The Iliad -by Homer

1200 B.C

Homer • Greatest of the Greek poets

• 1,000 years B.C.• Epic poems- 1st to make stories a unified whole

• Sung for entertainment

• Stories taught Greek ideals

Homer wrote -

The IliadIlium- Greek for Troy

Story of the Trojan War

10 years

Fought over Helen of Troy

The OdysseyFollows the Trojan War10 yearsOdysseus’s journey to return to GreeceA metaphor for every person’s journey through life.

The Judgment of ParisThe Judgment of Paris

Wedding of Peleus and Thetis(grandson to Zeus and a sea nymph)

• Eris – goddess of discord, not invited

• Eris crashes party - starts trouble

• Golden apple – “To the fairest”

• Hera, Athena, Aphrodite – claim it

Me!It’s

mine!

No, me!

Zeus – asked to judge No way!

Choose between my wife, daughter, and

Aphrodite?

Who else can I get?

Paris – Prince of Troy (a playboy)

• Goddesses bribe Paris• Athena offers – ambition, fame, success in

war

• Hera offers – power, riches, King of Europe

and Asia

• Aphrodite offers – the love of the most beautiful

woman in the world

Paris chooses Aphrodite -

There’s just one little problem…

The most beautiful woman in the world is Helen…

and she’s married.

Helen – wife to Menelaus, King of Sparta (a half-mortal daughter of Zeus)

Helen’s father, Tyndareus

Knew many men would pursue Helen

Was afraid conflicts or wars would be fought over her

Convinced suitors to swear an oath

- to always protect Helento always protect Helen

- to support her husband ,to support her husband ,

whomever she chosewhomever she chose

Paris visits Helen and Menelaus

• Welcomed as a guest• Kidnaps Helen• Menelaus - raises army

from suitors

• Agamemnon- Menelaus’s brother leads expedition

• Achilles – greatest Greek warrior- son of Peleus and Thetis- invulnerable, except for heel

Siege of Troy - lasts 10 years

Troy – high and thick walls, surrounded by plain of Troy

Aphrodite- sides with the Trojans

Athena and Hera - side with the Greeks

Zeus- remains impartial

Achilles kills Hector, Prince of Troy – defiles body by dragging it behind his chariot

Paris takes revenge for brother – shoots Achilles in heel, killing him

Greeks – create a plan- Odysseus – known for

strategy

- Athena’s favorite warrior

The Trojan Horse

• Greeks create a large, wooden horse• Greeks sail away, leave as “gift”• Warned not to bring horse inside Troy

- Cassandra – priestess

- Laocoon – priest

• Trojans celebrate

End of War

Soldiers slip out of horse and open gatesGreeks returnTrojans are massacred

Troy is burnedwomen enslaved

Gods turn against the Greeks

Ajax kills Cassandra in Athena’s templeAjax kills Cassandra in Athena’s temple

Athena is offended Athena is offended

Calls on Poseidon to create stormCalls on Poseidon to create storm

Odyssey Begins Here

• Greeks are scattered around the Mediterranean

• Odysseus’s 10 year journey home begins