Intro to Trojan War

The Trojan, Theban, and Mycenaean Sagas

The Trojan, Theban, and Mycenaean Sagas

-Each of these sagas, or cycles, of stories feature self-contained myth worlds that occasionally intersect with each other -The Mycenaean Cycle features stories about Agamemnon’s family, the leader of the Greek expedition to the Trojan War and his ancestry and his children -Age of heroes is an era that most Greeks thought were destroyed for a good reason -Heroes are known for not only their deeds but their ability to take in and dull pain and suffering -Thought of as existing a very long time ago and the only vestige of heroes left are hero sanctuaries or cult sites -The Iliad and the Odyssey represent only a small sliver of events that the Greeks would have known.

Trojan Saga

Begins with Leda -Seduced by Zeus in the form of a swan -Leda + Zeus have four children -Castor and Polydeuces (aka the Dioscuri) -Helen (the face that launched a thousand ships) and Clytemnestra (wife of Agamemnon)

Helen (apart of the Trojan Saga)

-Daughter of Zeus? -There is a contest to win her -She has to leave her own household once married and goes to the household of the man and receives a dowry -Achilles did not compete -Chooses Menelaus in marriage (over Theseus and Odysseus and other suitors, he is from Greece) -Eventually seduced by Paris (Trojan prince, brother of Hector) and marries her by acquisition is the “cause” of the Trojan war: -Menelaus (gets together with Agamemnon) and the whole Greek expedition go to recover her.

Judgment of Paris (apart of Trojan saga)

-But Pairs has his own backstory: Exposed on Mt. Ida as a child; then, “the judgment of Paris” -Paris' mother, Hecuba, while pregnant, has a dream that she gives birth to a fire brand, this means that Paris will cause the destruction of Troy. Then she exposes him on the mountain for him to die and he is saved and becomes a shepherd

-Scene: Wedding of Peleus (sea goddess and mother of Achilles) and Thetis (if they had a child with a god then they would be fully divine and overthrow Zeus, so he arranges this wedding): Eris is not invited, goddess of strife, and the golden apple. -Since Eris is not invited, she throws this golden apple into the mix -The apple is inscribed with “for the best” the root word means beautiful -Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite all claimed it -Zeus defers judgment to Paris, he chooses -It also says in a text that is found that Zeus designed the Trojan war to destroy the Age of Heroes but this is not in Homeric writing -Paris chooses Aphrodite for her “gift”. Helen. -Athena offers him armies and military strategies -Hera offers him political dominion -Aphrodite says that she can give him Helen -Later Helen really blames herself for the Trojan war and she wishes that she were never born or that she was cast out at sea when she was born

Whose idea was the war if there are other ways to get Helen back?

-Agamemnon is the one who says let's get all of the heroes together and go to Greece But why? -She is the daughter of Zeus so this is a big deal -Helen herself is thought of of what makes the Greeks the Greeks, she is an emblem of this place -Reclaiming Greek heritage

*There was idea that the Greeks became the Greeks because they uniting together to do this

*Heroes receive and give suffering, but always in the pursuit of glory and they are motivated by glory and being remembered

Location and duration info

Troy is in the near East

Greeks were not called the Greeks then but the Achaeans or sons of so and so But they all band together and go to Troy not only to get Helen back but to destroy, and they do this for 10 years

Two sides

Troy and the Greeks (Achaeans)

Troy and Trojan Leader List to follow

Dardanus and Laomedon

recognize them as important ancestral Trojans

Priam and Hecuba

King and Queen of Troy

Paris

son of Priam and Hecuba, brother of Hector, known for killing Achilles (after the Iliad and helped by Apollo), kidnapping Helen, and being favored by Aprhodite

Hector

Best of the Trojans, son of Priam, brother of Paris, Defender of Troy, killed by Achilles

Andromache

wife of Hector, woman who has a different perspective than her husband and challenges his thinking. Eventually says a lament

Astyanax

son of Hector and Andromache. Meets an early, tragic end. Prophecy that he would come back and avenge his father and the Greeks learn about this and kill him as a baby

Aeneas

Son of Anchises and Aphrodite; hugely important for the Romans (later) (Remember hymn to Aphrodite) He is one who escapes the war and goes to a place, Italy, in a place that will eventually become Rome. Half divine

Trojan Allies

Lycians (led by Glaucus, Sarpedon) Thracians (led by Rhesus) Aithiopians Amazons

*In most ways, the Trojans and Greecians are very similar, there is not a good guys or bad guys

*Trojans are usually sympathized with the most and they are the one under attack and end up failing, the trojans even know this, but they keep pushing forward

The Achaeans (the Greeks)

Mostly mainland Greece, Mycanean culture Note: Troy= one central city “Greece”= a large coalition led by Agamemnon, king of Mycenae Words and deeds are extremely important and almost thought to be intertwined

Important people of the Achaeans to follow

Agamemnon

greatest in prestige, maybe not words or deeds Greatest ruler; known for his conflict

Menelaus

brother of Agamemnon, married to Helen

Diomedes

King of Argos, second to Agamemnon, mega-warrior, later goes on to exploits with Odysseus, entirety of book 5 is him raging, assisted by Athena *You take stuff from places you siege and that is your honor

Nestor

great warrior and story tellyer of the older generation. No tradition of his death, longest book of the Odyssey. Remembers everything

Ajax

(the Greater; Telamonian Ajax): the bulwark of the Achaeans. Second only to Achilles as a warrior. Rival and foil to Odysseus. Goes to kill himself. In the Iliad, he is a major force to be reckoned with.

Idomeneus

leader of the Cretans

Odysseus

Arguably as great as Achilles. Known for his trickery, intelligence, and strategy (Trojan Horse, for instance). Known especially for his return tale, the Odyssey. Sometimes will throw fellow warriors under the bus to get out of a situation

Achilles

best of the Acheaeans. Son of Thetis and Peleus. Subject of the Iliad. Doesn’t destroy Troy, but gains immortal glory via the Iliad. Known for extreme skill in fighting and speeches. Semi-divine Backstory: the boy who could have been; the protection of Thetis, if mother had him with a God, he would overthrow Zeus.

*The divine honor system is its own universe and sometimes it doesn’t make sense to us or might seem unethical to us but isn’t to the divines, their own honor system

Glory (kleos) and the Heroic Code:

For Greek Heroes (warriors seeking glory) the goal: gain glory, avoid shame

Kleos

renown/ glory/ fame/ being “heard” in stories

Akhos

pain, pain felt by enemies (one way you know you are winning glory)

*One person’s Kleos is another person’s Akhos

*Epic poetry is a way of gaining everlasting fame