Long ago, at Odysseus’ request, Helen’s father Tyndareus had made all her suitors swear to support whomever Helen married
Menelaus calls on Helen’s old boyfriends to defend her honor
However, he encounters some resistance. . .
Long ago, at Odysseus’ request, Helen’s father Tyndareus had made all her suitors swear to support whomever Helen married
Menelaus calls on Helen’s old boyfriends to defend her honor
However, he encounters some resistance. . .
Preparation for War:Menelaus Rallies the Troops
Preparation for War:Menelaus Rallies the Troops
To dodge the draft, Achilles’ mom dresses him up as a girl and hides him with King Lycomedes
To dodge the draft, Achilles’ mom dresses him up as a girl and hides him with King Lycomedes
Preparation for War:Menelaus Rallies the Troops
Preparation for War:Menelaus Rallies the Troops
Odysseus pretends to be insane to dodge the draft: Plows a field sowing salt The gig’s up when Palamedes
throws Odysseus’ infant son Telemachus in front of the plow
Odysseus later dimes out (exposes!) Achilles
Odysseus pretends to be insane to dodge the draft: Plows a field sowing salt The gig’s up when Palamedes
throws Odysseus’ infant son Telemachus in front of the plow
Odysseus later dimes out (exposes!) Achilles
Preparation for War:The Greeks
Preparation for War:The Greeks
The Greeks (Achaians, Argives, Danaans)
Achillescentral charactergreatest warrior
PatroklosAchilles' friendand companion
Odysseusshrewdest, mostsubtle and brave
AgamemnonKing of Mycenae
Commander-in-chief
The Greeks (Achaians, Argives, Danaans)
Achillescentral charactergreatest warrior
PatroklosAchilles' friendand companion
Odysseusshrewdest, mostsubtle and brave
AgamemnonKing of Mycenae
Commander-in-chief
Preparation for War:Agamemnon Sets SailPreparation for War:
Agamemnon Sets Sail
Artemis, whom Agamemnon had offended by killing a stag, stills the great king’s sails
Agamemnon sacrifices his daughter Iphigenia to make nice, causing marital discord with his wife Clytemnestra
First he sails to the wrong place, but that’s another story for another time. . .
Artemis, whom Agamemnon had offended by killing a stag, stills the great king’s sails
Agamemnon sacrifices his daughter Iphigenia to make nice, causing marital discord with his wife Clytemnestra
First he sails to the wrong place, but that’s another story for another time. . .
Preparation for War:The Trojans
Preparation for War:The Trojans
The Trojans
Hector, Trojan princecommander-in-chief
Paris, Trojan princeForseen to destroy Troy
abandoned, raised by shepherds
Priam, King of Troymarried Hecuba
49 children
The Trojans
Hector, Trojan princecommander-in-chief
Paris, Trojan princeForseen to destroy Troy
abandoned, raised by shepherds
Priam, King of Troymarried Hecuba
49 children
War: The first Nine YearsWar: The first Nine Years
Battles in Troy and neighboring regions for nine years
Greeks win lots of spoils, including women
Battles in Troy and neighboring regions for nine years
Greeks win lots of spoils, including women
The Iliad: Internal ConflictThe Iliad: Internal Conflict
Homer’s epic begins in the tenth year of the Trojan War
Agamemnon steals Achilles’ war prize, Briseis
Achilles refuses to fight and withdraws his warriors, the Myrmidons
Homer’s epic begins in the tenth year of the Trojan War
Agamemnon steals Achilles’ war prize, Briseis
Achilles refuses to fight and withdraws his warriors, the Myrmidons
The Iliad: EndgameThe Iliad: Endgame
The gods take sides, intervening for their favorites
Achilles’ pal Patroklos is killed in battle wearing Achilles’ armor
Achilles returns and kills Hector, dragging his body around Troy from a chariot
The Iliad ends with Achilles’ allowing Hector to be buried.
The gods take sides, intervening for their favorites
Achilles’ pal Patroklos is killed in battle wearing Achilles’ armor
Achilles returns and kills Hector, dragging his body around Troy from a chariot
The Iliad ends with Achilles’ allowing Hector to be buried.
