She Threw an Apple Into the Wedding Labeled to the Fairest

The Trojan War

Judgment of Paris

·  Eris was angered because she was not invited to the wedding of Thetis and King Peleus

·  She threw an apple into the wedding labeled “to the fairest”

·  Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite all wanted to be called to the fairest

·  Zeus refused to answer and instead sent the goddesses to Paris

·  Paris was King Priam of Troy’s son.

·  It was said he would bring about the downfall of Troy so he was herding sheep instead of being with his father.

·  The three goddesses offered a bribe to Paris.

·  Athena-Troy would be victorious in war

·  Hera-Lord of Europe and Asia-land

·  Aphrodite-the hand of the most beautiful woman on earth (mortal)

·  Paris being weak chose Aphrodite’s bribe

·  ***This is the cause of the Trojan War

The Oath

·  Helen’s parents were Zeus and Leda

·  Her reputed father Tyndareus—he had to select a man from all of Helen’s suitors

·  He made them take an oath first

·  Protect whoever I choose as Helen’s husband and support him if anything happens to him or Helen

·  Tyndareus chooses Meneleus as Helen’s husband

·  Paris goes to Greece to visit Meneleus and Helen

·  Paris is treated with hospitality

·  Meneleus leaves for Crete and when he does Paris takes Helen back to Troy

Greeks are going to Troy to get Helen back

·  All men are ready except for Odysseus and Achilles

·  Odysseus doesn’t want to leave his wife and child for some “romantic adventure overseas”

·  He is cunning and shrewd and pretendS to be crazy

·  When the messenger comes he is plowing his field with salt instead of seed

·  The messenger places Odysseus’ son in front of the plow-if he runs him over then he must be crazy

·  Odysseus avoids his son and the messenger finds he is sane—Odysseus will fight in the war

·  Achilles’ mother sends him to the court of King Lycomedes dressed as a woman

·  Odysseus is sent to retrieve Achilles and brings with him a bag of things for the maidens—ornaments for a woman and weapons

·  Achilles goes to the weapons and is found out

·  With little encouragement he agrees to fight in the war

Greeks are ready to go

·  Meet at Aulis

·  The winds will not subside—1,000 ships waiting to go

·  The Greeks angered Artemis

·  Have to sacrifice Agamemnon’s daughter to appease Artemis

·  Rather than lose his position in the army or his reputation Agamemnon allows his daughter to be sacrificed

The War

·  The war lasts for 9 years

·  Apollo’s priest’s daughter, Chryseis was taken by Agamemnon as a war prize

·  Apollo becomes angry and many Greeks are dying

·  Achilles forces Agamemnon to give back Chryseis and he does

·  As a result, Agamemnon sent two men to Achilles to take his war prize Briseis

·  Achilles is angry and refused to fight

·  Thetis, Achilles’ mother agreed that Achilles should not fight and goes to Zeus to ask him to help the Trojans

·  Zeus sent a dream to Agamemnon encouraging him to fight without Achilles.

·  The Greeks attack and the war is going in the Trojans favor

·  Until Meneleus and Paris face off—Paris runs before Meneleus can kill him

·  A truce is declared

·  Pandarus, a Trojan breaks the truce-he shoots an arrow at Meneleus injuring him

·  BATTLE WAS ON

·  The war goes back and forth for some time

·  Ajax tried to kill Hector but is unsuccessful

Patroclus

·  Finally, Achilles’s friend Patroclus goes to him and asks for his armor

·  If you are not going to fight let me lead your men, the Myrmidons into battle

·  This will help energize the army

·  Achilles agrees; he is still not fighting

·  Hector and Patroclus face off and Hector kills Patroclus and takes Achilles armor

·  “I who did not help my comrade in his sore need. I will kill the destroyer of him I love; then I will accept death when it comes.”-Achilles

·  Thetis brings Achilles armor made by Hephaestus himself

·  Achilles faces Hector

·  Foreshadowing—Hector says let whoever is killed be returned to his people

·  Athena helps Achilles—kills Hector

·  Achilles strips him of his armor

·  Fastens Hector’s body to the back of a chariot and drags Hector’s body all around

·  King Priam goes to Achilles to ask for his son’s body back

·  Achilles felt grief at Priam’s request and had his men wash, anoint, and cover Hector’s body with a soft cloth to be returned to Priam

·  9 days of mourning followed

Achilles death

·  Prince Memnon of Ethiopia came and Troy was winning-due to numbers

·  Achilles killed Memnon-this was Achilles last battle

·  Paris shot an arrow that Apollo guided into the heel of Achilles

·  Thetis had tried to make Achilles invincible by dipping him into the River Styx when he was an infant-she was careless and missed his heel

·  Ajax carried his body back while Odysseus held the Trojans back

·  Odysseus was granted Achilles armor—this was a great honor

·  Ajax lost the competition for the armor and was disgraced/dishonored

·  Ajax intended on killing Agamemnon and Meneleus but Athena sent him madness and he slaughtered animals instead

·  When he realized what he had done, he killed himself

·  Ajax could not be buried because of the suicide

Trojan Horse

·  Odysseus captured the prophet Helenus—she told him to fight with the bow and arrow of Hercules

·  Odysseus went to find Prince Philoctetes who they left on an island on their way to Troy

·  Odysseus pleaded with him to give him the bow and arrow and brought him back to Troy to be healed and fight

·  Philoctetes killed Paris

·  Odysseus and Diomedes took the image of Pallas Athena called Pallaldium from the Trojans—until this was taken the Trojans would continue to win

·  Odysseus came up with the idea of the wooden horse-hollow with men inside

·  Odysseus and men go inside the horse—other men sail off and hide at a nearby island

·  Sinon, a Greek, was left to tell the tale and make the Trojans take the horse into the city

·  Sinon pled with Priam and told him that Athena was angry and he was going to be sacrificed but escaped—Priam bought it

·  **False cunning won the war

·  Lacoon- “I fear the Greeks even when they bear gifts”—he didn’t want the horse

·  Poseidon intervened and sent two serpent to kill Lacoon

·  No one questioned the horse now

·  The wooden horse was brought inside the walls of Troy and overnight the Greek men came out—stormed the palace

·  Achilles’ son struck down Priam in front of his wife and daughters

·  Aphrodite helped her son Aeneas escape and got Helen to Meneleus

·  Hector’s wife Andromache was forced to hand over his son to be killed

·  This was Troy’s last sacrifice

·  TROY WAS DEFEATED

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