Classics Quiz 4

Rites of Passage

Liminality a time of reflection, which does not lead to acceptance all the time, but critique

The Trojan Horse

Priam begging Achilles for the body of Hector

Death of Hector

The Homeric Question

When the Homeric poems were composed –

Whether they were composed by a single poet or were instead originally shorter, independent poems that circulated and were transmitted orally for a long period before being unified into the long poems we have –

If this poet existed: who he was, when he lived, and what he was called •

BUT we will still speak of ‘Homer’ as the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey because this is what the Greeks believed, and this is his ‘traditional’ name

in media res

the technique of starting a story in the middle of the plot, rather than at the beginning

iliad: Tenth year: quarrel between Agamemnon and Achilles • Deaths of Patroclus and of Hector

The Iliad: key points and events

Book 1: quarrel of Agamemnon and Achilles; the gods on Olympus • Book 9: embassy to Achilles and Achilles' reply • Book 16: death of Patroclus by Hector • Book 22: death of Hector by Achilles • Book 24: Achilles and Priam; funeral of Hector

Aristeia

moment of excellence

Successful use of force against the enemy—excellence does not need to be (nor often is) moral excellence

timē

honor

the most important value for a Homeric hero. The honor and status others give to the hero

kleos

glory/reputation

the means through which the timē of a hero becomes visible to the others. Associated with the hero’s death.

geras

prize

aidos

shame

the hero must avoid it at any cost

agamemnon and menelaus

Menelaus—husband of Helen Paris: violated rules of hospitality; diminished Menelaus’ time and kleos

Agamemnon—arrogant—self centered

Achilles

He is characterized by excessive qualities → extreme love, extreme hate, shorttemper (Book 1) •

He forgets his human limits and duties → he rages against a river god and dishonors the dead (Hector: Books 22 and 24) •

Final meeting with Priam (Book 24) → ‘ human’ side of Achilles

He learns how to become a hero over the epic

Achilles dilemma

fight and die (a hero) or go home and live a life (not a hero)

Chryseis

Chryseis and Briseis are women captured as war prizes by the Achaeans (Greeks) during the Trojan War. Chryseis is the daughter of Chryses, a priest of Apollo, and Briseis is the daughter of Briseus. Both are taken as concubines, Chryseis by Agamemnon, the leader of the Achaeans, and Briseis by Achilles, a great Greek warrior. 

Patroclus

His companion Patroclus, dressed in Achilles’ armor, is killed by Hector

Achilles returns to battle to avenge Patroclus

Aeneas, Anchises, and Ascanius

it depicts Aeneas carrying his elderly father Anchises and his son Ascanius as they flee the burning city of Troy.

Paris

Instigator of the Trojan War: violation of xenia

Judgement of Paris: honor goes to Aphrodite • Bribe: Helen •

Guest of Menelaus at Sparta • Abducts Helen and takes her back to Troy

Hector

Knows he is the best hope to save Troy, knows that he will likely die.

Battle with Achilles—loses courage and flees with Achilles chasing

Athena convinces Hector to stop running (Athena is pro-Greek)

Achilles kills Hector— the demise of Troy’s best warrior foreshadows the demise of Troy

Aeneas

Son of Anchises and Aphrodite/Venus

Father of Ascanius/Julius Ancestor of Julian clan G. Julius Caesar

Priam

In Greek mythology, Priam was the legendary and last king of Troy during the Trojan War

Shame Culture

One seeks to avoid shame (aidōs) for himself •

Highest good is the enjoyment of public esteem → honor (timē)

Result culture

One seeks success through glory (kleos) and prize (geras) → the individual is everything

Competitive values

Guilt Culture

One seeks to avoid sense of guilt Highest good is the enjoyment of a quiet conscience → moral standards

Intention culture

Notion of the ' greater good' → community is more important than individual

Cooperative values

The Aeneid

Aeneas, from Troy to Italy

Foreshadowing great role of Julian clan Dido (Carthage)

Foreshadowing rivalry between Rome and Carthage 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Punic wars in third century BCE

Books I-6: Odyssean

-Aeneas is a quest hero (Odysseus). Odyssey—wrath of Poseidon keeps Odysseus from his goal Aeneid—Wrath of Hera keeps Aeneas from his goal

-mission: to found a new city, a new Troy

-Encounters helpers and villains along the way

-Book 1: 7 years after the fall of Troy, Aeneas arrives at Carthage

-Books 2 and 3—tells the stories of his journey at a banquet (in medias res)

-Book 4: Aeneas lingers at Carthage—Dido–departs Carthage

-Book 6: Journey into Underworld

Books 7-12: Iliadic

Aeneas & Trojans at war with the Italians (Achilles & Trojan War) Turnus

Anchises

He is a Trojan prince and, in the Aeneid, a wise and devoted father who guides Aeneas's journey and helps him understand his destiny. He is also remembered for his love affair with the goddess Aphrodite

Turnus

the King of the Rutuli and the chief antagonist of Aeneas, the Trojan hero.

