The Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans. It was waged after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events In Greek mythology.
The Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans. It was waged after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events In Greek mythology.
The Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans. It was waged after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events In Greek mythology.
The king of the gods, Zeus, received a prophecy which stated that any child he had with the sea-nymph Thetis would cause his death. To prevent this he arranged her marriage to the human Peleus. The wedding was a huge event. All the gods were invited except the goddess, Discord. Discord got her revenge through a unique gift which sent reverberations throughout the world. Thetis and Peleus had a happy marriage and produced one son: Achilles. Timeline Apple of Discord The goddess Discord was unhappy at being the only divinity who was not invited to the wedding of the sea nymph Thetis and King Peleus. As revenge, she plucks a golden apple from the Garden of the Hesperides and attaches a tag to the apple which reads: For the Fairest. Discord then tosses the apple into the wedding reception and waits to watch the results. Three goddesses step forward to claim the apple: Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. They cannot decide among themselves who is fairest, so they take their cases to Zeus. Zeus, husband of Hera and father of Athena and Aphrodite, refuses to intervene. He tosses the apple over his shoulder. The apple bounces to earth and lands at the feet of Paris. Timeline Prologue: Judgment of Paris As the adopted son of a shepherd, Paris is tending flocks one day when a golden apple falls at his feet. Three goddess then appear: Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Each goddess promises a unique gift if he will declare her the most beautiful. Aphrodites promise of the most beautiful in the world sways Paris to choose her. Timeline Judgment of Paris, red-figure vase, unknown, British Museum Trojan War Go to timeline In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology. TROY- A great city very rich and powerful, second to none on earth. The cause of the lasting fame was a war told of in one of the worlds greatest poems, the Iliad. Achaeans Mortals Agamemnon- Commander-in-Chief, the brother of Menelaus Achilles- son of Peleus and the sea nymph Thetis Menelaus- Helens husband; king of Sparta Odysseus- King of the island of Ithaca Patroclus- he son of Menoetius, grandson of Actor, King of Opus, and was Achilles' beloved comrade and brother-in-arms. The key characters fighting the Trojans in the war include: Timeline Trojans Mortals Trojan Royal Family Laocoon - A Trojan serving as the yearly priest of Poseidon.
The key characters fighting the Achaeans in the war include: Timeline Trojan Royal Family King Priam Queen Hecuba Prince Hector Prince Paris Princess Cassandra Timeline Prince Hector Prince Hector is the eldest son of Priam and Hecuba and the leader of the Trojan army. Hector realizes that the Trojans will likely lose the war, but believes that he is honor-bound to defend his brother, his city, his family, and his people. Timeline Prince Paris Before his birth, the prophets of Troy foretold that Prince Paris would cause the destruction of the city. Consequently, his parents decided to have him left on a mountainside and let the gods determine his fate. Paris was found by shepherd and raised as his son. Eventually, Paris returns to Troy where he is miraculously recognized by Queen Hecuba as her long lost son. The king and queen restore Paris to his birthright. In his first official duty as a Trojan Prince, Paris travels to Sparta to negotiate a treaty with King Menelaus. In Sparta, Paris meets and falls in love with Helen. Timeline Princess Cassandra The Trojan princess Cassandra was granted the gift of prophecy by Apollo due to her beauty. Cassandra, however, did not return the gods love. Unable to revoke his gift, but enraged at his rejection, Apollo cursed Cassandra to see the future, but not to be believed. Cassandra is one of several Trojans who prophesied that Prince Paris would cause the destruction of Troy. After the Trojans are defeated, Cassandra is taken as a war-prize by Agamemnon, whose death she also correctly prophesies. Timeline King Priam Priam is king of the city-state of Troy, husband of Hecuba, and father of Hector, Paris, and Cassandra. Priam feels guilty about abandoning Paris as a child, thus, when Paris reappears he reinstates him as a Prince of Troy. Likewise, when Paris returns from Sparta with Helen, Priam indulges his son and allows Helen to stay, though he may lose his life and his city. After the death and desecration of Hector, Priam goes into the Achaean camp late one night to beg Achilles to return the body. Timeline Priam ransoms Hector,, red-figure vase, unknown, Louvre Helen of Troy/ Helen of Sparta Simply, Helen is the cause of the Trojan War. Lawfully, Helen is married to the Achaean Menelaus, king of Sparta. Throughout the Trojan War, however, she resides in Troy as the wife of Prince Paris. (Ancient sources are ambiguous about Helens willingness to go to