Heroes of War: The Troy Saga. Ch. 12

Transcription

1 Heroes of War: The Troy Saga Ch. 12

2 Judgment of Paris Eris tosses golden apple, inscribed for the fairest at wedding of Peleus and Thetis Peleus and Thetis are Achilles parents Thetis is the sea nymph who would give birth to son greater than father Post-Homeric tradition has Thetis dip Achilles in River Styx to make him invulnerable (except for that heel) Homer knows nothing of this (cf. Book XVIII)

3 Judgment of Paris, continued Zeus sends goddesses contending for the apple down to Paris to judge Paris, son of King Priam of Troy, is at that point, a shepherd Hera promises Paris kingship of all Asia Athena promises Paris unbeatable generalship Aphrodite promises him Helen He chooses Helen Note: this story may also be post-homeric

4 Helen Daughter of Zeus and Leda, wife of Tyndareus Zeus visited Leda in the form of a swan Leda gave birth to 4 children in two eggs Castor and Clytemnestra in one egg (Tyndareus kids) Polydeuces and Helen in other (Zeus kids) Castor and Polydeuces share P s immortality Tyndareus lets Helen choose husband, but all must vow to protect her She chooses Menelaus, who becomes King of Sparta

5 Is Trojan War historical? Ancient world has no doubt that war took place during heroic age (trad. date for fall of Troy is 1184/1183 BC) Modern scholars doubted Troy existed, until Heinrich Schliemann unearthed ancient sites on hill of Hissarlik in NW Turkey. Most scholars now admit that war took place, but that Homer is a poet, not an historian

6 Which Troy is the right Troy? Nine separate layers at Hissarlik Schliemann thought Troy II was Homer s Troy Incorrect, as that city came to an end around 2250 BC Chief contenders are Troy VI (comes to an end by earthquake and fire c BC) Troy VIIa (comes to an end by siege and fire, c BC)

7 Popularity of Trojan Saga Not only Homer, but other epic poets sang of Troy Only Homer s works survive of the Epic Cycle There are about a dozen surviving Athenian tragedies about Troy Some of the lyric poets wrote about Troy Roman poet, Virgil, treats of the fall of Troy in Aeneid II

8 Why so popular? All of Greek legend takes place in the period from BC Last great period of the Bronze Age, filled with heroic songs Stories develop over the long Dark Ages ( BC) The story of Troy deals with Greeks working together against a common enemy

9 Conflict in Society and Chaos Conflict of two allegiances Paris violates societal rules by running away with Helen Zeus protects marriage and guest-host relations Priam, feeling tug of loyalty, supports son, and Hector, champion of Troy, also stands together with Priam and Paris Gods too live in world of discord Zeus is in command, but not control, of the universe. (H & P, p. 361)

10 Human and Divine The humans in the legend are often called godlike they are handsome young warriors, and wise old counselors, and beautiful women Cannot escape their mortality or consequences of choices Gods cannot compel people to act a certain way, nor can they prevent disaster

11 Events preceding Iliad Greek forces gather at Aulis prior to sailing to Troy Still skies keep them at Aulis (perhaps because Agamemnon offended Artemis) Iphigenia, Agamemnon s daughter, is sacrificed to placate Artemis and let the ships sail (or is she?)

12 Events prior to Iliad There are nine years of fighting prior to the start of the Iliad and we get some stories of other heroes and events, e.g. Andromache speaks of the taking of her city, Thebe, in which Achilles killed her father and her brothers Death of Protesilaus first man to die at Troy, following the tradition that the winning side would suffer the first death

13 Basic Plot of Iliad (all takes place in a month and a half s time in Year 10 of the war) The theme, stated in the first lines, is the wrath of Achilles at Agamemnon, and its disastrous effects on the Greeks. That storyline is in the fore in Books I, IX, XVI, XIX. Book I Agamemnon insults Achilles by taking his prize Book IX Embassy to Achilles, in which he refuses the offer (doing the same as Agamemnon in Book I shoulda taken the deal Book XVI Achilles allows Patroclus to take his place on the battlefield and Patroclus is killed Book XIX Achilles and Agamemnon make peace, but too late Achilles has lost his most precious thing his friend Patroclus.

14 The Hero Achilles his chief issue is respect and glory, and he will not bend to Agamemnon, once Agamemnon insults him Hector his chief issue is the respect of the citizens of Troy, and his duty as their protector Diomedes Achilles without all the baggage great warrior, but good team player Odysseus unusual hero, more brains than brawn his brains will lead to Greek final victory

15 Achilles two fates Can win great glory but will not survive the war Father, Peleus, at home is aged and without a defender Can give up hope for glory, and live long life in Phthia in obscurity

16 Gods in Iliad Immortal, they cannot die, and they often serve as comic relief to serious action of war Seem fixated on human reality show going on at Troy Sometimes interfere in human affairs (and rather haphazard in this) Not omniscient gods don t see full picture

17 Human Destiny Gods do not force humans to act a certain way, but There are the two jars at throne of Zeus (one with blessings, the other with sorrows) They may interfere in human affairs E.g. Aeneas is fated to found settlement in West, but he comes up against Achilles who would kill him, but Poseidon whisks him away

18 Heroic code High ideals: respect among equals, courtesy, and adherence to rules, but Big egos, which sometimes spell disaster Agamemnon s ego causes him to insult priest of Apollo and Achilles Achilles big ego causes him to watch while Greeks die, because his ego is hurt Hector s big ego keeps him from following some good advice

19 Heroic Combat The battle scenes depict individual combats There s often a boast There is sometimes insults hurled at the foe, even after the foe has been killed There is great joy in all the loot

20 Women in Iliad Women in the Greek camp are war prizes A good woman is valued at so many cattle or bars of gold Women in Troy are afforded some respect, but Hecuba, Hector s mother, will lose all her sons by the end of the war Andromache, Hector s wife, will lose her son and husband as she lost her whole family to war

21 Conclusion of Iliad Book XXIV Priam ransoms Hector s body from Achilles A great funeral is held for Hector Book ends with the dawning of a new day after the funeral celebrations are over, and both sides will resume the fight Achilles is not yet dead, and Troy not yet taken

22 What happens next? Apollo and Paris will kill Achilles Ajax will commit suicide after trying to kill Greek leaders who gave Achilles armor to Odysseus The city will be taken by the trick of the Trojan Horse Trojan men will be killed and the women and children enslaved A few hundred Trojan survivors escape with Aeneas to found new settlement in the West Most of the Greek heroes will have tough homecomings (exception is old man Nestor)