AP English 12 – Ms. Stevens
Back Stories: What Homer’s auditors/readers knew about various characters; information that makes the story of The Iliad make sense.
THETIS AND ZEUS – Thetis, sea nymph, was fated to bear a son who would be greater than his father. Zeus, who was captivated by Thetis, realized he, to save his skin and prevent chaos on
Olympus, had to marry Thetis off to a mortal. The chosen husband was Peleus and the fruit of their union was Achilles.
PARIS THE FIREBRAND – When Paris was about to be born, Hecuba (his mother) dreamed that she had given birth to a firebrand which burned the entire city of Troy. A seer interpreted the dream to mean that the newborn would bring destruction to Troy, so when Paris was born, Priam
(his father and king of Troy) gave him to a servant to cast him out on Mt. Ida to die. Paris was suckled by a bear then raised as his own son by a farmer, Agelaus, who discovered him. Paris grew up to become a shepherd living on Mt. Ida.
JUDGMENT OF PARIS – At the wedding of Thetis and Peleus, Eris (aka Strife) crashes the celebration and tosses a golden apple marked “For the fairest” among the guests. Hera, Athena and Aphrodite are the finalists and Zeus realizes he can’t be the judge. He sends Hermes and the three goddesses to Mt. Ida where Paris, the handsomest man on earth, is tending his flocks.
Athena bribes him with victory in war, Hera with power, and Aphrodite with the reward of the most beautiful woman on earth: Helen, wife of Menelaos, king of Sparta.
HELEN’S PARENTS - Helen is the daughter of Zeus and Leda. Leda was loved by Zeus, who raped her in the guise of a swan. As a swan, Zeus fell into her arms for protection from a pursuing eagle.
HELEN’S SUITORS - Because the princes of Greece all wanted to marry enchantingly beautiful
Helen, her father, Tyndareus, realized he would make enemies of every man he didn’t chose to be
Helen’s husband.
Apollodorus lists Helen’s suitors, later the heroes of the Trojan War, as Odysseus; Diomedes;
Antilochus, son of Nestor; both Ajax the Greater and Lesser, Menelaus, Agamemnon, Idomeneus,
Teucer, and Patroclus.
Odysseus promised to solve Tyndareus’s problem if Tyndareus would support him in his courting of Penelope, daughter of Icarius. Odysseus advised him to insist that all the suitors swear an oath of loyalty to Helen’s future husband. The suitors would agree to defend the chosen husband against whoever should quarrel with him. This stratagem succeeded and Helen and Menelaus were married. Following Tyndareus' death, Menelaus became king of Sparta. When Helen goes to Troy with Paris, the Greeks support Menelaus by waging war against Troy.