Trojan War Jigsaw
Photo by Warner Bros./Reuters from the movie, Troy
In your group, you will use the links below each question to research a complete answer to
the question you are given.
 Split up the links (for 1 or 2 people) and take notes on a link, in your own words of
course.
 Compare your notes with the rest of your group, and add anything you did not get.
 Together summarize and practice explaining the main points.
 By yourself, you will be responsible for teaching this information to a group that
researched the other questions.
Question I
Who was Homer? What do we know about him? What is the “Homeric Question”?
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeric_Question
Biography.com: http://www.biography.com/people/homer-9342775#synopsis
Ancient Greece.com: http://www.ancientgreece.com/s/People/Homer/
Question II
Explain the events leading up to the Trojan War. Hint: Start with the goddess named Eris
and Prince Paris. It all starts with an apple...
Encyclopedia Mythica: http://www.pantheon.org/articles/p/paris.html
The Theoi Project: http://www.theoi.com/Daimon/Eris.html
Stanford U: http://www.stanford.edu/~plomio/history.html
Question III
Identify and explain the importance of each person on the Trojan side of the war: Priam,
Hecuba, Paris, Helen, Hector & Cassandra.
Encyclopedia Mythica http://www.pantheon.org/
About.com http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/troyilium/p/trojanpeople.htm
Timeless Myths.com http://www.timelessmyths.com/classical/heroes2.html#Trojans
Spark Notes http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/iliad/characters.html
Question IV
Identify and explain the importance of each person on the Greek side of the war:
Menelaus, Agamemnon, Clytemnestra, Nestor, Achilles & Patroclus.
Encyclopedia Mythica http://www.pantheon.org/
About.com http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/troyilium/p/trojanpeople.htm
Timeless Myths.com http://www.timelessmyths.com/classical/heroes2.html#Greeks
Spark Notes http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/iliad/characters.html
Question V
How long did the war last? How did it end?
Classical Myth Class, University of Wisconsin: https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/prec/www/course/mythology/1200/twar2.htm
About.com: http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/troyilium/a/trojanwar_4.htm
Stanford U: http://www.stanford.edu/~plomio/history.html#anchor202941
Kidipede: http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/religion/myths/trojanhorse.htm
Question VI
How did the Greeks get Odysseus to fight in the war? What was his reputation as a man
and warrior? What did he contribute to the war? What is his Roman name?
Encyclopedia Mythica http://www.pantheon.org/articles/o/odysseus.html
About.com: http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/homerodyssey/f/MadOdysseus.htm
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odysseus#Before_the_Trojan_War
IntoGreece: http://www.in2greece.com/english/historymyth/mythology/names/odysseus.htm