Classics 10: Chapter 20 The Trojan War and AchillesThe Trojan WarBuildup to the Trojan WarPelops and CannibalismPelops and HippodamiaSlide 6The House of PelopsThe House of AtreusSlide 9The House of TyndareüsCastor and Polydeuces (Pollux)The Oath of TyndareüsParis of TroyWedding of Peleus and ThetisSlide 15The Judgment of ParisThe Abduction of HelenThe Assembling of the HeroesSlide 19The Sacrifice of IphigeniaThe Youth of AchillesAchilles’ HeelAchilles as a GirlThe Iliad of HomerSlide 25The Iliad: Plot and CharacterThe Iliad: TranslationsThe Origin of Achilles’ WrathSlide 29Thetis Comforts Her SonThe Iliad: Main ThemeThe Quarrel Between Agamemnon and AchillesSlide 33The First InterludeThe Embassy to AchillesThe Two Fates of AchillesThe Second Interlude: Achilles’ Divided MindThe Death of PatroclusThe Wrath of AchillesSlide 40The Glory of HectorSlide 42The Death of HectorThe Body of HectorThe Wisdom of AchillesThe Burial of HectorClassics 10: Chapter 20The Trojan War and AchillesI. The House of AtreusII. Launching the WarIII. The Iliad of Homer and the Choices of MortalsIV. The Wrath of Achilles“Aristotle Contemplating the Bust of Homer,” Rembrandt, 1653The Trojan War•Greatest heroic event in Greek myth•Many poems told about it in what we call ‘The Epic Cycle’; Homer’s two great epics are the best known and always have been•A Trojan War was fought in about 1200 BCE, though how much history Homer reports is impossible to know (likely not much)•Homer’s poems stories are primarily about human choices and human characters–Epic in context but personal in forceBuildup to the Trojan War•A complicated set of stories establishes a cycle of curses and family problems that culminate in Paris of Troy abducting Helen, the wife of Menelaus, Prince of Sparta•Menelaus and his brother Agamemnon, King of Mycenae, lead an enormous force of Greek heroes to get her back•Troy is ultimately sacked after a very tough 10 year war; Helen brought home to Sparta•How and where did it all begin?Pelops and Cannibalism•Tantalus, King of Lydia, sought to test the gods’ knowledge and fed them a stew made from his son Pelops•Distracted by the loss of Persephone, Demeter ate a few bites•The other gods immediately recognized the stew as human flesh and Tantalus forever punished in the Underworld with hunger and thirst•Zeus puts Pelops back together, and Hephaestus fits in an ivory shoulder (i.e., the part Demeter ate)Pelops and Hippodamia•Pelops later comes to Elis (near Olympia) to win the hand of Hippodamia•She was to be the bride of the suitor who could beat her father in a chariot race•Her father Oenomaüs would give the suitor a head start, then ride up behind him and cut off his head•Pelops had tireless horses given to him by his lover (!) Poseidon, Shaker of the EarthPelops and Hippodamia•Pelops also bribes Myrtilus, the charioteer of Oenomaüs, to alter the king’s chariot•Wax is used on the axles instead of bronze pins; during the race the wheels heat up, melt the wax, the wheels fall off, and Oenomaüs is dragged to his death•Pelops’ bribe was that Myrtilus could have Hippodamia for the first night•But Pelops then throws Myrtilus from a cliff, as he curses the House of Pelops foreverThe House of Pelops•Pelops takes Oenomaüs’ place as King of Elis, names the region after himself: Peloponnesus (“island of Pelops”)•Has many sons, including –Pittheus, the grandfather of Theseus –Chrysippus, who curses Laius for raping his son (and so – perhaps – explains Oedipus’ fall?)•Two most famous sons: Atreus and Thyestes•Sons of Atreus: Agamemnon and Menelaüs•Son of Thyestes: AegisthusThe House of Atreus•The line of kings in Mycenae ends, and an oracle says for them to choose a son of Pelops•After a rivalry, the elder son (Atreus) is chosen•Atreus, however, learns his wife was having an affair with Thyestes•Atreus kills three of Thyestes’ sons and feeds them to him at a banquet, after which Atreus shows him their heads•Thyestes thus curses the House of Atreus (this doubles the curse of Myrsilus on Pelops)–Pelops also part of a cannibalism story!The House of Atreus•In a complex story of revenge, Thyestes’ son Aegisthus avenges his brothers by killing Atreus and seizing the throne in Mycenae•Agamemnon and Menelaüs, the sons of Atreus, flee to Sparta•Tyndareüs, King of Sparta, supports their cause and leads an army that drives Thyestes out and makes Agamemnon the King of Mycenae•Tyndareüs’ daughters Clytemnestra and Helen are married to Agamemnon and Menelaüs–Why did Menelaus get Helen?The House of Tyndareüs•The wife of Tyndareüs was Leda, whom Zeus had raped as a swan•Leda bears four children:–Castor and Clytemnestra, fathered by Tyndareüs–Polydeuces (Pollux) and Helen, fathered by Zeus•Tyndareüs marries his daughter Clytemnestra to Agamemnon as a powerful alliance•But Helen was so beautiful that everyone wanted to marry her: how to choose her husband without making enemies of everyone else?Castor and Polydeuces (Pollux)•Known as the Dioscuri (“sons of Zeus”), even though Castor was the son of Tyndareüs•Inseparable twins who shared adventures–Recovered Helen from Athens after Theseus stole her, made Theseus’ mom Helen’s slave–Joined the Argonauts; saved Rome from destruction•Castor killed during a cattle raid, but Polydeuces saves him by persuading Zeus to grant both of them partial immortality–They spend one day on Olympus, the next in HadesThe Oath of Tyndareüs•The clever Odysseus proposes a solution to Tyndareüs’ Helen problem–His price: the hand of Tyndareüs’ niece Penelope, who turns out to be a perfect match (see Odyssey)•All of the suitors are to swear an oath that if anyone violates Helen’s honor, then they all must help to punish the offender–Those who won’t swear cannot woo her, and since all want her, they all take the oath•Menelaus is Helen’s choice, but when Paris abducts her, all of her suitors are bound to help him get her back and punish ParisParis of Troy•Paris was one of the 50 sons of Priam, King of Troy, greatest city on the Aegean coast (what is now Turkey)•His brother Hector was Troy’s best fighter, but Zeus felt Paris was the most handsome of men•Zeus thus called upon Paris to judge a beauty contest among Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite that developed at the wedding of Peleus and ThetisWedding of Peleus and