Mr. Dominick
10th Grade Honors World Lit
Outline of the Trojan War, The Iliad, and The Aeneid
I. Trojan War
A. Origins
1. Wedding of King Peleus of Aegina and the sea-nymph Thetis (the mother of
Achilles)
2. Eris, the goddess of discord and strife, not invited, so she places an apple
marked with the words “For the Fairest” in the banquet hall
3. Goddesses disagree about who deserves it  narrowed down to Athena
(daughter of Zeus, goddess of wisdom), Hera (wife of Zeus, goddess of
marriage), and Aphrodite (goddess of love)
4. Paris, son of king Priam of Troy, voted to judge the contest
a. All three goddesses try to bribe him
i. Hera  offers power
ii. Athena  offers military success
iii. Aphrodite  offers the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen of
Sparta (Paris accepts her offer)
II. Paris and Helen
A. Betrayal
1. While visiting Menelaus, the king of Sparta, Paris kidnaps Helen
2. This causes all Greeks to take up arms against Troy
a. Only Odysseus and Achilles originally refuse
3. On their way to Sparta, the Greeks are blown back by a wind created by
Artemis, goddess of the hunt (Agamemnon, chief of the Greeks, sacrifices his
daughter to appease her)
III. The Long Haul
A. The war lasts for nine years before Agamemnon takes the daughter of the
Trojan priest of Apollo captive: the act nearly leads to the defeat of the Greeks.
1. He returns the girl, but takes Achilles’ prize female captive, Briseis, instead;
Achilles withdraws his men from battle, and the Greek effort suffers
B. At this point, the gods and goddesses have aligned themselves with one of two
camps
1. Ares, Apollo, and Artemis  for the Trojans
2. Athena, Hera, and Poseidon  for the Greeks
C. Thetis then convinces Zeus to support the Trojans  Menelaus defeats Paris,
but Aphrodite saves Paris; the sides declare a truce
D. Hera, however, bent on war, makes a Trojan break the peace, and at this time,
Zeus goes down to battle the Greeks  The Greeks suffer heavy losses, and
Agamemnon returns Briseis to Achilles but to no avail, for Achilles refuses to
fight
E. Hera seduces Zeus to help the Greeks, and when Ajax, a great warrior for the
Greeks, nearly kills Hector, Zeus is enraged and tells Poseidon to abandon the
Greeks
F. On the edge of defeat, Patroclus, Achilles’ best friend, leads the Myrmidons,
Achilles’ own group of soldiers, into battle and is killed by Hector
1. Achilles swears revenge and his mother, Thetis, gives him armor crafted by
Haphaestus (the god of blacksmithing) himself
2. Hector and Achilles face off against one another; when Hector realizes
Apollo has abandoned him and Athena stands behind Achilles, he tries to run
away  Athena disguises herself as Paris, which causes him to pause 
Achilles then kills Hector with his spear  He mutilates Hector’s body and then
drags it back to the Greek camp
a. The gods convince Priam to go and retrieve Hector’s body
b. He sneaks into the Greek camp and convinces Achilles of the error of
his ways
c. The Iliad ends with Hector’s funeral
IV. The Aeneid
A. The story of the Trojan War does not end there; it is continued in The Aeneid,
the story of a young Trojan warrior, Aeneas, who escapes from Troy and goes on
to become the ancestor of the Romans (Troy does a pretty accurate job in
portraying this)
B. After Hector’s death, Prince Memnon of Ethiopia takes his place as leader of
the Trojan army  Achilles eventually kills him
C. The Greeks gain the upper hand, driving the Trojans back to the gates
surrounding the city, but Paris manages to kill Achilles by shooting an arrow
through his heel
1. As a child, Thetis dipped Achilles’ body in the River Styx to make him
invulnerable, but forgot to dip in the heel she held him by (hence the term
“Achilles heel”)
2. Odysseus receives Achilles’ armor; after being passed over for the honor,
Ajax goes crazy and kills himself
D. The Greeks continue to try to find every advantage to win, but the high walls
of the Trojans cannot be breached, until . . .
V. The Trojan Horse
A. Trick designed by Odysseus
1. Trojans take the horse into the city to celebrate their victory
2. That night, the horse opens up and the Greek chieftains sneak out and
massacre the Trojans
3. Achilles’ son kills Priam
4. Hector’s son is killed, effectively destroying Troy’s legacy
VI. Parallels Between The Odyssey and The Iliad
A. Mention of gods and goddesses as actual people
B. Odysseus as a strong, consistent character
VII. Modern-Day Parallels
A. Differences in theatrical versions
B. Similarities in theatrical versions
C. Homer’s enduring legacy