The Trojan War By Alyssa DiBella and Lauren Ritcey
The two sides: Greek and Trojan Greek side: Gods and Goddess: Athena (Minerva) - goddess of wisdom, war, patriotism and good citizenship Hera (Juno) - goddess of women, marriage and childbirth Poseidon (Neptune) - god of the sea, earthquakes, and horses Hermes (Mercury) - messenger of the gods, god of travelers, commerce, thieves etc. Humans: Achilles - greatest Greek warrior, dipped in River Styx (only vulnerable on heel), killed Hector, killed by Paris' guided by Apollo Agamemnon - leader of Greek forces Ajax - Greek hero Menelaus - married to Helen Odysseus - king of Ithaca, faked insanity to try to get out of war, created wooden horse scheme
The two sides: Greek and Trojan Trojan side: God and Goddess: Aphrodite (Venus) - goddess of love and beauty Ares (Mars) - god of war Apollo (Apollo) - god of light, truth, healing, archery, music, poetry Eris (Discordia) - goddess of discord Zeus (Jupiter) - king of the gods Humans: Aeneas - great warrior, survived war and went and founded Rome Cassandra -prophetess who predicted downfall of Troy (no one believed her), daughter of Priam Hector - greatest Trojan warrior, protected by Apollo, rivalry with Achilles by whom he is killed Hecuba - queen of Troy Paris - won/abducted Helen, kills Achilles Priam - king of Troy
Family Trees Family of Helen House of Troy http://www.pantheon.org/areas/genealogy/house_of_troy.gif http://www.pantheon.org/areas/genealogy/helen_of_troy.gif Ancestors of Achilles http://www.pantheon.org/areas/genealogy/achilles.gif
Summary of the War Ten year war, fought between armies of Greece and Troy The Iliad describes only events in the final year of the war (only 54 days) Started when Helen, the young wife of Sparta s King Menelaus ran off with the Prince of Troy, Paris Agamemnon, brother of Menelaus, is leader of Greek forces Achilles is the greatest Greek warrior Hector leads the Trojan forces. He is the son of Troy s king, Priam, and is the brother of Paris. Hector is the greatest Trojan warrior Achilles kills Hector Paris shot an arrow guided by Apollo, it hit Achilles on his only weak spot ( Achilles heel ) Greece defeated Troy with the scheme of The Trojan Horse Poseidon helped build the Walls of Troy (a punishment by Zeus) He supports the Greek side It was said that Poseidon was supposed to get a reward but did not He was angry so he sent a sea monster to attack Troy
Summary of the War cont. The "face that launched a thousand ships" When Paris took Helen, the Greeks had to get her back so they literally sent one thousand ships to Troy to get her back, hence the saying The "rape" of Helen of Troy Abduction = rape Did she go willingly? some say she went willingly, seduced by Paris's charm others say she was abducted (raped) after Paris was killed, Helen went back to Menelaus
Judgment of Paris Eris the goddess of Discord held the golden apple contest to find the "fairest" The finalists are Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite They each bribe Paris in the hopes that he will choose them as the winner Aphrodite promises Paris the fairest woman in all the land (who happens to be Helen) Paris chooses Aphrodite and in return gets Helen But Helen was married to Menelaus Paris (Trojan) steals Helen away from Menelaus (Greek) Hence, the Trojan war began http://tarotinsights.net/images/images Readings/lovem.jpg http://www.oriiginebooks.com/images/oriiginebooks%20-%20images/golden-apple_m. png
The Trojan Horse Scheme to get Greeks inside Trojan wall Built a huge wooden horse with warriors like Odysseus inside Priam's daughter Cassandra had a curse on her that no one would believe her prophesies and she said not to accept the horse, but they ignored her Greeks thought it was a sign of Trojan surrender When the Trojan warriors fell asleep, Odysseus and the other warriors came out and opened the gates to the city They stormed/burned the city and took Helen back That is how the war ended http://www.warchat.org/pictures/the_trojan_war_horse_statue.jpg
Influence of Myth Inspired storytellers, playwrights, writers, and composers later on The Iliad and the Odyssey center around the war Various other Greek playwrights also used war as subject Euripides s wrote Hecuba (named for King Priam s wife) about the war's victims and The Trojan Women. The Roman poet Virgil invented another Trojan prince, Aeneas, and wrote the Aeneid In the nineteenth century, Hector Berlioz composed an opera, Les Troyens. Irish writer James Joyce based novel Ulysses (the Roman name for Odysseus) on the story of Odysseus
What the Myth says about Greek Culture Historians and archaeologists have yet to find definitive proof of an actual war. Troy existed at a strategic point overlooking Black Sea, but its walls were breached and it was ruined several times. There may have been several small battles fought against the Greeks, or there actually may have been one large war. If there was a major Trojan War, it was most likely fought over trade, not Helen.
Works Cited Bulfinch, Thomas. Bulfinch s Mythology. N.p.: Modern Library, 1998. Print. Davis, Kenneth C. Don t Know Much about Mythology: Everything You Need to Know about the Greatest Stories in Human History but Never Learned. N.p.: Harper, 2005. Print. Hamilton, Edith. The Trojan War. Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes. N.p.: Grand Central, 1999. 185-210. Print. Rita. The Trojan War. Mortal Women of the Trojan War. Stanford, n.d. Web. 3 Nov. 2011. <http://www.stanford. edu/ ~plomio/ history.html>. Sherman, Josepha. Trojan War. Gale Virtual Reference Library. N.p., 2008. Web. 3 Nov. 2011. Trojan War. History Link 102. N.p., 2010. Web. 3 Nov. 2011. <http://historylink102.com/ greece2/ trojan_war. htm>.