1. Greek Mythology

2. The Beginning Empty Darkness= Chaos
Egg opens; two halves become earth and sky
Earth= Gaia
Sky= Uranus
Gaia and Uranus have children
3 Cyclopes
3 Hundred-Handed Giants
12 Titans

3. The Titans Oceanus Tethys Coeus Phoebe Hyperion Theia Iapetus Themis
Mnemosyne
Crius
Rhea
Cronus

4. Uranus Reign and Fall
Uranus bans giants to Gaia’s womb (center of earth)
Called Tartarus
Gaia asks Titans for help
Cronus answers the call
Cronus overthrows Uranus
From his blood comes the Giants and Furies
Aphrodite from sea foam

5. Cronus and Rhea Cronus and Rhea have children Cronus ate his children
Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, & Zeus
Cronus ate his children
Cronus and Zeus wage war
Zeus freed monsters from Tartarus
Zeus wins the war and punishes
enemies greatly
Titans banished to Tartarus
Atlas told to hold up the world

6. Common Greek Gods Zeus- king of the gods, sky, weather, lightning
Hera- marriage, women, childbirth
Athena- wisdom, warfare, battle strategy
Ares- war, violence
Apollo- music, healing, poetry, sun, light, truth
Aphrodite- love, beauty, desire
Hades- king of underworld, the dead
Poseidon- sea, rivers, floods
Demeter- agriculture, grains, harvest
Hestia- hearth, home
Dionysus- wine, parties, madness
Hermes- travel, messengers, trade

7. Creation of Mankind Prometheus and Epimetheus
Epimetheus runs out of gifts
Prometheus steals fire
Suffer for eternity

8. Creation of Woman Zeus creates punishment for mankind Pandora
Wife of Epimetheus
Opens the box
All evil comes forth
Hope emerges later

9. According to Homer and Virgil
Trojan War
According to Homer and Virgil

10. The Set-Up King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy Paris left to die
3 Goddesses appear and demand him to judge
Hera- King of all
Europe and Asia
Athena- Trojan victory over
the Greeks; Greece falls
Aphrodite- The most
beautiful woman in
the world

11. Helen Her beauty was known throughout Greece.
Every Prince and King wanted to marry her.
Awarded to Menelaus

12. To War Menelaus calls upon Greeks Messenger tricks Odysseus
Odysseus and Achilles do not respond
Messenger tricks Odysseus
Odysseus tricks Achilles
A thousand ships arrive at Troy
War rages for 10 years
No clear advantage/victor

13. Key Characters Trojans Greeks King Priam Hector Paris Apollo Ares
Aphrodite
Zeus
Greeks
Achilles
Odysseus
Menelaus
Agamemnon
Nestor
Ajax and Diomedes
Patroclus
Athena
Hera
Poseidon

14. End of The Illiad Patroclus takes up Achilles armor
Slain by Hector
Achilles vows revenge
Hector remains outside the city to fight
Achilles slays Hector
Drags his body around the city walls
King Priam has to retrieve Hector’s body

15. Odysseus’ Plan Steal the Palladium, Get Bow of Heracles
Conceives of plan for the wooden horse
Ships hide in nearby waters
“Sacrifice” will tell the story
Horse will be brought into the city
Laocoon
Cassandra, King Priam’s Daughter
All Trojans are killed except for:
Women taken as slaves
Helen taken back to Greece with Menelaus

16. The Trojan Horse

17. Reality of war? Could a city hold off invaders for 10 YEARS??
Are gods taking human form and fighting??
Was there really a:
Achilles?
Odysseus?
Paris?
Helen?

18. Did the Trojan War Actually Happen?NO
Myth
Gods/Goddesses
Supernatural Aid
YES
City of Troy fell
Natural occurrences?
War?
Greeks believed “truth” (probably)

19. Themes in The Iliad
Fate
Glory (Kleos)
Battle Won Glory
Wrath/Revenge

20. Terms/Key Ideas 
Epic Cycle- refers to the texts relating to the Trojan War (sometimes includes The Odyssey) 
Oral Tradition 
In Medias Res- “in the middle” 
Invocation of the Muses
Epic/Homeric Simile- a simile that is made in great length and detail 
“Like a lion who has been wounded in the chest As he ravages a farmstead, and his own valor Destroys him.” 
Epithet- adjective or descriptive phrase that explains a quality of a characteristic in a person or thing 
Usually repeated
“the wine-dark sea” 
“Dawn with her fingertips of rose”