Units 3-4
REVIEW
LLT 121 CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY
FALL 2012
Final Exam Essay Questions
1. Compare the "adventure hero" as exemplified by Heracles with the
“civic hero” as exemplified by Oedipus or with the "Homeric hero"
as exemplified by Achilles. Pay particular attention to the hero's
values and the public affairs content of his stories.
2. Legend, by nature, often contains a kernel of historical fact. Prove
this by citing and commenting on one example each from the
Theban cycle, the Trojan War, and the Nostoi. How and why was
historical fact passed on in this manner?
HEROES
Nature of the Heroic, The
Bridge between humans and the divine
• Euhemerus = gods were first humans and then heroes
• Obviously less than divine, but somehow more than human
• Still bound by human limitations, such as injury and death
Appeal of the “local hero”
• Provides “community engagement” through service to city
• Sometimes intervene between the gods and their home city
• Goes to far off places, meets weird creatures, kills them
• Does things that you and I might never dream of (wish fulfillment)
• Still does things wrong but makes up for them in a superhuman way
• Makes people proud to be from their home city
Entertainment Value of the Heroic
Why do these stories need to be entertaining?
• Remember that Greek civilization was largely non-literate
• Who wants to remember a boring old list of facts?
• Exaggeration is fun!
Soap Opera Theory (Oprah, Brangelina)
• We all wish we could be rich and/or beautiful too
• We also enjoy watching rich and/or beautiful people suffer
Wish Fulfillment Theory (Rambo, Madonna, Chuck Norris)
• We all wish we could go crazy and live like rock stars or cowboys
• We also want to avoid the risks of illness and death
Who are some modern individual heroes?
Map of Greece (detail)
Heracles
Young Heracles
Birth of Heracles
• fathered by Zeus (disguised as Amphitryon) and Alcmena.
• Amphitryon gone to avenge Alcmena’s brother’s deaths from war.
• Zeus boasts; Hera speeds up Eurystheus’s birth
• Alcmena has twins: Heracles (Zeus’s son) and Iphicles (Amphi’s).
Heracles's Trials by Hera
• Eurystheus - cousin of Heracles for whom he performs his labors,
becomes king of Mycenae (whomever born first, got to be king)
• Snakes, beast master/demigod,-sent by Hera, strangled. Now
identities of children are known
• Saves Thebes, king gives him daughter, Megara, for wife. Hera
strickens him w/ madness and he kills family.
• Goes to Oracle and must perform 12 labors for Eurystheus.
Heracles’s First Six Labors
• Nemean Lion - invincible skin. Taken by beating and using own
claw. Provides armor.
• Lernaean Hydra - Many headed dragon w/ immortal head.
Cauterizes others, buries immortal head under rock. Dips his arrows
in the Hydra’s blood to make them poisonous
• Cerynean Hind - Artemis's sacred (rein)deer with gold horns. Has
to catch and bring back. (w/ permission).
• Erymanthian Boar - chases into deep snow, catches.
• Augean Stables - dirty for 10+ years, clean in one day by having 2
rivers run through stables. Refused to pay Heracles.
• Stymphalian Birds - dirty, man eating, scared them w/ bronze
rattle, & shoots to get out of area.
Heracles’s Second Six-Pack
• Cretan Bull - father of Minotaur.
• Mares of Diomedes -flesh eating horses. Killed Diomedes and fed
to horses. Change to nice ponies.
• Girdle of Hippolyta (Queen of Amazons) to take off means to
undress for intercourse. Kills after Hera intervenes.
• Cattle of Geryon - Go edge of world to take cattle from 3 headed
monster Geryon. Brings them back in the cup of sun god Helios.
• Apples of Hesperides - tree of life guarded by dragon "Ladon".
Nereus prophet instructs w/ Atlas help. Apples = immortality
• Cerberus - 3 headed hound of hell-captured w/ permission from
Hades; Heracles promises to marry Meleager’s sister Deianeira.
Heracles’s Side Labors (parerga)
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Antaeus (son of Gaea, wrestled and choked to death)
Atlas (tricked into taking the world back)
Busiris (cruel Ancient Egyptian king, killed)
Centaurs (gets them drunk and kills them)
Cercopes (beware the man with the black bottom)
Olympian Games (to honor his daddy Zeus)
Prometheus (freed from his rock)
Death of Heracles
• Deianeira “man killer,” sister of Meleager
• Nessus the centaur offers her a honeymoon ride, gets killed
• Heracles tires of family life with Deianeira, wins Princess Iole in an
archery contest in Trachis
• Kills Iole’s brother, incurring miasma, has to be auctioned to
Omphale (Lydian Queen) dress up as maid for a year.
• Returns to claim Iole, Deianera hears about this, sends favorite
cloak w/ potion on it..he dies.
• Philoctetes lights funeral pyre and receives bow and arrows.
• Mortal part goes to underworld, immortal part goes to Mt. Olympus
• He marries Hebe, Goddess of youthful bloom (daughter of Zeus and
Hera (Hera finds him now worthy).
Theseus
Legends of Athens
King Erichthonius -1st king of Athens.
• When Athena born, Heph runs after to claim prize,
• his seed spills on Athena’s thigh and she wipes it on Gaia
• autochthony - a creature w/ body of snake, head of human
• Daughters of Cecrops saw it and went crazay
Cephalus and Procris
• Cephalus dresses in disguise to prove his wife Procris.
• Wife unveils herself and Cephalus curses her.
• Artemis gives her dog and spears that always get target.
• Cephalus gets spear, lies under tree and asks wind (aura) to come.
• Procris hears this and rustles bush behind him…he kills her.
Legends of Crete
• Queen Pasiphae asks Poseidon to send beautiful bull for sacrifice;
• Poseidon sends bull as ordered, but Pasiphae does not kill it.
• Pasiphae made to fall in love for punishment. Daedalus builds wood
cow for her to “entice” the bull
• Pasiphae gives birth to Minotaur – bull-headed baby boy
• Daedalus builds the Labyrinth to keep the Minotaur out of sight
• Labyrinth = actually the magnificent palace at Knossos
• Daedalus gets seriously weirded out in the process
• He builds wings for himself and his son Icarus, who flew too high
and drowned in the Icarian sea. Hubris!
Birth of Theseus
• King Aegeus could not impregnate wife. Oracles said not to undue
hainging ft of wine skin.
• Pittheus knows what this means and gets him to bed his daughter
Aethra.
• Alternate explanation = Aethra raped by Poseidon (Aegeus may
originally have been a sea god, not a king)
• Aegeus buries sandals and sword underneath rock.
• If the child is a son, he should claim the sandals and sword and
come to Athens
• Theseus becomes a young man and leaves to meet dear old dad.
Perseus
Perseus’s Childhood
• King Acrisius of Argos was told by an oracle that his grandson
would kill him
• He imprisoned his only child, his daughter Danae, in a forest
• Zeus enters in shower of gold sunlight-conceives baby Perseus.
• Acrisius puts Danae and Perseus into a box which he throws in the
sea (assuming they will drown)
• Washed up on island of Seriphus, ruled by evil king Polydectes, who
covets Danae.
• Perseus has to satisfy Poly w/ gift to gain admission to party of rich
(usually one horse).
• Perseus says he could just as easily bring back the head of Medusa
the Gorgonette.
• Polydectes said “You’re On!”
• Perseus’s chances are either 0% or 100%, depending on how you
look at it.
Perseus’s Excellent Adventure
• Perseus befriends Athena (lends shield) and Hermes (gives Cap of
Darkness, winged sandals, magic bag) to help him conquer.
• Graeae (3 goddesses of Old Age sharing one eye and tooth) tell him
how to win after he takes their eye.
• Walking backwards, using shield as a mirror, cuts Medusa's head off
(out come Pegasus and Chrysaor).
• On his way back, saves and marries Andromeda (her mother said
she was prettier than Goddesses) from a sea monster
• Shows Polydectes the head and turns him to stone
• Gives magical stuff to Hermes and shield to Athena-Medusa’s head
on shield).
• Goes back to Argos; King Acrisius flees in fear.
• Goes to discus contest, hits Acrisius in foot, incurring miasma
• Wanders around, eventually founds Mycenae.
Jason
Background of the Argonauts
Jason’s early years
• Sent Jason to Mt Pelion, raised by Centaur Chiron.
• Went back to Iolcus to claim throne from Uncle King PeliAS.
• Lost shoe carrying Hera in disguise thru river (fulfilling prophesy of
Pelias getting killed by man w/ one shoe).
• Goes to town, Pelias tells him he has to go get golden fleece.