He is a skilled warrior and leader, known for his fiery temper and opposition to Aeneas's settlement in Latium.

Turnus is driven by a desire for revenge and honor, leading his people to war against the Trojans. 

Dido

a clever and enterprising woman who flees her ruthless and autocratic brother, Pygmalion, after discovering that he was responsible for her husband's death.

A wise leader, she founds Carthage and makes it prosper.

Pallas

Pallas is the young son of Evander, a Trojan ally.

Pallas, along with his Arcadian allies, fights alongside Aeneas against the Rutulians.

Tragically, Pallas is killed by Turnus, the leader of the Rutulians, and his death deeply wounds Aeneas, fueling his rage and ultimately leading to Turnus's death. 

Hera

Hera, known as Juno in Roman mythology, is a key divine antagonist.

She opposes Aeneas and the Trojans throughout the epic, fueled by her anger at Paris's judgment in the beauty contest and her patronage of Carthage, which is destined to be destroyed by Aeneas's descendants.

Juno's intervention often takes the form of stirring up storms, inciting conflict, and hindering Aeneas's journey to found Rome. 

Theseus and his six labors and the killing of the minotaur

Jason obtains the Golden Fleece

Rage of Hera

Sends snakes to kill baby Heracles

Nemean Lion—kills Impenetrable skin, becomes his ‘armor’

Herakles with the lion armor

Herakles fighting the Hydra

Cerberus **--capture enter the Underworld

Nessus, a centaur, was tasked with carrying Deianira across the river Evenus.

During the crossing, Nessus attempted to assault Deianira, but Heracles, Deianira's husband, intervened and shot Nessus with a poisoned arrow.

As Nessus lay dying, he tricked Deianira into believing that his blood was a love potion that would ensure Heracles' fidelity.

This act of revenge by Nessus led to Heracles' eventual death after Deianira unknowingly used the poisoned blood on a garment for him. 

Pasiphaë and Daedalus

Pasiphae and the Bull

Poseidons’ bull not sacrificed He causes Pasiphaë to fall in love with the bull

Bull + Pasiphaë = Minotaur

Theseus and the Minotaur

Theseus

Theseus abandons Ariadne on Naxos

The painting captures the moment of abandonment, with Ariadne reclining and figures, possibly including Theseus, departing. 

The Amazons

Characteristics of a Hero

Primary task is a journey; pursuit of a precious person or object – (i.e.: Golden Fleece)

Encounters others who either obstruct or aid his quest; undergoes trials

Story revolving around the hero is primarily devoted to describing a journey to achieve a goal or obtain an object/person

Villains

uncivilized or frightening behavior that threaten society

not human (giants, dragons, monsters) or hybrids (i.e. Medusa)

Found in wild spaces (not city) mountains, caves, sea (foreigners)

Exhibit wild behavior; act outside of social norms (female)

Helpers

Represent cultural ideals –

The female helper (princess, queen) – ideal feminine traits—help hero –

Often the hero abandons the female helper

Often the female helper turns out to be just as dangerous as the villain – fear of the uncontrolled female (e.g.: Medea)

Ambivalence—an aid but also a threat – Threat of delay – Threat of harm

Heracles

Son of Zeus and Alcmene

Rage of Hera Sends snakes to kill baby Heracles “Master of the Animals”

Causes him to go mad, kill wife/sons

*12 Labors to cleanse self of miasma

Nemean Lion

Nemean Lion—kills Impenetrable skin, becomes his ‘armor

Lernaean Hydra

The Lernaean Hydra—female monster (daughter of Typhoeus)

unruly female reproduction, resistance to Zeus’ (male) rule and marriage

Athena’s strategy: cauterize the necks so no more heads grow

Iolaüs: helper

Cerberus

Hercules (or Heracles) is known for his twelfth labor, where he descended into the Underworld to retrieve Cerberus, the three-headed dog guarding the gates of the realm of the dead

Eurystheus

He is best known for ordering Hercules to perform the Twelve Labors as a way to atone for Hercules' accidental murder of his family.

Augean Stables

For the fifth labor, Eurystheus ordered Hercules to clean up King Augeas' stables. Hercules knew this job would mean getting dirty and smelly, but sometimes even a hero has to do these things. Then Eurystheus made Hercules' task even harder: he had to clean up after the cattle of Augeas in a single day.

Nessos

Nessos—abducts Deianira – Heracles kills Nessos w/poison arrow – Nessos, dying: my blood is a love potion.”

Deianira

Deianira •

Nessos—abducts Deianira – Heracles kills Nessos w/poison arrow – Nessos, dying: my blood is a love potion.” – Deianira drenches his clothes •

It’s poison! •

Heracles suffers—”cries like a girl” – Athena escorts him to Olympus – APOTHEOSIS: the ascent of a deceased person to become a god; deification