The Homeric Epics and Greek MythologyWestern CivilizationMs. Tully

Origins of Greek Mythology•Names and concepts of gods brought to

Greece by Mycenaeans•Homer’s epics, The Iliad and The Odyssey

and Hesiod’s Theogeny, are NOT reliable historical documents▫Offer Greeks an ideal past – legendary

Heroic Age•Polytheistic pantheon of gods located on

top of Mt. Olympus

Popular Greek Gods• Aphrodite• Apollo• Ares• Artemis• Athena• Demeter• Dionysus• Eros

• Hades• Hephaestus• Hera• Hermes• Hestia• Pan• Persephone• Poseidon• Zeus

Hesiod’s Theogeny• Influenced by Mesopotamian

myths• Traces descent of Zeus –

moral and gendered origin story

• Zeus defeats Gaia, earth goddess – establishes male-dominated system with him at head

• Attributes all human problems to the first woman, Pandora▫ Pandora opened a box that

let out all the evils of the world

Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey•Homer credited as the creator of these epic

poems▫Translated orally for 400 years▫Not recorded until ca. 750 B.C.E.

•Set at end of Bronze Age/beginning of Dark Age•Stories have been updated and interpreted for

hundreds of different audiences•Gods often intervene in human affairs – depicted

as having human characteristics•Popular themes: Honor, Fate, Flawed characters

The tale of the Great War: The Iliad•Tells the story of Achaeans (Mycenaeans) vs.

Trojans▫Paris, son of Priam (King of Troy) steals Helen,

the wife of Menelaus and most beautiful woman in the world

▫Menelaus deprived of honor and wife•Agamemnon, brother of Menelaus, brought

army of Achaeans to Troy▫Included the famous vicious warrior, Achilles▫Focus on conflict between Agamemnon and

Achilles

• Major turning point – Hector (son of Priam, greatest Trojan warrior) kills Patroklos (Achille’s BFF) – hence, the revenge/rage of Achilles▫ Kills Hector, drags his

body around the city of Troy

▫ King Priam must beg Achilles for Hector’s body

• The Trojan Horse▫ Achaeans feign a retreat,

but really hide in horse▫ Trojans bring in the

horse, Achaeans jump out and destroy Troy

• Many Achaeans have a long difficult journey home, some do not make it

Are we there yet? The Odyssey• The story of Odysseus’

journey home (one of the Achaean kings)

• Great adventure story – encounter many classic monsters▫ Cyclops, Sirens, sea

monsters

• Odysseus’ obedient wife, Penelope, waits at home for his return▫ Fends off suitors who

want Odysseus’ kingdom▫ Model woman/wife

• Odysseus returns home after 20+ years, kills off all the suitors

The Historicity of Homer• Oral poet of about 750

B.C., working within a long tradition of oral poetry

• First Greek poet within this tradition to survive in writing

• Exceptional in length and quality

• Sophisticated narrative techniques

•8th century B.C. poet writing about the Mycenean Age, about 1200 B.C. ▫Mycenean age = 1600-1200▫Fall of Troy = about 1220▫Destruction of Mycene = about 1150▫Dark Ages 1200-800

•By 1870, most of Western Europe agreed there was no Troy and no Trojan war

• Heinrich Schielmann – 20 years of excavations at Hissarlik (1871)▫ Believed to be the

location of Troy▫ Discovered “Priam’s

Treasure” (??)▫ Excavated Mycene and

other sites – Mask of Agamemnon?

• Now – some correlation between topography described in Homer’s poems & Schielmann’s excavations – but there is no way to know for sure…

Greek Religion• No sacred books, no ethical code of conduct, no

ecclesiastical authority• Temples built to honor gods – not the same as a

church/synagogue▫Festivals, personal offerings▫Altar for sacrifices (animals)▫Priests/priestesses cared for temples, led rituals

• Each city-state had a patron deity with a local cult▫Religion was local and domestic – native rights

unique to villages

• Pan-Hellenic Festivals▫ Olympia – Zeus (every

four years…sound familiar?) or Delphi – Apollo

▫ Attracted visitors from all over Greece

▫ Unifying factors in Greek life