Greek Civ People part 1

Homer

• wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey

• his version was “best version” and therefore became standard

• maybe from Chios, ionic dialect

Milman Parry

• advanced the oral tradition theory that poems were improvised by bards each generation, and that Homer did the same

• studied bards in Bosnia

Heinrich Schliemann

• German archaeologist who excavated Troy

• saw that Troy was destroyed around 1200 B.C.E

Eris (Iliad)

• Goddess of Strife who threw golden apple, beginning Judgement of Paris

• good strife = competition to improve

• bad strife = destructive conflict

Paris (Iliad)

• prince of Troy

• raised by herdsman, had his bull challenge other bulls

• said Ares’ bull was the best so he was chosen for Judgement of Paris

Helen (Iliad)

• daughter of Zeus and Leda

• princess of Sparta and then Troy

• wife to Menelaus and then Paris

Tyndareus (Iliad)

• king of Sparta, husband of Leda

• he and Leda abdicate Sparta’s throne and Helen and Menelaus rule for 10 years

Kalliope (Iliad)

• muse of epic poetry

• one of 9 sister goddesses

• daughter of Zeus and Remembrance (Mnemosyne)

• muse that Homer wants to sing the Iliad

Achilles (Iliad)

• son of Thetis and Peleus

• from Phthia

• greatest Greek fighter at Troy

• enraged by Agamemnon

• must die young

Calchas (Iliad) and plague

2) mantis

• seer, mantis, skill given by Apollo

• promised protection by Achilles if he tells Agamemnon why there is a plague

2) someone who can read signs

Diomedes (Iliad)

• son of Tydeus and princess of Argos

• became king of Argos

• second greates achaean

• respected by the gods, only mortal who could wound a god

• had aristeia (sense of unstoppable) and exchanged bronze armor for Glaucus’ bronze armor

• suggests Agamemnon return home and the rest stay to fight

Hector (Iliad)

• brother of Paris

• husband of Andromache

• father of Astyanax

• brutally killed by Achilles and held for ransom, eventually gets a hero’s burial as war is put on pause

Thersites (Iliad)

• only member of the masses named in the Iliad

• criticizes Agamemnon out loud

Nestor (Iliad)

• king of Pylos (near Peloponnesus)

• elder stateman of the Greeks, wise, did not fight

• rebukes Agamemnon for dishonoring Achilles

Odysseus, Phoenix, Ajax (Iliad)

• three who go to Achilles’ hut

1) king of Ithaca, uses logos (logic), leaves out Achilles being subordinate to Agamemnon part

2) uses pathos, old mentor to Achilles, “father figure”, was welcomed by Peleus upon fleeing to Phthia, says rejecting Agamemnon’s offering would be an offense to Zeus

3) warrior who is like a peer to Achilles, uses ethos, basically says Achilles is being ridiculous

Meleager (Iliad)

• from Aetolia, an Argonaut

• blinded by atē, quits fighting out of rage

• only released rage when his wife asked him to and said if he didn’t bad things would happen to her

• decided to help so late that he did not get the gifts and honor he was told he would receive

• very similar story to Achilles

Patroclus (Iliad)

• son of an Argonaut, was sent to Phthia as a child to protect from revenge killing

• first assistant of Achilles, then great friend

• offers to use Achilles’ armor to scare Trojans away from the ships

• even though Achilles asked for Patroclus to be safe, Hector kills him after attacking Troy’s walls because Zeus uses him as a “sacrifice”

• kills Sarpedon, cousin of Glaucus, saddens Zeus

• marks Achilles redirecting rage toward Hector

The Moirai (Iliad)

• 3 goddesses of fate for humans

• older than Olympians

1) spins thread

2) measures thread

3) cuts thread

Hephaestus (Iliad)

• asked by Thetis to make new armor for Achilles

• used as comic relief, blacksmith, not honorable profession

• makes the Shield of Achilles

Priam (Iliad)

• king of Troy

• goes to Achilles to beg for Hector’s body back, protected by Zeus as he journeys