Troy.) Menelaus (and the other Achaeans) are bound by oath to fight for Helen, and war ensues. Helen, the daughter of Zeus, is noteworthy for her otherworldly beauty, which drives men to do amazing things. Timeline Achilles Achilles is the only son of Thetis and Peleus. After Achilles was born, Thetis dipped him by the heel in the River Styx which encircles Hades. This unusual baptism provided protection to Achilles from all weapons. His heel, however, which Thetis was holding, was not protected. Homers Iliad focuses on the wrath of Achilles. Achilles is first angry that Agamemnon insults him before the other Achaeans by taking his war-prize. The death of his close Timeline friend Patroclus further incites Achilles, convincing him to return to the war to avenge his friend. Achilles kills the Trojan Hector. Paris (with the aid of Apollo) kills Achilles by shooting Achilles in his unprotected heel. Achilles kills Hector, red-figure vase, unknown, Louvrre Patroclus Patroclus was brought into the house of Peleus and raised alongside Peleus son Achilles. The two became the closest of friends. Once Achilles withdraws from the war in anger, the Trojans gain an advantage. Patroclus realizes this and begs Achilles to return to the battle. Achilles refuses to go himself but allows Patroclus to go in his distinctive armor to raise the morale of the Achaean fighters. Hector kills Patroclus. In a rage over his friends death, Achilles returns to the war to hunt and kill Hector. Timeline Briseis & Chryseis Briseis and Chryseis were women taken as slaves during an Achaean raid on a town near Troy. Briseis was given as a war-prize to Achilles, while Chryseis was given to Agamemnon. The father of Chryseis was a priest of Apollo. When the Achaeans refused to return his daughter, he asked Apollo for help. Apollo sent a plague on the Achaeans. Agamemnon finally agreed to return Chryseis, if he was compensated with another woman. He chose Briseis. The appropriation of his war-prize angered Achilles and he refused to continue fighting without an acknowledgement of his contribution to the war. Many Achaeans try to get Achilles to return, but only the death of his friend Patroclus convinces him. Timeline Odysseus Odysseus is an intelligent and tricky character in mythology. He helps Tyndareus by devising the oath sworn by Helens suitors, and gained one of Helens sisters as his own wife. He was the mediator in the dispute between Agamemnon and Achilles. Odysseus also devised the Trojan Horse and the plot to infiltrate and destroy Troy. Odysseus famous 10-year journey home is chronicled in The Odyssey. Timeline Odysseus, red-figure vase, unknown, Louvrre Trojan Horse The Trojan Horse was planned by Odysseus to infiltrate Troy and end the war. The Achaeans built a massive wooden horse and hid a contingent inside of it. They left one of their own, Sinon, behind to tell the Trojans that is was a gift to Poseidon to ensure their safe passage home. The Trojans take the horse into their city in hopes of gaining the favor of Poseidon. The Trojans threw a grand party. After the Trojans had gone to sleep, the Achaeans slipped out of the horse and opened the gates of Troy to the rest of their army. Timeline Trojan Horse, clipart. COM Poseidon god of the seas Timeline Poseidon is one of the gods who takes human form and fights alongside the Achaeans during the Trojan War. Poseidon battles against the Trojans because when Troy was founded the first king, Laomedon, promised to reward the god for building the citys wall. Laomedon refused to pay after the walls were complete and Poseidon carried a grudge. Poseidons priest, Laocoon, realizes that the Trojan Horse is dangerous and so Poseidon sends massive sea-snakes to carry off Laocoon and his sons. Poseidon, Oceanus, Thetis, mosaic, unknown, Louvre Hera queen of the gods Even before the Judgment of Paris, Hera hated the Trojans. Her hatred stemmed from Zeus choice of the Trojan boy Ganymede as his cup-bearer, casting aside Heras own divine son, Hephaestus. Hera fights for the Achaeans during the Trojan War. After Troy is destroyed, Hera continues her quest to annihilate the Trojans by attempting to shipwreck Aeneas. Timeline Hera, unknown, Capitoline Museum Athena goddess of wisdom Athena fights on the side of the Achaeans during the Trojan War for two reasons: She did not win the golden apple at the Judgment of Paris and she is the patron goddess of the Achaean hero Odysseus. As the goddess of wisdom, Athena appreciates Odysseus crafty approach to problems and his unique solutions such as the Oath of Tyndareus and the Trojan Horse. Timeline Athena, unknown, Capitoline Museum Ares god of war Ares is a rash and unpredictable god, who enjoys war for the sake of war. He fights for the Trojans during the war because he is in love with Aphrodite and he appreciates that Paris could cause a war so wide-spread. Timeline Ares, red-figure vase, Leagros Group, British Museum Comprehension Check 1. Why did the goddess Discord throw the golden apple on the table during the feast, and why did this cause a disruption? 2. Explain why Priam sent his son Paris away to die. What prevented Paris death? 3. List the promises the three goddesses made to Paris as they tried to sway him to pick them. Hera: Athena: Aphrodite: