Why!%20Oh,%20Why!%20the%20Trojan%20War?

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Why! Oh, Why! the Trojan War?

• First Background on the Playas
• (exposition)?

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Leda and King Tyndareous

• Leda
• wife of Tyndareous
• (King of Sparta)?
• mother of Helen,
• (the most beautiful girl, ever)?
• Castor, and Pollux
• (pretty fierce warriors)

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Odysseus

• King of Ithaca
• Known for his cleverness (not his looks)?
• Married to Penelope (Helens plain cousin)
  after he lost his bid for Helen (actually the
  arranged marriage was part of the settlement with
  Helen's dad)?
• Son of Laertes Anticlea
• Father of Telemachus

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The Problem Odysseus, Tyndareous, Most Men
within a 100-mile radius, and Helen

• Tyndareous needs to find a husband for his wifes
  beautiful daughter, Helen.
• Every man in the land wants to be that man
• No matter who T picks, the rest of the dudes
  are gonna be mad, and they are no shrinking
  violets!
• Odysseus hatches (Get it, Helen was hatched from
  an egg...) a plan to help Tyndareous with his
  crisis

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Odysseus Solution

• All of Helens suitors must sign an oath to
  protect the lucky dog that gets to marry her.
• Of course, each man signs thinking that he will
  be the winner, and therefore protected. Clever,
  huh? (Thats how you can remember who thought it
  up!)?
• This oath will be the reason that Menelaus
  believes he can count on the others when Helen is
  taken from him.

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The Menelaus Solution

• Menelaus, brother of Agamemnon, was chosen and
  Tyndareus made him King of Sparta, thats right,
  two kings with the same title.

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Meanwhile, back on Mt. Olympus Simultaneous
Dual Setting Exposition
Discord

• Eris, the Goddess of ,
• is NOT invited to the wedding of King Peleus and
  Thetis (Go figure, why on earth wouldnt you
  invite discord to your wedding???)?
• SoEris tosses into the
• wedding with the inscription
• For the fairest.

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Zeus' Wisdom Thanks but no thanks on judging
the beauty contest.

• Of course Hera, Aphodite, and Athena all think
  that they are the clear choice for the apple.
• Naturally they go to Zeus to judge he is an
  aficionado of loveliness.
• But Zeus was too smart for thatHe sent them to
  Paris (The shepherd, not the city) to judge their
  beauty.

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The Judgment of ParisSomewhere in a Mt. Ida
Meadow Near Troy

• Paris, a young prince and son of King Priam is
  herding sheep because his dad heard that someday
  he would bring ruin to the country.
• Zeus sends the goddesses to him, as he is
  reportedly a great judge of beauty.
• Another awkward moment He was currently, uh, not
  exactly single he was living with the lovely
  nyph, Oenone. (Imagine the dinner
  conversationhey honey, what did you do today?)?

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The Judgment of Paris, cont.

• Do you think they played fair?
• No way!
• Hera promised to make him Lord of Europe Asia
• Athenavictory in battle against the Greeks
• Aphroditethe most beautiful woman in the world!

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Which Goddess do ya' think he picked?

• That's right...the beauty.
• Score Aphro!!!!
• Now, what does that say about Paris, as opposed
  to the Greeks?

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But Wait, Isn't Helen Already Married?

• Aphrodite led Paris right to Helen and Menelaus'
  home.
• According to Xenia, what did they do? That's
  right young people, they took him in welcomed
  him fed him and provided him shelter.

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So What Happened Next? Many Versions of Story
Exist...

• Paris is a persuasive young man, so Helen goes of
  her own volition (some stories have her leaving a
  nine year old daughter behind)?
• Or Aphrodite intervened and she was unable to
  resist
• Or Paris flat out kidnapped her
• Either way, Paris violated Xenia while Menelaus
  was in Crete his property was taken and his
  trust violated.

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Calling All Suitors...

• Now that Menelaus has been violated, all of those
  suitors of Helen came to his rescue, ready to
  burn Troy to the ground, right?
• Not so fast...two of the major players were M.I.A.

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Odysseus? Wasn't the Oath his Idea?

• Yes, but his son, Telemachus had just been born
  and he didn't want to leave home to fight a war
  over a faithless woman. Plus an oracle had warned
  him...
• So he pretended to be crazy, and depending on the
  versions, either harness an ox and a horse
  instead of two oxen, or plow his fields and plant
  salt instead of seed.
• The messanger, or Menelaus and Agamemnon, was on
  to him, and put Tele in front of the plow
  Odysseus swerved, and being found sane, left for
  war.

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So Who Else Chickens Out?

• Starting from the beginning Thetis, Achilles'
  mom, from the moment he was born, was terrified
  that he would die she had been warned by an
  oracle.
• Version one she tried to burn the mortality out
  of him in the fire each night until she was
  busted by Peleus, his dad, and she ran away to
  the sea...

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Version Two..

• This is the one that Homer doesn't seem to know
  Thetis took Achilles to the River Styx and dipped
  him in the water for its protective properties
  the only part that doesn't get dipped in immortal
  goodness was the ankle of one foot the Achilles
  heel.
• Either way, Thetis knew that if he went to Troy,
  that heel would be the death of him.