• he and Achilles bond over knowing they’ll never see their son/father again, united by grief

• they dine together

Hesiod (6 main points)

• second great Iron Age poet

• approached by Muses while shepherding by Mt. Helicon (in Boeotia), given a scepter and could compose poetry (authority given by Apollo)

• has brother named Perses and they have inheritance dispute

• “voice of the middle class”

• wrote in dactylic hexameter

• wrote Theogony about the birth of the gods and Works and Days about living in ancient Greece (wrote in own voice)

Metis

• gave Zeus potion to make Cronos throw up the other Olympians

• ocean goddess and first wife of Zeus

• fated that her son would overthrow Zeus

• Zeus tricked her into becoming a fly and swallowed her

• Zeus absorbed her wisdom and Athena was born from his head

Typhon

• son of Gaia (earth) and Tartarus (abyss), born after fall of Titans

• snake-like monster with 100 heads

• defeated by Zeus with thunderbolt

Perses

• brother of Hesiod

• bribed aristocrats into getting more than his fair share of inheritance

Dikē

• daughter of Zeus

• when someone is unjust Zeus will punish the unjust person or the entire community

Prometheus

• titan of forethought

• took pity on humans having no natural protections, stole fire from Zeus and gave to humans

Pandora

• the first mortal woman, created as a punishment by Zeus

• built by Hephaestus

• other gifts given by Athena, Aphrodite, Hermes, and the Graces

• sent to Epimetheus as a gift

• opens jar and plagues, diseases, and sorrows flew out and hope stayed in

Epimetheus

• titan of afterthought

• forgot brother said not to receive a gift from Zeus, Pandora

Archilochus of Paros

• earliest known lyric poet

• wrote about himself and his feelings

• wrote about anti-heroism

• insulted ex-fiancee and her father (lambus)

Sappho of Lesbos

• born aristocrat, exiled to Sicily

• wrote in intimate way

• only about 650 fragmented lines of maybe 10,000 survive

• called “10th muse” by Plato

• “Ode to Aphrodite” is only complete poem

• in love with Anactoria

Theognis of Megara

• wrote poems giving advice and for symposium

• concerned with plagiarism

• gives advice to Cyrnus on how to be a good elite

• die hard elite

• believed the poor were “bad” and to be nice to them but not to trust with important info

Tyrtaeus of Sparta

• wrote during second Messenian war

• writes about how dying on battlefield brings great honor, walking away with wounds brings disgrace

Solon of Athens

• poetry provides much insight on Athens

• was a Eupatrid but family was no longer rich, so he had credibility with both rich and poor

• chief magistrate and law giver

• abolished aristocracy and debt

John Beazley

• important in study of vases, established chronology

Dipylon Master

• painted several famous vases with geometric paintings

Nessus Painter

• earliest Black Figure painter in Attica

• generation before Solon

• painted Achilles slaying Nessus

Exekias

• most famous Black Figure artist

• often signed name

• elevated vase painting to major form of art

Andokides Painter

• first Athenian to make Red Figure vase

• potentially student of Exekias

The Pioneer Group

• several artists responsible for moving Attica more from Black Figure to Red Figure pottery

Euthymedes and Smikros

• prominent Red Figure artists

• second painted symposium

Gisela Ritcher

• established chronology of statues in Attica

Lycurgus of Sparta

• lawgiver

• more possibly legendary than real

Zaleucus of Italy

• earliest known Greek lawgiver

• one law said anyone who proposes a law must do so at risk of death

Charondas of Sicily

• composed laws in verse and required everyone to memorize them

Philolaus of Corinth

• prominent noble from Thebes who drafted original set of laws

• one law was to keep the number of plots of land the same to stop immigration

Cylon

• married daughter of tyrant of Megara

• tried to start and uprising in Athens by taking the acropolis

• lured out by Athenians and he and his men were killed

Draco

• wrote laws to try and get Athens out of stasis

• known to use death penalty a lot, even though the available law is not “draconian”

• wrote law about homicide: convicted murderer must go into exile

• illegal to kill murderer who stays in exile