Homer’s Iliad
I.
a.
b.
c.
d.
The Apple of Discord
The Trojan War has its roots in the wedding of Peleus (Mortal Man) and Thetis
(Sea Nymph – Immortal)
All of the important gods and goddesses are invited
i. One who was not invited was Eris
1. Goddess of Discord
a. Starting trouble
2. Not happy about not being invited
ii. Decides to crash the wedding
1. Goes to the table where the Olympians are sitting
2. Places a golden apple on the table saying “Only the most beautiful of
the goddesses can possess the apple”
iii. 3 goddesses reach for the apple
1. Hera – Wife of Zeus, Marriage
2. Athena – Wisdom and War
3. Aphrodite – Beauty
4. Zeus wants an impartial judge to decide
a. Picks a Prince from the city of Troy
i. Paris, son of King Priam
The goddesses each offer Paris a bribe
i. Hera offers Power
ii. Athena offers Wealth
iii. Aphrodite offers the most beautiful woman in the world
1. Paris picks Aphrodite
2. The most beautiful woman in the world was Helen of Sparta
a. Married to Menelaus
i. King of Sparta
b. Leaves for Sparta on what he calls “Urgent Trojan Business”
Hospitality
i. In the ancient world, hospitality was very important
1. If a guest came to your door, you were required to feed him and if
possible give a gift and offer a place to stay
a. Not to would offend the gods
2. More so with royalty
ii. Menelaus prepares a great banquet for Paris
1. Food, entertainment and lodging
2. Apologizes when he has to leave Sparta for a funeral the next day
3. Tells Paris to stay in the palace as long as he needs
iii. Paris leaves later that day
1. With Helen
2. With Treasure from Menelaus
3. Helen and Paris are married in Troy (1200 BC/BCE)
II.
III.
Politics
a. Diplomacy is the interactions between countries
1. Talk first
2. Economic Punishment
a. Stop Trading
3. War is always the last option
a. War is expensive
b. You need a strong enough reason to go to war so your people
will be willing to die
c. Wars are difficult to win
1. The goal is not to kill all of the other people
a. A country’s value is in its cities and
population
b. More people=more trading=more
taxes=more money for gov’t
ii. The goal is to get the other side to quit fighting
1. kill a lot of people quickly so the other side thinks
it can’t win and quits
2. Attrition
a. Outlast the other side
b. They get tired of fighting and give up
3. These goals are targeted at the people of the
opposing gov’t
a. If the people do not trust the gov’t, you will
not have a gov’t
Greek Response
a. Every single king wanted to marry Helen when she was single
i. Menelaus was picked
ii. Had other kings swear an oath to help her when she was in need
iii. Menelaus calls upon these kings to help him
b. Notable Kings
i. Menelaus
IV.
1. King of Sparta
2. Husband of Helen
ii. Agamemnon
1. King of Mycenae
2. Most powerful of the Greek Kings
3. Brother of Menelaus
iii. Odysseus
1. King of Ithaca
2. Known for his wisdom and creativity
iv. Achilles
1. King of the Myrmidons
2. Greatest of the Greek Warriors
a. Son of Peleus and Thetis
b. Mother tried to make him immortal
c. As a baby, he was dipped in the River Styx
i. Except for his heel
3. Prophecy: “The Greeks will never take the walls of Troy without
Achilles”
4. Thetis visits Achilles before he leaves for the war with a prediction
a. If he does not go to war, he will live a long life, but be forgotten
after he dies
b. If he goes to war, he WILL die
i. But generations will speak of the name Achilles
c. Diplomacy
i. Odysseus sent with Menelaus to talk to the Trojans to resolve this peacefully
1. Odysseus known and respected as a patient, wise king
2. War can be avoided if the Trojans return Helen and the treasure
3. Paris says no, so Priam says no
a. War cannot be avoided
ii. Economic Punishment
1. Greek Strategy is to hurt the economy of Troy
a. Attack the kingdoms that supply and trade with Troy
b. Successful, but time consuming
i. 9 years
ii. Cannot breech the walls of Troy
th
10 Year
a. Achilles proves himself to be the best of the Greeks
i. Achilles and his men take 23 towns on their own
1. Reaping the spoils of war
a. Bronze armor and weapons
b. Prisoners of War (POW’s)
i. Will be slaves
1. Briseis was his favorite
a. Slave girl
b. Anger of Achilles
i. Son of Atreus is Agamemnon
1. Agamemnon is jealous of the attention Achilles receives
a. Agamemnon wants credit because he is the most powerful king
2. Agamemnon is forced to return a slave girl of his own by Apollo
a. Decides to take the slave girl Briseis from Achilles
i. Shows Achilles is subservient to him
ii. Achilles is angry, but cannot defy Agamemnon
1. Gives up the slave girl
2. Refuses to fight any more
a. Stays in his tent
b. Greeks begin to lose
iii. Odysseus pleads with Achilles to fight again
1. He refuses, but allows his best friend Patroclus to fight with the armor
of Achilles
a. The next day, Greeks see Patroclus on the field of battle
i. Thinking it is Achilles
ii. They rally and begin to win again
b. Patroclus meets Hector on the battlefield
i. Hector is the oldest of the Princes of Troy
1. (Hector, Paris, Deiphobus, Aeneas)
ii. Hector is the best fighter of the Trojans
iii. Hector thinks he is fighting Achilles
c. Hector kills Patroclus
i. Thinking he killed Achilles
ii. Takes his armor as a trophy
c. Achilles is distraught at the loss of his good friend
i. Sadness turns to rage
1. Achilles wants to punish Hector
ii. Achilles meets Hector on the battlefield in front of Troy
1. Achilles Kills Hector
a. Drags his body in front of the walls of Troy
b. Takes the body so Hector cannot have a funeral
1. Never get to the next world
iii. Priam arrives in the tent of Achilles that night
1. Begs for the body of Hector
2. Achilles agrees
a. Honor more important than just winning
b. Hector gets a proper funeral
V.
End
a. Of Achilles
i. Achilles proves to still be the best of the Greeks
1. killing many Trojans and their allies
ii. In battle, Paris shoots an arrow
1. Guided by Apollo
2. Hits Achilles in his one vulnerable spot
a. The heel that was held by Thetis
b. He dies from the wound
iii. Paris is Killed in a later battle
1. Helen married to his younger brother Deiphebus
a. Deiphebus and Aeneas are the next 2 sons of Priam
iv. Greeks still cannot breech the walls of Troy
b. End of Troy
i. Thousands of Greeks will loose their lives in a full frontal assault of Troy
ii. Odysseus comes up with the idea of the Trojan Horse
1. Greeks hiding inside a giant wooden horse
2. Other Greeks hiding away from the beach
3. Trojans think they have won
a. Take the Horse inside the city
4. At night, Greeks get out of the horse and open the gates for the rest of
the Greeks
iii. Greeks kill or enslave everyone they see
1. Burn the city to the ground
iv. Priam is killed before the Temple of Zeus
1. As he prays
v. Menelaus goes to the quarters of Helen
1. To Kill Her
2. Deiphebus rises up to defend his wife
a. He is stabbed in the back
b. By Helen
3. Menelaus has not seen his wife in 10 years
a. Remembers her beauty
b. Takes her back safely to the Greek Camp
i. She will again be Queen of Sparta
c. Such were the deeds of the Greeks at Troy
i. Where they violated all places, sacred and profane
1. Slaying or enslaving all who fell in their hands
ii. Having no one to avenge them, the Trojans are later avenged by the gods
1. who will punish the Achaeans
a. Agamemnon will be murdered by his own wife
b. Menelaus and Odysseus will have great difficulty getting home