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So, Where'd He Go?

• Mom sent him to the court of Lycomedes where he
  dressed like and lived among the young maidens...
• But clever Odysseus wasn't about to let him stay
  behind.
• His plan take a lot of lovely girlly things and
  a few swords to the court, and see what would
  give.

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Achilles

• Of Course Achilles chose to admire the weapons,
  and it took no time for Odysseus to convince him
  that his mommy was being over protective Glory
  could be his in battle!

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Let the Battle Begin!

• Not so fast. The thousand ships were ready, but
  the North wind wouldn't let up.
• An oracle claimed that Artemis was the cause of
  all of this. It seems that she was mad because
  some Greeks had killed a hare and her babies!

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How Can They Make Amends?

• Simple Agamemnon just has to sacrifice his
  daughter, Iphigenia.
• He doesn't WANT to, but the army was depending on
  him.
• So he sends for her and tells her she's getting
  married Suprise?

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So, Now Can the Battle Begin?? Just a Few Quick
Notes First.

• The sacrifice of Iphigenia worked, but it was one
  of the first MAJOR no-no's the Greeks committed
  in their battle lust, and they would pay for it
  later.
• Protesilaus jumped ashore first, knowing that the
  oracles had said that the first man off the ship
  would die. This brave act got him some perkshe
  was treated like a god in burial, and he was
  allowed a trip out of the underworld to see his
  widow.

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Nine Short Years Later...

• We know little of the details of the war, but
  once the guys have been together for nine years,
  the drama gets going.
• When Agamemnon was forced to return his war
  prize, Chryseis to her father to stop a plague,
  he stole Achilles prize, Briseis to replace her.
  ? This was nothing new, Achilles resented the
  authority of Agamemnon and Menelaus, and they
  resented his strength.

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In the Tenth Year, Fighting Continues Within the
Greek Camp

• Achilles, still miffed about Briseus being taken
  from him by his boss, asks his mom, Thetis, to
  get the gods to get revenge for him.
• Zeus sends a deceptive dream to Agamemnon that
  makes him think he will win battles without
  Achilles help.

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But Before the Delusional Agamemnon Could Get
Started...

• Before the battle begins, Hector suggests that
  Menelaus and Paris engage in hand-to-hand combat
  to settle the score and end the war.
• They do fight, but when Paris loses, Aphrodite
  whisks him away to safety.

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And if You Thought Everyone Might Get to Go
Home...

• There is a brief peace until one genius warrior
  accidentally shoots an arrow striking Menelaus,
  then, as we say, it was on, again.

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So...Achilles is Over the Little Feud, Right?

• Achilles is still hurt and refuses to fight.
• So his young cousin and friend, Patroclus asks
  Achilles if he can borrow his armor so the
  Trojans will think hes back.
• He refuses, but Patroclus steals it and is killed
  in battle by Hector who only discovers that he
  has not killed Achilles when he strips off the
  armor of the dead boy.
• He feels really bad. No really, he knows
  Patroclus was just a boy, and worst of all,
  Achilles friend. Uh oh!

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Hate to be Hector!

• When Achilles hears the news he puts on the new
  armor his mamma made him and returns to the
  battle to get revenge.
• He kills Hector, and then drags the body all
  around the city wall, essentially tearing him to
  bits. (Totally disrespectful!)?
• This little move of Até will cost the Greeks,
  much like the Iphigenia thing from before. Stay
  tuned...

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What do ya do with a torn-up body?

• Priam, Hectors dad, appeals to Achilles to
  return Hectors body for funeral pyre. Since he
  had gotten his anger out, he agrees.

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Look out Achilles...

• Nemesis was in fact visited on our pal Achilles,
  we knew it was coming with that Até business...
• Paris shoots Achilles in the anklemortally
  wounding him.
• He gets the hero's funeral rights.
• This is the end of The Iliad, let's make sure we
  got it down...

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Outline of Trojan War
I. Cause of the war A. Apple of discord B.
Judgment of Paris C. Abduction of Helen
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• II. Preparation for war
• A. Role of the Marriage Pact
• B. Odysseus Stratagem
• C. Achilles Hiding Place
• D. Sacrifice of Iphigenia

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• III. Actual War Nine years of siege
• A. Quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon
• B. Single combat of Paris and
• Menelaus
• C. Patroclus death in Achilles armor
• D. Achilles retaliation and Hectors
• death
• E. Achilles death

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• IV. Fall of Troy
• A. Wooden Horse
• B. Capture and death of Trojans
• V. After the War Odysseus Returns to Ithaca (10
  years)?

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Who's Who in the Trojan War

• GGod/Goddess PPrince KKing W Warrior
• Troy Greece
• P.Paris(thief/coward) K.Menelaus
• W. Hector K.Agamemnon
• G.Aphrodite W.Achilles
• G.Ares(war) K.Odysseus
• G.Zeus G. Athena
• K. Priam W. Diomedes
• Cassandra (princess) G.Hera
• G.Apollo W. Ajax
• G.Artemis W. Patroclus