Origin of the Golden Fleece
• King Athamas and Queen Nephele had two children:Phrixus and
Helle. He tired of her, got 2nd wife Ino, who bribed an oracle to order
Athamas to sacrifice Phrixus.
• Gold ram appeared before sacrifice, Phrixus and Helle soared away
on its back.
• Helle lost grip and fell to Hellespont to death over sea.
• Phrixus landed in Colchis, sacrificed ram to Zeus, and gave skin to
Aeetes (son of the sun god Helios) for thanks.
Countless Screaming Argonauts
• Jason sails on the Argo, a ship built by Argus and Athena.
• Best fighters (B-Movie Heroes) go on trip, recruited by Hera.
• Island of lonely Lemnian women who offended Aphrodite and made
stinky. Argonauts stay and heroically beget children.
• Next island they meet King Cyzicus, mistakenly killed after being
swept back into harbor.
• Stop on Cios after Heracles broke oar, loses Hylas (Herc’s
boyfriend) to sea nymphs. Hercules goes away too.
• Island of Phineus- cursed w/ harpies taking food for revealing too
much of divine plan. Harpies (1/2 woman and bird) befoul food.
Drive off Harpies
• Pass through Symplegades (clashing rocks), and send a dove
through to confirm passage.
Adventures in Colchis
• On Colchis, King Aeetes of Aea received the Argonauts.
• Hera makes Aeetes’s daughter Medea fall in love with Jason
• Aeetes tells Jason he can have fleece if
– he yokes 2 fire breathing bronzed hooved bulls and plows earth
– sowed the dragon’s teeth left over from Thebes
– destroy warriors springing from their teeth.
• Medea helps Jason accomplish the labors and take the fleece.
• Medea chops up her brother for Aeetes to pick up en route.kill son.
• Back in Iolcus, Pelias is unwilling to step down.
• Jason kills the other menfolk and Medea tricks Pelias’s daughters
into chopping him up and killing him.
• Town people drove Jason and Medea away to Corinth.
The Medea of Euripides
Plot
• Medea and Jason have moved to Corinth
• Local king Creon wants Jason to marry his daughter Creousa
• Medea offers to go along with the plan – does she mean it?
Questions:
• Is this a typical midlife crisis story?
• Is Jason heroic or sleazy?
• Is Medea a crusader or a witch?
• Who do the gods blame?
• What is Aegeus doing here?
Bellerophon and B-Movie Heroes
Bellerophon
• While in Corinth he incurs miasma, goes to Argos.
• Purified by King Proetus whose wife Sthenoboea falls in love with
him.
• He refuses, She writes note accusing him of trying to rape her.
• King Iobates has him perform labors.
– Labor #1: Solymi
– Labor #2: Amazons
– Labor #3: Chimera
• gets big head, tries to fly to Olympus on Pegasus
• Thunderbolt kills him -- HUBRIS!!!!
• Pegasus stays on Mt. Olympus
The Amazons
Lineage
• Name comes from a+mazon = Greek for “no breast”
• Supposedly chopped their right breasts off to make them better
archers
• Total matriarchy under Queen Hippolyta
• Supposedly male children were exposed at birth and only female
babies raised
Purpose of the Amazons in Greek Myth
• Get beat by various Greek heroes
– Heracles
– Theseus
– Bellerophon
• Somebody has to be the bad guys (or girls) in these legends
• Also, a possible lesson for uppity females
Atalanta
• Father abandons Atalanta to be raised by hunters and a she-bear.
• Atalanta becomes a famous runner; her dad becomes proud and
holds race for her hand in marriage.
• Hippomenes (aka Milanion) brings 3 golden apples to the race
• Every time she gets ahead, he throws an apple and she stops to
pick it up.
• Atalanta and Hippomenes get married and consummate marriage in
Artemis’s temple.
• Artemis changes them into a lion and a lioness (supposedly could
not procreate)
Calydonian Boar Hunt, The
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Sent by Artemis to ravage Calydon after she is dissed
Meleager and men go to hunt it.
Atalanta (either the famous runner or not) hits it first,
Meleager finishes it off.
Uncles tease him about giving skin to a girrrrrlllll
He kills his uncles
Mom takes log from box (when it burns, Meleager dies)
Throws it into the fire, killing Meleager
In the underworld, Meleager fixes up Heracles with his sister
Deianeira
Peleus as hero
• Peleus in Phthia. King Eurytion purifies him from miasma and joins
him in Calydonian boar hunt.
• Peleus misses boar and kills King. Goes to Iolcus for purification.
• Queen Astydamia falls in love with young Peleus, who rejected her.
• Astydamia writes a note claiming Peleus had raped; Peleus gets
sent on labors:
• Peleus is taken out on a “snipe hunt” and abandoned. His sword is
hidden in a pile of poop.
• Wakes up surrounded by centaurs. Chiron, nice centaur, tells
Peleus where sword is.
• Awarded wife Thetis (the nymph destined to bear “a son who is
greater than his father”) for his display of good behavior.
Retellable Heroic Tales
Pyramus and Thisbe (Ovid) = Romeo and Juliet
• Wall separates houses, forbidden to see one another.
• Thisbe sees lion w/ bloody teeth and leaves, dropping scarf.
• Pyramus sees veil, stabs himself in side. Thisbe falls on his sword.
Hero and Leander
• Hero, a priestess of Aphrodite, lives in tower.
• Hero turns lamp on every night to guide Leander on thru water.
• Rainy night it goes out and Leander loses his way.
• She sees him on beach dead next morning-jumps off.
Philemon and Baucis
• Zeus and Hermes in disguise. Everyone mean except P and B.
• P and B pray to gods before meal, and about to kill goose for dinner.
• Gods reveal themselves, spare P and B from flood
• Wind up as Oak and Linden tree w/intertwining branches.
The Theban Saga
Founding of Cadmeia (Thebes)
• Cadmus was the son of Agenor, king of Tyre.
• Searching for his sister Europa, whom Zeus, disguised as a bull,
had carried to Crete, Cadmus came to Delphi to ask Apollo for
advice.
• Apollo told him to follow a divinely sent cow until she lay down.
• Cadmus followed the cow to Boeotia, sacrificed her, and in the
process killed a serpent,
• Athena told Cadmus to sow the serpent's teeth. The men sprung
from the teeth fought one another until only 5 remained. The noble
families of Thebes were descended from these 5 "Spartoi," or
"sown men."
House of Cadmus
Cadmus and Harmonia
• After serving as slave to Ares for one year, Cadmus married
Harmonia, daughter of Ares and Aphrodite.
• Cadmus and Harmonia introduce writing. This is logical, since he
is from Tyre and since the Greeks adopted their writing from the
Phoenicians.
• Eventually Cadmus and Harmonia were turned into serpents
Daughters of Cadmus and Harmonia:
• Ino: Married Athamas, plotted against Phrixus, eventually leapt into
the sea and became the goddess Leucothea.
• Semele: impregnated by Zeus, mother of Dionysus.
• Autonoe: mother of Actaeon, turned into a stag by Artemis
• Agave: mother of Pentheus.
House of Labdacus
• Labdacus founded a new dynasty: His son, Laius, was the father of
Oedipus.
• Lycus, descended from a Spartoi, reigned before Laius. Lycus'
brother, Nycteus, had a daughter, Antiope.
• Antiope bore twins to Zeus: Amphion and Zethus,
• Amphion married Niobe (of the 7 sons and 7 daughters) and built
the walls of Thebes.
• Zethus married Thebe, who gave her name to the newly walled
city.
• After the deaths of Zethus and Thebe, Laius returned from exile
• By abducting Pelops‘s son, Laius brought a curse on himself.
• Laius learned from the Delphic oracle that he would be killed by his
son
• Laius and his wife Jocasta had their son exposed on Mt. Cithaeron
after he was born
The Oracle and the Riddle
Oeddie’s story (continued)
• Baby found by Corinthian shepherd; named “Swellfoot” (Oedipus)
• Raised as son of King Polybus and Queen Merope of Corinth
• Friends taunted him as a bastard, went to oracle which said "marry
his mother and kill his father.
• Decides never to return to Corinth
• Gets road rage and kills some random old chariot driver dude
Meanwhile in Thebes
• Sphinx sits on hill by Thebes posing riddle "what goes on 4 legs in
morning, 2 @ midday, and 3 in the evening?“
• Laius went to consult oracle, but gets killed en route
• Creon, brother of Laius’s widow Jocasta, announces that whoever
answers Sphinx’s riddle gets to marry Jocasta and become king
Oedipus Rex
• Oedipus and Jocasta had boys Polynices & Eteocles, girls
Antigone & Ismene.
• Oedipus rules for 20 years, loved by all. But a plague comes.
• Tiresias, blind prophet, tells truth but Oedipus alleges conspiracy.
• Old Corinthian messenger announces Polybus’s death
• Oedipus is relieved – thinks he has shaken off the oracle’s
prophecy
• Old Corinthian messenger admits he personally discovered Baby
Swellfoot
• Jocasta hangs herself in bedroom; Oedipus blinds himself
• ARTI MANTHANO
Seven Against Thebes
Problems with the succession to Oedipus
• Eteocles rules first, for one year
• Polynices went to Argos and married king Adrastus' daughter.
• Eteocles refuses to step down
Polynices and the other Six of the Seven Against Thebes
• Adrastus, king of Argos
• Tydeus, friend of Polynices
• Capaneus, killed by a thunderbolt from Zeus.
• Hippomedon, fell in battle
• Parthenopaeus, fell in battle
• Amphiaraus, Polynices bribed his prophetess wife with the
necklace of Harmonia to convince her husband to join.
Sophocles’s Antigone
• In Sophocles‘s play Antigone, Creon, brother of Jocasta, ruled
Thebes after the death of Eteocles.
• Creon decreed that the body of Polyneices could not be buried or
given any funeral rites.
• His sister Antigone claimed that this was a sin against the gods and
defied Creon's law.
• Creon locked her in a tomb.
• Teiresias warned Creon to release her, but it was too late; she had
hanged herself.
• His son Haemon, who had been engaged to Antigone, killed himself,
as did Haemon's mother, when she learned of his death.
Theban Saga – Rest of the Story
Sophocles‘s Oedipus at Colonus,
• Oedipus eventually took refuge in Athens, where he was received by
Theseus.
• At Colonus (suburb of Athens) Oeddie is received into the heavens
The Suppliant Women
• In Euripides’s play The Suppliant Women, the mothers of the
Seven against Thebes beg Theseus to help bury their sons.
• Eventually Theseus agreed, and Theseus returned from Thebes
with the bodies
Tiresias
• Weird sex change results in gift of prophecy
• Advises Odysseus (among others) even after his death
HOMERIC AGE
WORDS OF TRVTH
LEGEND
BY ITS VERY NATVRE
CONTAINS
A KERNEL OF
HISTORICAL FACT
The House of Atreus
Pelops Founds the House of Atreus
• Pelops (son of Tantalus): last seen being served as soup
• Wins wife Hippodamia in chariot race given by father King
Oenomaus of Pisa; has charioter Myrtilus take out wheel pins
• Myrtilus (a bastard son of Hermes) thought he got Hippodamia.
• Pelops pushes him down wall, incurring a mighty curse
• Sons of Pelops and Hippodamia = Atreus and Thyestes
• Atreus's wife Aerope lets his brother Thyestes have the ram while
Atreus was asleep.
• Next morning Thyestes shows off the ram; the sun rose and sat
backwards. (total eclipse of the Sun)
• Atreus serves Thyestes Thyestes’ own children for supper
• Later, Aegistheus (son of Thyestes) finds out the truth and kills
Atreus.
• Agamemnon and Menelaus (sons of Atreus and Aerope) flee to
Sparta.
House of Tyndareus
Leda and the Swan
• Leda, wife of Tyndareus of Sparta, raped by Zeus in form of a swan.
• Leda also has sex with Tyndareus the same night. Leda lays two
eggs.
• Mortal egg: Castor and Clytemnestra
• Immortal egg: Pollux and Helen
Children of Zeus and Leda
• Castor dies; Pollux can’t stand it, so they share Pollux’s immortality
• 1 day on Mt. Olympus, 1 day in Underworld.
• Clytemnestra and Agamemnon have three children- Orestes,
Electra, Iphigenia
• All Helen's suitors vow to honor her choice of husband = Menelaus.
Wedding of Peleus and Thetis
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All the deities invited except for Eris (discord)
Eris throws out golden apple inscribed "For the Fairest"
Hera, Athena, Aphrodite claim prize
Zeus is too smart to serve as judge
Prince Paris of Troy agrees to serve as judge; chooses Aphrodite;
Receives most beautiful woman in world, Helen as his prize
Helen is already married to King Menelaus of Sparta
Paris received as guest of Menelaus;
Helen is driven craaazy by Aphrodite; they steal treasures and flee.
The Trojan War
Gathering of the Greeks
Gathering at Aulis (minus two draft dodgers)
• Odysseus, wife Penelope just had son Telemachus, fakes
madness by plowing fields w/salt
• Achilles, mom dresses him up as a girl, sends him to Island of
Nubile Young Girls
• Odysseus gets off boat and lays toys out
• Achilles caught because he is the only one who reached for guy toy
• Artemis holds winds back because of no sacrifice on her name.
Agamemnon’s Dilemma
• Agamemnon is told to sacrafice daughter Iphigenia by Calchas (the
sea): two alternatives
• Don’t kill daughter and be a loser, wimp
• Gets Iphigenia to show up by claiming she will marry Achilles - and
sacrifices her.
The Greek Team
• Agamemnon = king of Mycenae-killed by wife and lover when
returned home
• Menelaus = King of Sparta
• Odysseus = King of Ithaca
• Achilles = Greatest Greek hero, kills Hector, killed by Paris
• Diomedes = best fighter/ thinker; wounded both Ares and Aphrodite
• Nestor = wise old wind bag
• Idomeneus = King of Crete
• Philoctetes = Mighty Steerman/ Stinky foot
• Ajax the Greater
• Ajax the Lesser = raped Cassandra in Athena’s temple-- HUBRIS
• Neoptolemus (a/k/a Pyrrhus) = Achilles son
• Patroclus = bromantic love interest of Achilles
The Trojan Team
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Paris (son of King Priam and Hecuba of Troy) = won Helen
Hector = brother of Paris, heir to throne, greatest Trojan hero,
Andromache = heroic wife of Hector, mother of Astyanax
Astyanax = son of Hector and Andromache; thrown to his death
from the walls of Troy after it fell
Aeneas = (son of Aphrodite and Anchises) eventually escaped from
Troy and founded Rome
Sarpedon = illegitimate son of Zeus whom even Zeus could not
save
Helenus = son of Priam; prophet; third Mr. Helen
Priam = aged king of Troy; hopes to leave it all to Hector
Cassandra = 100% accurate prophetess whom nobody ever
believes
The Divine Side
Deities on Greek Side
• Athena = still mad at losing Judgment of Paris
• Hera = still mad at losing Judgment of Paris
• Poseidon = had been stiffed by King Priam's father in a business
deal
Deities on Trojan Side
• Aphrodite = winner in Judgement of Paris
• Ares = no particular reason, just likes to fight
• Apollo = no particular reason, just likes to fight
Zeus
ILIAD = Th’ Wrath of Achilles
• Agamemnon takes Chryseis, daughter of Chryses (local priest of
Apollo), as booty
• Apollo sends Cholera plague on camp; Agamemnon must return
Chryseis
• If Agamemnon does not return her, the Greeks lose
• If Agamemnon hands over his girl, he will be deprived of KLEOS
and ARETE points.
• Achilles, tired of watching the plague, tells Agamemnon to give her
back.
• Agamemnon says okay but takes Achilles’ slave girl Briseis
• Achilles takes his men and retreats from war
• Achilles's mother Thetis gets Zeus to let the Greeks get womped
• Agamemnon and the Greeks spend next eight books getting
womped
ILIAD – Achilles’s Choice
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Agamemnon sends an embassy to persuade Achilles back
offers money, an apology, and his daughter’s hand
Phoenix, Ajax the Greater, and Odysseus all make speeches
Achilles explains that he has two fates to choose from
die young with ARETE or live long and die without ARETE
Patroclus, friend of Achilles, allowed to borrow Achilles’ armor in
hopes to gain on Greeks side
Warned not to get too close to the walls of Troy.
Patroclus tries to go over wall (hubris)
Patroclus killed by Hector, who strips off armor of Achilles
Achilles kills Hector, desecrates body by dragging it through town
(Hector pleaded for a proper burial).
ILIAD – Rest of the Story
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Zeus and Gods preserve Hector's body
Achilles gives body to Priam after shaking hands with him
Funeral games celebrated for Hector = anticipates Achilles's demise
Paris, assisted by Apollo, shot Achilles in heel. Ajax the Greater
brought body back.
Achilles’ armor given to Odysseus instead of Ajax.
Ajax the Greater driven mad, commits suicide.
Trojans winning by pushing Greeks back to boat
Sinon talks Trojans into bringing in the wooden horse in
Laocoon (priest of Apollo) disagrees but he and his sons are eaten
by snakes
When all are asleep, Greeks get out and open gates and sack the
city
Neoptolemus kills king Priam
Nostos (pl. nostoi) = definition
NOSTOI: definition
• nostos = Ancient Greek for "return voyage"
• compare English word "nostalgia" (longing to go home)
• popular "sequels" to the Iliad
• also contain KERNELS OF HISTORICAL FACT
NOSTOI
• Menelaus = got Helen back, on the way home, blown to Egypt, but
made it back later.
• Nestor = Went over land--Homer probably could relate to him
because of old wind bag
Legend by its very nature…
• Diomedes = returned to Argos, (wife unfaithful, not welcomed at
home) wanders around the Mediterranean, finally ends in Italy,
founds a few cities, worshipped as God after death.
• Idomeneus = hero of Crete. weather was bad, vows if saved will
sacrifice first thing that approaches him when he has landed—his
son. Miasma causes him to wander around the Mediterranean,
finally ends in Italy, founds a few cities, worshipped as God after
death.
• Philoctetes = not welcomed at home. founds Naples as he wanders
around the Mediterranean, finally ends in Italy, founds a few cities,
worshipped as God after death.
• Aeneas = son of Aphrodite and Anchises, wanders around the
Mediterranean, finally ends in Italy, founds a few cities, worshipped
as God after death.
Agamemnon’s Nostos
Agamemnon (first play)
• Agamemnon returns to Greece with his prize Cassandra.
• Cassandra tells Agamemnon that his wife will kill him, then her
• He walks into bath that Clytemnestra fixes for him, and gets killed
• Clytemnestra incurs miasma along with her lover Aegisthus, but
what is Orestes to do?
The Liberation Bearers
• Electra gets Orestes to kill Aegistheus and Clytemnestra
• Orestes is promptly driven mad by the Furies
The Kindly Ones (third play)
• Furies are prosecuting attorneys
• Apollo the defense attorney
• Jury tied, Athena rules for Orestes.
The Wanderings of Odysseus - I
• Island of the Ciconians = Sacked the city, taking booty, taking with
them 12 jars of red wine. Lost men from every ship when escaping
• Lotus Eaters = blown to this island where everyone consumes the
lotus-laced with drug
• Polyphemus Island = Ate herd of sheep, found Cyclops cave
containing fruit and delicacies, Cyclops trapped opening w/ boulder
and ate men every night. Odysseus got him drunk, blinded him, got
away
• Aeolus Island = God of winds feasted men and gave him special
bag containing deadly winds. Men jealous, open bag while asleep
and are blown back to Aeolus Island.
• The Laestrygonians = Cannibals that ate all ships except
Odysseus and his few crew. Quickly sailed away
• Circe = Daughter of Helius-turns men into pigs. He will sleep with
her but first make an oath not to castrate him. Circe changes men
back and they live on island for one year. He leaves with advice to
talk to Tiresias in underworld,
Wanderings of Odysseus - II
• Underworld – has a nice katabasis and visits Tiresias
• Sirens = beautiful women singing with enchanted voices. Entraps
sailors-they follow them and die on cliffs the women-birds perch on.
Odysseus manages to listen to them sweetly singing
• Scylla and Charybdis = blocking the narrow straight they must
pass through- on one side Scylla-monster w/ 12 feet, 6heads w/ 3
rows of teeth hidden in cave beneath sheer cliffs.
• Cattle of the Sun= Winds kept them from leaving-starving them to
eat fish. Odysseus falls asleep and wakes to the smell of burnt meat
• Calypso = Finally he washes up on Ogygia. Sea nymph wanting
him for herself promises him immortality-but he says no.
• Phaeacians = washes up on Scheria, found by Nausicaa, tells
them of his adventures, and is sent home by Queen Arete
• Ithaca = returned to his home island by the Phaeacians
ODYSSEY – The Big Return
• Goes to swineherd friend Eumaeus's house.
• Son Telemachus is there and says whats happening at home:
suitors, murder plots
• He disguises himself as beggar talks to Penelope saying her
husband is alive.
• She recognizes him and immediately tells of contest she will hold for
her hand
• whoever can string her husband’s old bow and shoot it thru 12
axeheads.
• No one can and he does-then turns on suitors and kills them.
• Penelope tells him to sleep on porch (test) on old bed-he gets mad,
she smiles and they go to bed.
Final Examination Times
Section 005 (9:30 TR) – 8:45 am Thursday, Dec 13
Section 006 (2:00 MWF) – 1:15 pm Monday, Dec 10