Transcript A Little Fruit…

Mythology Introduction
Mythology
 Let’s
put our etymology skills to use:
 Myth
a
story, believed by many, that was told in
an ancient culture to explain a belief but is
not true
 -ology
 the
study of (in this case—myths)
Lesson Goals
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Identify key mythological figures, their
“responsibilities” and their relationships to each
other.
Identify three common themes in mythology and
explain them.
State why reading literature / historical
documents of another culture or time period can
be valuable.
Make an inference about how the ancient
Greeks viewed women.
A Little Fruit…
Can cause BIG problems…
The Wedding of Peleus and Thetis
 According
to legend, all the
gods and goddesses were
invited except one!
 Eris, The goddess of discord
 Why not invite the goddess of
discord?
The Wedding…
Because she’ll cause trouble!
 Angry at not being invited Eris tosses “the
apple of discord” among the celebrating
goddesses.

“For the Fairest”
Women!
Of course all of the goddesses wished to
claim the golden apple.
 Naturally, they all believed they were the
“fairest” or “most beautiful”.
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The Three Goddesses
Three goddesses in particular laid claim to
the golden apple.
 Each felt they were fairest of them all.
 As the bickering over the apple began, I’m
sure Peleus and Thetis regretted their
decision to not invite Eris, the goddess of
discord, to their wedding.
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Hera, the protector of Marriage
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Zeus’ wife (and
sister)—EWWW!
Often a rival of Zeus
Hera was originally not
interested in Zeus, but
he disguised himself as
a wounded cuckoo
bird. Loving animals,
Hera held the bird to
her breast to protect it.
Hera, the protector of Marriage
•Zeus then returned to his
normal form, took her by
surprise, and raped her.
•Hera married him to
cover her shame.
•She once rallied the other
gods against Zeus and
revolted.
•Zeus escaped and hung
Hera from the sky in gold
chains as punishment.
Hera, the protector of Marriage
•She had to vow to never
rebel again before she was
released.
•She often assists others in
circumventing Zeus, but
rarely gets caught.
•She is extremely jealous
of Zeus’ many “infidelities”.
Athena, the goddess of Wisdom
Daughter of Zeus
 Sprang full grown,
in armor, from
Zeus’ head
 Zeus’ favorite
child
 Fierce and brave
in battle

Aphrodite, the goddess of love

Can make anyone
desire her

Also the goddess of
desire and beauty

Married to
Hephaestus
(ugliest of all the
gods)
Settling the Dispute
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The three goddesses turned to the one
man who could settle the dispute…
Settling the Dispute
•Most powerful (King) of the gods
•Married to Hera, father to Athena
•The thunderbolt is his weapon of choice
•Not exactly the most faithful husband—in
fact—he likes the ladies…a
lot…really…he “gets around”. He’s pretty
much everyone’s father, step-father, or at
least visited their mother.
Zeus, King of the gods
•Completely not interested in settling this
dispute.
Settling the Dispute
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Zeus elects not to
decide who is the
“fairest”, but
appoints Paris of
Troy to be the judge
of the contest.
It was foretold that
Paris would bring
about the
destruction of Troy.
Paris, as a baby,
was left to die on Mt.
Ida, but was rescued
by a shephard.
Settling the Dispute
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Paris survived and
ultimately learned
his true lineage and
returned home.
He was welcomed
and everyone
apparently thought
the “prophecy” was
no longer a danger.
They were wrong.
In mythology,
oracles (prophecies)
always come true.
Settling the Dispute
Zeus could have been being funny. He
chose someone who would be a good
judge of animals to judge the beauty
contest.
 There was also myth that Paris was the
most honest person in the world.
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Women Don’t Play Fair
Hera
Athena
Aphrodite
Offered to
make Paris
the King of
all Europe
and Asia
Promised to
lead Troy to
victory in
war over the
Greeks
Promised
him the love
of the most
beautiful
woman in
the world
He chose the woman…
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Paris chooses Aphrodite, awards her the
golden apple and awaits his prize…
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Helen, often referred to has Helen
of Troy, is in fact the most
beautiful half-mortal woman in
the world.
Being half-mortal, that means she is
half-god…Can you guess who her
daddy is?
Helen
“In the matter of 24 year-old
Helen, Zeus…..
You ARE the Father!”
“She doesn’t
have my
eyes! All my
kids have my
eyes! She
isn’t mine!”
Paris wants to claim his
prize, but there is just one,
small, teeny, tiny
problem…
HELEN GOT
HITCHED!!!!
The Marriage of Helen and
Menelaus
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Helen (center) with her
husband, Menelaus of
Sparta (right)
Helen had many, many
suitors (men who wished
to marry her)
Achilles, Odysseus,
Agamemnon (Menelaus’
brother) among many
other powerful men of
the time sought Helen’s
hand in marriage.
The Marriage of Helen and
Menelaus
•Tyndareus, Helen’s father made
the suitors swear an oath to
protect the marriage, regardless
of who was chosen to be her
husband, if they wished to suit
her.
•This was done for Helen’s
protection as she was so beautiful
and wanted.
Helen (center) with her
husband, Menelaus of
Sparta (right)
The Marriage of Helen and
Menelaus
•Eventually she “chose”
Menelaus who, upon
Tyndareus’ death, became
King of Sparta.
•Paris traveled to Sparta to
“visit” Helen and Menelaus.
Helen (center) with her
husband, Menelaus of
Sparta (right)
•Helen and Menelaus had no
knowledge of the actions of
the gods, and so welcomed
Paris as a guest.
Not the Brightest Crayon in the
Box…
Menelaus chose the time of Paris’ visit to
travel to Mycenae for family business.
 He left Helen to entertain their guest.
 Aphrodite used her power to start the
sparks of love.
 When Menelaus returned, Helen was
gone, as was Paris…
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The Face That Launched a
Thousand Ships
Menelaus called on Helen’s former suitors
to now honor their vow to protect the
marriage…
 It took time to convince them all, as they
each had their reasons to not go to war,
but in the end, they honored their vow…
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Achilles
Son of
Peleus and
Thetis
(remember
them?)
 Great warrior
 Invulnerable
except in one
place…
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The Achilles Heel…
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When he was born,
Thetis took him to the
river Styx in the
Underworld and dipped
him in it making him
invulnerable.
She had to hold him by
the heel, leaving that the
only unprotected part of
his body.
You Da (WO)MAN, Achilles!
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Achilles did NOT want
to go to war over
Helen’s abduction.
When Menelaus
called upon the
suitors, Achilles tried
to hide…
You Da (WO)MAN, Achilles!
Achilles disguised
himself as a
woman.
 When a battle
trumpet sounded,
though, Achilles
grasped his sword
and revealed his
identity.
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Odysseus
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Odysseus, who
helped Tyndareus
solve the problem of
Helen’s marriage had
recently become
married to Penelope.
Odysseus
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Odysseus also had a
newborn son,
Telemachus.
Not wanting to go to
war, Odysseus
pretended to be
insane.
When Menelaus
threatened to cut his
son in half, though,
Odysseus admitted his
charade.
Other Important Characters
The Other Gods and Godesses
Ares- The God of War!
He also happens
to be a bit of a coward…
Hephaestus- The ugliest of all the
gods. Hera was so repulsed by him when
he was born that she threw him off of Mt.
Olympus in an attempt to kill him. He is
deformed, a skilled craftsman and,
ironically, married to Aphrodite.
Apollo- god of oracles and prophecy.
Also of music.
Artemis- twin sister of Apollo.
of the moon and of the hunt.
Goddess
The Other Gods and Godesses
Aeolus- god of wind
Hermes- messenger of the gods
Poseidon- Lord of the sea;
earthshaker. Known for
carrying his Trident.
The Other Gods and Godesses
Sailing for Troy
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Because Agamemnon
angered the goddess
Diana, the Greeks were
unable to sail for Troy
because of poor winds.
He learned he would
have to sacrifice his
daughter, Iphigenia, in
order for the Greek army
to sail.
Sailing for Troy
Agamemnon sent
word to have
Iphigenia sent to him
(he promised she
would be married to
Achilles).
 Achilles was unhappy
when he learned of
the deception, but
Iphigenia was
sacrificed, and the
Greeks set sail.
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Ten years of War
The war was a stalemate for ten years.
 A dispute between Achilles and
Agamemnon over—you guessed it—a
woman changed the fortunes of the war.
 Achilles “female captive”, Briseus, was
taken from him by Agamemnon.
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Ten Years of War
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After Briseus was
taken, Achilles
refused to fight.
His “friend” Patroclus
was unable to
convince him to return
to the fight.
Ten Years of War
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Patroclus did manage to
convince Achilles to lend
him his armor, and
Patroclus returned to the
fight wearing Achilles’
armor.
Patroclus was killed,
though, by Hector and
this enraged Achilles.
Achilles, then returned to
the fight to confront
Hector.
A fatal mistake
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Achilles, still angry, did
not let the conflict end at
Hector’s death.
He tied the dead body to
his chariot and drug it
through the battlefield
He also would not allow
the body a proper burial.
Achilles Defiles the Body of Hector
A Grieving Father
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Priam couldn’t stand
seeing his son’s body
treated this way.
He snuck into the
Greek camp and
begged Achilles to let
him take Hector’s
body and properly
bury it.
The Death of Achilles
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Achilles finally agreed,
but his behavior had
angered the gods, and
so, he met his fate…
Paris (of all people) tried
to shoot Achilles in the
back, but missed (some
say with the help of the
gods) and hit his…HEEL!
The Final Plan…
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The first step in any plan to win a war--according to Odysseus…
BUILD A GIANT WOODEN HORSE!
Beware of Greeks…
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The Greeks built the
horse, Odysseus and
the others hid inside.
The rest of the Greek
army set sail for
home, looking as
though they had given
up.
The Trojans
thought the horse
was a gift and
brought it inside
the city.
 The Greeks waited
until the Trojans
were well into their
“celebration” of
victory.
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The Greeks came
out of the horse
when most of the
city was asleep
(passed out) and
proceeded to burn
the place to the
ground killing
every man, woman
and child…
The Survivor(s)
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Aeneas (left) escaped
Troy carrying his father
on his back. His father
died during the escape.
Some accounts say
Aeneas was thesole
survivor, others say he
led a small band of
Trojans to safety. Virgil’s
The Aeneid covers these
stories which end with the
founding of Rome.
After the War
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Agamemnon returned
home, but his wife was
still a little----unhappy
with him.
She and her new lover
killed Agamemnon, but
were later killed
themselves by Orestes,
Agamemnon’s son
Helen and Menelaus
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Helen was recovered from Troy and she
proved her loyalty to Menelaus. They
returned to Sparta and lived “happily ever
after”.
Odysseus
Odysseus, however, would take another
10 years to return home.
 His journey home is documented in
Homer’s The Odyssey.
 See, we are reading The Odyssey next
and that’s what this whole day was meant
to set up.
 Make sure your handouts are complete.
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