1. The Trojan War
English 12
Mrs. Kinney

2. FYI War actually occurred Troy fell into the hands of the Greeks
12th century B.C.; B.C.
War was probably caused over conflict between commerce and trade between Greece and Asia Minor

3. Effect on Trojans City left in ruins Women became slaves to Greeks
Left to mourn loss of great heroes and family members

4. Effect on Greeks Lost faith in selves Lost many men
Loss feeling of safety

5. Mythological Beginning/Causes of the Trojan War
Wedding of King Peleus ( a mortal) to Thetis (sea-goddess): parents of Achilles
**Prometheus foretold that Thetis’ son would be greater than his father, so Zeus decreed that Thetis should marry a mortal

6. The Wedding
All gods and goddesses invited except Eris, goddess of discord
Eris angry—tosses golden apple inscribed, “For the fairest one”
Hera, Athena and Aphrodite all claim prize
Not willing to judge with his wife as one of the choices, Zeus sends them to Mount Ida where Paris, son of Priam, king of Troy, was tending his flocks
Each goddess offers Paris bribes

7. Bribes
Hera—kingship; power and riches
Athena—glory and renown in war
Aphrodite—love of most beautiful woman

8. Beginning Cont.
Paris chooses Aphrodite’s bribe and wins Helen, wife of Menelaus, King of Sparta
Under the protection of Aphrodite, Paris travels to Greece; he meets Helen, his chosen
Because Helen was sought by many suitors, Odysseus swore an oath to protect her and avenge any wrong to her

9. Continued…
Paris made love to Helen, and aided by Aphrodite, persuaded her to leave with him for Troy
Menelaus, Helen’s husband, king of Sparta, sends out a call to Greeks to help him get her back
Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and brother to Menelaus, chosen as commander

10. Principal Greek Warriors
Achilles
Ajax
Diomede
Odysseus/Ulysses
Nestor

11. Principal Trojan Warriors
Hector, son of Priam
Aeneas
Deiphobus
Glaucus
Sarpedon

12. War was fought, according to myth, because of quarrel among gods and betrayal among mortals
Intervention/Competition of gods (wanted personal glory)
Divine Intervention
Zeus—arranges tremendous loss of Greek lives so that Achilles will be begged to rejoin his men—fueling progression of war

13. Helen uses Aphrodite’s pressure as excuse for engagement
Hermes—helped Agamemnon
Gods meddling with human lives by offering spiritual gifts and people, taking pieces of human souls

14. Personal Biases
Athena—encourages Hector, Trojan hero, to fight Achilles, knowing it will lead to his demise
Hera—favors Greeks; rejected by Paris at wedding

15. Competition/Jealousy
Hera, Athena and Aphrodite compete with bribes to be named fairest

16. Mortals Achilles vs. Agamemnon over war prizes
Achilles and Hector—importance of honor, major part of identity
Pride in homeland (Greece or Troy)
“Face that launched a thousand ships:--Helen of Troy
Single combat between Paris and Menelaus

17. FYI
According to some, the ultimate cause of the war was the judgment of Paris
Achilles—fated to die in battle; only surviving son of King Peleus and Thetis

18. The Iliad by Homer Begins with quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon
Greeks were unsuccessful at first and had taken neighboring and allied cities over
Achilles accuses Agamemnon of being the cause of their misfortune because Agamemnon refused to give the priest of Apollo’s daughter back

19. The Gods/Goddesses Greeks Trojans Athena Hera Poseidon Hermes
Hephaestus
Trojans
Aphrodite
Ares
Zeus (tried to remain neutral but did not)
Apollo
Artemis

20. Action Paris challenges one of the Greeks
Menelaus accepts the challenge and wins
Aphrodite helps Paris escape and carries him away in a cloud/mist
Greeks claim victory

21. Achilles vs. Patroclus
The Greeks’ surgeon is wounded by an arrow from Paris’ bow
Achilles passes by and cannot see who is wounded and sends his dearest friend, Patroclus, to find out
Achilles will not go back to fight and Patroclus wears his armor to “scare” the Trojans back

22. The Greeks succeed in driving the Trojans back
Hector confronts Patroclus who throws a large stone at him and misses
Patroclus is mortally wounded in the scuffle by Hector
Hector, believing he has killed Achilles, takes his armor and puts it on
News travels back to Achilles who swears revenge

23. Achilles Mourns
Achilles mourns for his friend’s death and Thetis hears him
Thetis requests Vulcan/Hephaestus to make him a better suit of armor than he lost

24. Death of Hector
The rest of the Trojans had escaped the oncoming Greeks, yet Hector stood determined to await combat
Priam, the king of Troy and Hector’s father, begs him to retreat
Hector sees Achilles and retreats into the walls of Troy
Athena tricks Hector into thinking she is his bravest brother, Deiphobus

25. Hector is strengthened by the sight of his brother and goes to fight Achilles
He throws his sword and it just falls from the shield of Achilles; realizing he has been tricked by Athena, he rushes forward to meet his fate
Achilles throws his spear, delivering a mortal wound
Hector begs him to give his body to his family so that they may mourn and properly bury it; Achilles refuses

26. Achilles, instead, after killing Hector, pierces Hector’s feet and threads strips of rawhide through them
He then drags his body behind his chariot as he rides around the walls of Troy
Hector’s wife mourns his death
Achilles drags the body of Hector twice around Patroclus’ tomb
Hera orders Thetis to prevail upon Achilles to restore the body of Hector to the Trojans after Apollo preserves it
Priam appeals to Achilles himself to get Hector’s body back and Achilles, moved by Priam’s words, grants the request
Achilles pledged a truce for 12 days for funeral rites

27. The Fall of Troy
The story of The Iliad ends with the death of Hector and The Odyssey picks up from there
Achilles falls for King Priam’s daughter and influences the Greeks to make peace with Troy
While in the temple of Apollo negotiating the marriage between himself and Polyxena, Achilles is struck by a poisoned arrow shot by Paris, which, guided by Apollo, fatally wounds him in the heel (Achilles heel/tendon)

28. The Trojan Horse Eventually, the war comes to an end
A huge wooden horse was constructed by the Greeks (Odysseus’ idea) as an offering to Athena
The Greeks then sailed off while the Trojans were told if they gained possession of the horse, they would triumph over the Greeks
So, they take the horse into their city
Inside the horse, Greeks hid until the Trojans slept and they opened the gates to the city for the other Greeks
The city of Troy was set on fire and people killed by the sword, completely destroying Troy