T H E 1 0 Y E A R S O F F I G H T I N G B E F O R E
O D Y S S E U S M A D E H I S J O U R N E Y H O M E

• Thetis, a goddess, was getting married to a mortal
• Prophecy that her child would be greater than father
• She did not invite Eris to the wedding
• Eris: goddess of discord

• Eris threw a golden apple onto the dinner table
• “for the fairest”
• Three goddesses claim apple
• Athena, Aphrodite, Hera
• Zeus does not want to pick
• selects a shepherd on Mt. Ida, Paris, to choose
• Paris is prince of Troy

• Seer Aesacus prophesied
• Paris would be the destruction of Troy
• Paris was sent out to the fields to avoid his fate
• Greeks believed you could not avoid fate

• All the goddess offer Paris different things
• Hera: power
• Athena: glory in battle
• Aphrodite: the most beautiful woman in the world
• Paris chooses Aphrodite
• The most beautiful woman was Helen
• Menelaus, king of Sparta
• Paris goes with Aphrodite to Sparta and becomes
Menelaus’ guest
• Aphrodite tricks or persuades Helen to leave with Paris and they go to Troy
• Menelaus finds that his wife is gone and is greatly angered
• He decides to go back and get her

• Helen had many suitors who swore to protect her no matter what
• Pact to protect her no matter what
• Menelaus called upon all of these men to go to Troy and get her back
• Odysseus king of Ithaca
• Telemachus, Penelope
• Palamedes comes to Odysseus
• Odysseus pretends to be crazy
• Yoked a donkey and ox
• Sows salt
• Palamedes throws baby in front of plow
• Odysseus forced to join

• Greece
• Agamemnon: commander-in-chief, Menelaus’ brother
• Achilles: most illustrious Greek warrior
• Odysseus: known for cleverness
• Ajax: great Greek Warrior
• Troy
• Hector: Paris’ brother; very brave and noble
• Priam: King of Troy; maintained peace for several years
• Paris: great archer

• Menelaus and his men sailed across the ocean from
Greece to Troy
• Odysseus asked for all of Menelaus’s money and his wife
Helen back
• Priam refuses
• Menelaus and Odysseus declared war on the country of
Troy to get back the money and the girl

• After 9 years, the war was still being fought
• The Greeks could not get inside the walls
• Odysseus finally thought of an idea
• ordered the Greek soldiers to build a horse out of wood

• Greeks pretended to abandon the war in defeat
• Most of the ships left for a nearby island and hid
• Greeks who stayed built a wooden horse
• Peace offering to Athena
• Filled with soldiers
• Trojans came out next day to find horse
• Lacoon, priest of Poseidon, said to destroy it
• “I fear the Greeks even when they offer gifts”
• Sea serpents kill Lacoon’s sons
• Sinon, Greek left behind
• Horse too large to move into city

• The Trojans pulled on the ropes and rolled the horse inside the walls of Troy
• They celebrated and got drunk
• They thought they won the war
• At night, when the Trojans went to sleep
• the Greeks jumped out of the horse
• Opened gates for rest of army

• Greek army slaughtered the unsuspecting Trojans
• Paris is killed, after killing Achilles with arrow
• Achilles son, Neoptolemus, kills Priam on the altar of
Zeus
• Odysseus and the rest of the Greek warriors return home after 10 years of fighting

• Odysseus’ journey home is prolonged
• Before leaving Troy he exclaims that he alone defeated Trojans
• Poseidon takes offense
• Sent two sea serpents to kill Lacoon
• He promises Odysseus he will have a long and difficult journey home
• It takes Odysseus 10 years to return to his family
• His son is 20 years old when he returns
• His wife remains faithful