Transcript Iliad TrojanWarPowerPoint

Homer’s Oral Tradition
The Iliad and the Trojan War
English 112
Homer
Legendary, blind
minstrel (poet, singer)
credited with the Iliad
and the Odyssey
Estimated he lived
450 BC
Other than being
blind, not much is
known about Homer
Homer used oral
tradition to share his
stories
Oral Tradition
The passing of stories,
poems and sayings by
word of mouth
Tales included stories of
love, ambitions, friendship
These are myths, folk
tales, legends and epics
Express values, ideals and
behaviors held important
by the culture
UNIVERSAL THEMES
Oral tradition has universal themes
These themes are insights into life
that are true for many different times
and cultures.
For example:
The importance of heroism
The strength of loyalty
The power of love
The dangers of greed
The Iliad
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The Iliad starts nine years into the Trojan War
The Trojan War took place in Troy which is in the
northwest corner of what we now call the Republic
of Turkey
Many things had to happen to get this big war
under way
The Start of it All…
Three
generations of
misery and
bloodshed
started
because a
wedding
planner failed
to invite an
important
goddess…
Peleus and Thetis’ Wedding
Peleus was a mortal man.
Thetis was a sea nymph and the
daughter of Zeus.
He saw Thetis, fell in love with her,
and tried to kidnap her.
She managed to fight him off with a
snake until he eventually won her
over.
The Big
Affair –
Peleus and
Thetis’
Wedding
With Zeus’ consent, all the famous
mortals, gods, and goddess attended
Eris, the goddess of strife was not invited
Eris was insulted and snuck into the
wedding reception…
To the fairest
A Golden Apple
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Eris tossed a golden apple onto the
dance floor.
On the apple were the words, “To the
fairest.”
The golden apple was a serious party
killer. Who was the most beautiful?
Who is the fairest of them all?
The competition was between:
Athena – Zeus’ daughter and a real
daddy’s girl
Hera – Zeus’ wife and Queen of the
Gods
Aphrodite – The Goddess of Love
They asked Zeus, as the King of the
Gods, to award the prize, but he was
no fool…
The Judgment of Paris
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Zeus gave the task to Paris, son of Priam, the King
of Troy.
Zeus knew that Troy was fated to be destroyed
because of an old run-in with Apollo and
Poseidon.
Paris was the “torch to set the whole city on fire.”
Paris’ Ill-fated Choice
Athena offered him
victory in war
Hera offered him
power over nations
Aphrodite offered
him the most
beautiful woman in
the world
What would you
choose?
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Helen of Troy
Paris accepted
Aphrodite’s offer
He then learned that
the most beautiful girl
in the world was
ALREADY MARRIED
She was Helen,
daughter of Leda and
Zeus
She was married to
Menelaus, king of
Sparta
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Helen is alluded to as “the face that
could launch a thousand ships”.
The Kidnapping of Helen
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Paris already had a
wife named
Oenone who
warned him not to
go through with the
kidnapping
He didn’t listen
He sailed off to
Sparta to be guest
at the palace of
Menelaus
The Kidnapping of Helen
Troy was already
doomed before this
whole incident
Zeus was the
“Protector of
Hospitality”
Kidnapping your host’s
wife isn’t exactly
hospitable
If Troy wasn’t in
trouble before, they
certainly were now!
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In Sparta, Paris either
forcefully carried Helen
away from Troy or he
seduced her and she left
with him on her own
Troy in Trouble
When Menelaus
discovered that his wife
was kidnapped, he ran to
his big brother
Agamemnon who agreed
to get help wage war to get
Helen back
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Clever Odysseus!
Odysseus tried to get out of joining Agamemnon
and Menelaus in their fight for Helen by pretending
to be crazy.
Thetis (whose wedding started all this) tried to get
her son Achilles out of fighting, too.
She dressed him as a woman, but he was
discovered and went to war
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Now the War Can Begin!
The Trojan War lasted 10 years
There were many battles with each
side winning and losing, creating a
stalemate.
The Greeks win the war
The end of the war came with one
final plan.
The Greeks, mainly Odysseus,
devised a new ruse - a giant hollow
wooden horse, an animal that was
sacred to the Trojans.
The Greeks surprise attack the
Trojans
It was filled with
Greek warriors led by
Odysseus.
The rest of the Greek
army appeared to
leave
The Trojans accepted
the horse as a peace
offering
They thought they had
won the war and
celebrated
The end of Troy
While the Trojans were in a
drunken stupor, the Greeks
emerged
They opened the gates for
fellow soldiers
The city was utterly
destroyed--every single
man and boy killed
(including infants), every
woman and girl enslaved,
all its wealth pillaged, and
the city itself reduced to
rubble.