Ancient World in Film Exam 1 Last Days of Pompeii released in 1908 Silent Film Only 14 minutes long begins a long line of films based in antiquity Quo Vadis released in 1912 Silent Film First full length feature movie 2 hours based in antiquity Again remade in the 1950 s Cabiria released in 1914 Silent Film Huge success plot involved a battle between Rome and Carthage and a young girl being abducted who was saved by a Roman spy Sets stage for scale camerawork etc Cecile B De Mille Big time producer Produced The Ten Commandments in 1923 King of Kings in 1927 The Sign of the Cross in 1932 Samson and Delilah in 1949 Quo Vadis 1951 The Robe 1953 both begin the Golden Age of film of post WWII in the 1950 s The Robe was made in cinemascope The Ten Commandments 1923 Cecile B DeMille Again produced it in the 1950 s Spartacus 50 s Golden Age Ben Hur 50 s Golden Age produced by William Wyler Jesus of Nazareth 1970 s 1980 s made for TV mini series I Claudius mini series on BBC in 70 s 80 s Hercules The Legendary Journeys begins 1990 s resurgence of ancient world in film TV series Xena Warrior Princess 1990 s TV show The Odyssey 1996 on NBC Gladiator 2000 Shares a lot of conventions with earlier historical epics Based on Fall of the Roman Empire 1964 Big lavish computer generated scenery Troy 2004 Based on Trojan War Alexander 2004 Based on the life and conquests of Alexander the Great 300 2007 Based on ancient Sparta s battle with the Persian empire Perseus mythical founder of Mycenae very ancient primitive hero Legend filled with magical elements more than normal The myth falls into 4 parts 1 Birth Youth grandfather is Acrisius king of Argos There is an oracle that Acrisius is to die at hands of his grandson so he locks up his daughter Danae to prevent her from having a son Zeus impregnates Danae in a shower of golden rain she gives birth to Perseus Acrisius sets Perseus and his mother Danae adrift in the sea They wash ashore at Seriphos 2 Perseus and Medusa Polydectes King of Seriphos is enamored with Danae He holds a contest to eliminate Perseus from the picture and Perseus is sent on a quest to retrieve the head of Medusa to free his mother He obtains a magical cap winged sandals kibisis wallet bag and sickle He confronts Medusa and with the help of Athena beheads her Pegasus was born from the decapitated Medusa 3 Perseus and Andromeda On his return home Perseus stops in Ethiopia kingdom of Cepheus The city is plagued by a monster because of the insult of beauty by Queen Cassiepeia Perseus will kill the monster for her daughter Andromeda s hand in marriage Her former fianc Phineus is angry and Perseus stones him 4 Perseus returns home to Seriphos stones Polydectes and returns to Argos with Danae and Andromeda He accidentally kills his grandfather Later takes the throne of Tiryns and Mycenae lives happily ever after with many sons In the movie Clash of the Titans 1981 there is an all star cast and throwback to ancient film of the 50 s and 60 s Stop model animation dynamation of producer Harryhausen The plot begins with a wooden chest being set adrift with Perseus and Danae The scene shifts to Olympus where you meet the gods and Zeus decides to punish Acrisius by destroying Argos with the kraken Perseus grows up on Seriphos with his mother Zeus is angry with Calibos for killing all but one of his winged horses and transforms him into a hideous monster regardless of Calibos mother s pleas Thetis Thetis is angry and she transports Perseus to Joppa There Ammon acts as his mentor and guide Perseus comes across suitors of Andromeda trying to answer an impossible riddle then they are killed after failing Perseus follows a vulture that carries a ghost form of Andromeda to Calibos each night When she is insulted by Cassiepeia Thetis comes to life as a statue and swears revenge on the city to destroy it in 30 days if Andromeda isn t left as prey to the kraken Perseus plans to save Joppa by getting Medusa s head to kill the kraken and is aided by a mechanical owl named Bubo from Athena He cuts off her head battles with scorpions that come out of her blood kills the kraken marries Andromeda and becomes a constellation Major changes from the myth movie combines the Medusa and Andromeda stories Thetis is given a major role Calibos doesn t exist in the myth Kraken doesn t exist in the myth but is based on a monster ketos Bubo added as comic relief Romance not as important in the myth Heinrich Schliemann A German businessman who went to Turkey and bought a plot of land that was said to be the spot of ancient Troy After digging found nearly a dozen ancient cities The 6th and 7th cities correspond to the time of the Trojan War Homer 700 BC author of the Iliad and the Odyssey epic poems related to the Trojan War Myth of the Trojan War Begins with Zeus and Thetis there s a prophecy that Thetis son will be more powerful than his father so Zeus marries her off to Peleus The goddess Aris Discord was not invited and threw a golden apple to the fairest which Aphrodite Athena and Hera were all after Zeus tells Paris to decide who should get it He goes with Aphrodite as she promised him the most beautiful woman in the world Helen Helen was married to Menelaus who s brother is King Agamemnon of Mycenae When she was taken the oath of Tyndareus was upheld where all other kings took the side of Menelaus to get Helen back This began the expedition against Troy with Achilles Odysseus who convinces Achilles to go Ajax Nestor Menelaus and Agamemnon all against the Trojans who had Hector Aeneas and Priam After many battles the Greeks constructed the Trojan Horse which was thought to be a gift and the Trojans brought it within their city walls The Greeks emerged from the belly at night and took Troy The Iliad plot summary was orally composed and is narrated from a few weeks from the 9th year of war Nine years after the start of the Trojan War the Greek Achaean army sacks Chryse a town allied with Troy During the battle the Achaeans capture a pair of beautiful maidens Chryseis and Briseis Agamemnon the leader of the Achaean forces takes Chryseis as his prize and Achilles claims Briseis Chryseis s father Chryses who serves as a priest of the god Apollo offers an enormous ransom in return for his daughter but Agamemnon refuses to give Chryseis back Chryses then prays to Apollo who sends a plague upon the Achaean camp After many Greeks die Agamemnon consults the prophet Calchas to determine the cause of the plague When he