Women During the Trojan War
Background: Who suffers more during war—men who fight in the war or the women who love them
and wait at home for their return? The excerpts of The Iliad in your textbook focus on four women’s
reaction when King Priam of Troy returns with the corpse of Prince Hector who Achilles killed. To learn
more about these and other women, go to the following website and answer the questions below.
http://www.stanford.edu/~plomio/women.html
1. How is Andromache related to Hector? What reason does she have for hating Achilles before he kills
Hector?
2. What is the relationship between Briseis and Achilles? To whom is Achilles forced to give Briseis?
What does Achilles do as a result of having to give up Briseis?
3. Who is Cassandra, and what is her curse? What god cursed her? How does Cassandra die?
4. What is the relationship between Clytemnestra and Agamemnon? How is Clytemnestra related to
Helen? How does Agamemnon die?
5. Who is Hecuba? What is the largest number of children that she allegedly birthed? Why did she
send Paris away when he was born?
6. Who was Helen’s father? Who was Helen’s Greek husband? Why was Helen’s Greek husband able to
get so many Greek kings and princes to join an alliance to fight the Trojans?
7. Who is Iphigenia’s father, and why did he sacrifice her?
8. Who does Penelope marry after Odysseus is killed? Who kills Odysseus? How is Odysseus’ murderer
related to him? What goddess does Telemachus marry?
9. Who is Penthesilea? How does she die?
10. Dido is the queen of what city? Who does Dido fall in love with? How does Dido die? What city
state does Dido’s lover found after he leaves her?