The Fall of TroyThe Fall of Troy
Apollo guides Paris’ arrow to Achilles’ heel
Ajax and Odysseus fight over Achilles’ armor
Odysseus wins the armor and Ajax commits suicide
Apollo guides Paris’ arrow to Achilles’ heel
Ajax and Odysseus fight over Achilles’ armor
Odysseus wins the armor and Ajax commits suicide
The Fall of TroyThe Fall of Troy
The frustrated Greeks cannot penetrate Troy
Odysseus cleverly schemes up the wooden horse
Odysseus steals the Palladium, a powerful talisman of Pallas Athena which had ensured Troy’s invincibility
Helen recognizes Odysseus but does not betray him
The frustrated Greeks cannot penetrate Troy
Odysseus cleverly schemes up the wooden horse
Odysseus steals the Palladium, a powerful talisman of Pallas Athena which had ensured Troy’s invincibility
Helen recognizes Odysseus but does not betray him
The Fall of TroyThe Fall of Troy
Greeks sail away as a decoy, Trojans take in the horse, Greeks slaughter Trojans
Greeks sail away as a decoy, Trojans take in the horse, Greeks slaughter Trojans
The Fall of TroyThe Fall of Troy
Achilles’ son Neoptolemus kills Priam , whose daughter, the seër Cassandra, is raped at Athena’s altar and becomes Agamemnon’s concubine
The children of Priam and Hector are sacrificed at Achilles’ tomb
Achilles’ son Neoptolemus kills Priam , whose daughter, the seër Cassandra, is raped at Athena’s altar and becomes Agamemnon’s concubine
The children of Priam and Hector are sacrificed at Achilles’ tomb
The Fall of TroyThe Fall of Troy
Aeneas, a Trojan prince, escapes (see The Aeneid for the Trojan point of view)
Odysseus convinces Philoctetes to kill Paris with a magic arrow
Trojan women are divided as plunder
Helen’s beauty spares her death
Aeneas, a Trojan prince, escapes (see The Aeneid for the Trojan point of view)
Odysseus convinces Philoctetes to kill Paris with a magic arrow
Trojan women are divided as plunder
Helen’s beauty spares her death
The Fallout of the War The Fallout of the War
The Greeks burn Troy and sail home, meeting various miserable fates themselves
Angered about Iphigenia’s death, Clytemnestra cozies up to Aegisthus, who kills Agamemnon upon his return
Orestes murders his mother and her lover to avenge his father’s death
The Greeks burn Troy and sail home, meeting various miserable fates themselves
Angered about Iphigenia’s death, Clytemnestra cozies up to Aegisthus, who kills Agamemnon upon his return
Orestes murders his mother and her lover to avenge his father’s death
The Fallout of the War The Fallout of the War
After another ten years Telemachus laments that his father Odysseus has not returned home. . . .
After another ten years Telemachus laments that his father Odysseus has not returned home. . . .
Troy: Myth or Reality?Troy: Myth or Reality?
Legendary city built under Zeus’ protection
Huge protective wall built with divine aid of Poseidon
Trojans refused to pay tribute to Poseidon, who withdrew his protection
Legendary city built under Zeus’ protection
Huge protective wall built with divine aid of Poseidon
Trojans refused to pay tribute to Poseidon, who withdrew his protection
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Map_of_Lydia_ancient_times.jpg)
Dardanelles
Modern-day Turkey
Troy: Myth or Reality?Troy: Myth or Reality?
Heinrich Schliemann (19th cent.) uncovered nine successive cities on the same site in modern-day Turkey
Schliemann declared the second level Priam’s Troy (aka Ilium), a burnt city
Greeks may have wanted control of the Hellespont Strait (Dardanelles) for access to the Black Sea
The archaeological dig is still active but inconclusive
Heinrich Schliemann (19th cent.) uncovered nine successive cities on the same site in modern-day Turkey
Schliemann declared the second level Priam’s Troy (aka Ilium), a burnt city
Greeks may have wanted control of the Hellespont Strait (Dardanelles) for access to the Black Sea
The archaeological dig is still active but inconclusive
Archaeological Site: Troy II Archaeological Site: Troy II
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Plan_Troy-Hisarlik-en.svg)
Works CitedWorks Cited
“Archaeological Plan of Hisarlik.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Plan_Troy-Hisarlik-en.svg.
“Map of Troy.” http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Image:Map_of_Lydia_ancient_times. jpg.
“Archaeological Plan of Hisarlik.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Plan_Troy-Hisarlik-en.svg.
“Map of Troy.” http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Image:Map_of_Lydia_ancient_times. jpg.
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