Homer’s Oral Tradition The Iliad and the Trojan War

English 112

Homer

Legendary, blind minstrel (poet, singer) credited with the Iliad and the OdysseyEstimated he lived 450 BCOther than being blind, not much is known about HomerHomer used oral tradition to share his stories

Oral Tradition

The passing of stories, poems and sayings by word of mouthTales included stories of love, ambitions, friendshipThese are myths, folk tales, legends and epicsExpress values, ideals and behaviors held important by the culture

UNIVERSAL THEMES

Oral tradition has universal themesThese themes are insights into life that are true for many different times and cultures.

For example:The importance of heroismThe strength of loyaltyThe power of loveThe dangers of greed

The Iliad

The Iliad starts nine years into the Trojan WarThe Trojan War took place in Troy which is in the northwest corner of what we now call the Republic of TurkeyMany things had to happen to get this big war under way

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The Start of it All…

Three generations of misery and bloodshed started because a wedding planner failed to invite an important goddess…

Peleus and Thetis’ Wedding

Peleus was a mortal man.

Thetis was a sea nymph and the daughter of Zeus.

He saw Thetis, fell in love with her, and tried to kidnap her.

She managed to fight him off with a snake until he eventually won her over.

The Big Affair – Peleus and Thetis’ Wedding

With Zeus’ consent, all the famous mortals, gods, and goddess attended

Eris, the goddess of strife was not invited

Eris was insulted and snuck into the wedding reception…

A Golden Apple

Eris tossed a golden apple onto the dance floor.On the apple were the words, “To the fairest.”The golden apple was a serious party killer. Who was the most beautiful?

To the fairest

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Who is the fairest of them all?

The competition was between:Athena – Zeus’ daughter and a real

daddy’s girlHera – Zeus’ wife and Queen of the

GodsAphrodite – The Goddess of LoveThey asked Zeus, as the King of the

Gods, to award the prize, but he was no fool…

The Judgment of Paris

Zeus gave the task to Paris, son of Priam, the King of Troy.

Zeus knew that Troy was fated to be destroyed because of an old run-in with Apollo and Poseidon.

Paris was the “torch to set the whole city on fire.”

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Paris’ Ill-fated ChoiceAthena offered him

victory in warHera offered him

power over nationsAphrodite offered

him the most beautiful woman in the world

What would you choose?

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Helen of Troy

Paris accepted Aphrodite’s offer He then learned that the most beautiful girl in the world was ALREADY MARRIEDShe was Helen, daughter of Leda and ZeusShe was married to Menelaus, king of Sparta

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Helen is alluded to as “the face that could launch a thousand ships”.

The Kidnapping of Helen

Paris already had a wife named Oenone who warned him not to go through with the kidnappingHe didn’t listenHe sailed off to Sparta to be guest at the palace of Menelaus

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The Kidnapping of HelenTroy was already doomed before this whole incident

Zeus was the “Protector of Hospitality”

Kidnapping your host’s wife isn’t exactly hospitable

If Troy wasn’t in trouble before, they certainly were now!

In Sparta, Paris either forcefully carried Helen away from Troy or he seduced her and she left with him on her own

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Troy in Trouble

When Menelaus discovered that his wife was kidnapped, he ran to his big brother Agamemnon who agreed to get help wage war to get Helen back

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Clever Odysseus!Odysseus tried to get out of joining Agamemnon and Menelaus in their fight for Helen by pretending to be crazy.Thetis (whose wedding started all this) tried to get her son Achilles out of fighting, too.She dressed him as a woman, but he was discovered and went to war

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Now the War Can Begin!

The Trojan War lasted 10 years

There were many battles with each side winning and losing, creating a stalemate.

The Greeks win the war

The end of the war came with one final plan.

The Greeks, mainly Odysseus, devised a new ruse - a giant hollow wooden horse, an animal that was sacred to the Trojans.

The Greeks surprise attack the Trojans

It was filled with Greek warriors led by Odysseus. The rest of the Greek army appeared to leaveThe Trojans accepted the horse as a peace offering They thought they had won the war and celebrated

The end of Troy

While the Trojans were in a drunken stupor, the Greeks emerged They opened the gates for fellow soldiers The city was utterly destroyed--every single man and boy killed (including infants), every woman and girl enslaved, all its wealth pillaged, and the city itself reduced to rubble.