Download Iliad - Duke People

Clst 181SK Ancient Greece and the Origins of Western Culture
Early Greece
A Basic Chronology
1a. Bronze Age Greece - Minoans
The Minoan Civilization (1900-1450 BCE)
!
!
Knossos, Crete
1b. Bronze Age Greece - Mycenaeans
The Mycenaean Civilization (1450-1200 BCE)
Mainland Greece,
especially the Peloponnesus
Mycenae – P
Megaron
Mycenae –
Demons?
The Bronze Age - Collapse
!
Greek Palace structures are destroyed in about 1200-1150 BCE
!
Knossos
Mycenae
Pylos
Thebes
Tiryns
Troy(!)
We do not know how or by whom the devastation occurred - the Greeks told a story of
invaders (the “Dorian invasion”)
2. The Greek
“Dark Age” - the Iron Age
!
1200-800 BCE
Lefkandi – Heroön
plan
2. The Iron Age
!
1200-750 BCE
Early Geometric Vase
850 BCE
3. The Archaic Period
!
750-480 BCE
530 BCE
750 BCE
700 BCE
600 BCE
560 BCE
Clst 181SK Ancient Greece and the Origins of Western Culture
Early Greece
A Basic Chronology
!
1a. Bronze Age - Minoans 1900-1450 BCE
1b. Bronze Age - Mycenaeans 1450-1200
2. Iron Age (Dark Ages) 1200-750
3. Archaic Period 750-480
!
“Trojan War” - 1250-1200 BCE
Collapse of Bronze Age palace system - 1200-1150 BCE
Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey - 800-750 BCE
Early Greece
“Trojan War” - 1250-1200 BCE
Collapse of Bronze Age palace system - 1200-1150 BCE
Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey - 800-750 BCE
Question: which early Greece does Homer’s Iliad assume?
The Bronze Age era of palaces or the Iron Age era
sometimes known as the Dark Ages?
!
The Trojan War:
The Heroes
Note: Ilium or Ilias is another name for Troy, thus the Iliad
means the story of the war against Troy
!
Mycenae (Mycene)
Review: Mesopotamia,Phoenicia, Crete, Cyprus, Delphi,
Peloponnesus, Ionia
Review: Knossos, Mycenae, Pylos
Mycenae – aerial view
Lion’s gate
reconstruction
Mycenae –
Demons?
Mycenae – Palace
Megaron
Mycenae – gold cu
Stories of Mycenae: Background
MYCENAE
Pelops
_____|______
Atreus
Thyestes
|
|
Agamemnon Menelaus
Aigisthos
SPARTA
!
Tyndareus = Leda = Zeus
|
|
Klytaimnestra Helen
Themes: Child murder, adultery, deception
!
Mycenae (Mycene)
Stories of Mycenae: Background
Agamemnon, the son of Atreus
Menelaus, the son of Atreus
Mycenae: The “House of Atreus”
Atreus and Thyestes: adultery, child murder
Stories of Mycenae: Background
Menelaus, the son of Atreus
King of Sparta
His wife is
Helen, the “face that launched a thousand ships”
Helen is the the most beautiful woman in the world, said to
be the daughter of Zeus and Leda
Paris = Alexander, prince of Troy, son of Priam the Trojan
King: seduction, adultery, violation
Stories of Mycenae: Background
Helen, the “face that launched a thousand ships”
Helen’s suitors were all the great heroes of Greece, and
before she made her choice (Menelaus, of the house of
Atreus) they made a treaty always to protect her husband
from other suitors.
Thus, when Paris seduced her and took her off to Troy, all
the heroes were sworn to come to help the sons of Atreus,
Menelaus and Agamemnon, as they sailed to Troy to get
her back.
Stories of Mycenae: Background
Agamemnon, the son of Atreus
King of Mycenae
His wife is
Klytaimnestra/Clytemnestra
!
Klytaimnestra is the half sister of Helen, the daughter of
Leda but not the daughter of Zeus
Stories of Mycenae: Background
Agamemnon, the son of Atreus
King of Mycenae
His daughter is
Iphigeneia/Iphigenia
Stories of Mycenae: Background
The heroes and troops gather at Aulis to prepare for the
voyage to Troy. But the winds blow against them, and day
after day after day they cannot sail. The troops grow weary,
hungry, rebellious. They ask the prophet (seer) Kalchas/
Calchas what to do. He tells them that they have violated
Artemis, the virgin goddess of the hunt
To appease her, Kalchas says, the goddess asks a great
price. They must sacrifice a girl, a virgin, the daughter of
the King of kings,
Agamemnon, the son of Atreus
Stories of Mycenae: Background
Agamemnon curses Kalchas, but sends to his wife
Klytaimnestra a messenger, telling her that their daughter,
Iphigeneia/Iphigenia
is to marry a great hero,
!
Achilles, son of Peleus
and to send Iphigenia at once.
Stories of Mycenae: Background
Klytaimnestra sends Iphigenia
and Agamemnon performs a human sacrifice to
Artemis of his own child. The winds turn, and the
troops now sail to glorious battle at Troy.
When Klytaimnestra learns what has happened, she joins
forces (and body) with Aigisthos/Aegisthus, the son of
Thyestes (Agamemnon’s first cousin) and plots her
revenge. She will murder Agamemnon when he returns at
the end of the war.
Stories of Mycenae: Background
MYCENAE
Pelops
_____|______
Atreus
Thyestes
|
|
Agamemnon Menelaus
Aigisthos
SPARTA
!
Tyndareus = Leda = Zeus
|
|
Klytaimnestra Helen
Themes: Child murder, adultery, deception
!
The Trojan War:
The Gods
Note: the Greek gods live on mythical Mt Olympus.
ZEUS
Sky God. King of the Gods. Son of Kronos.
HERA
Married Women. Queen of the gods. Zeus’ “wife”.
APOLLO
Archer god. God of plague and medicine. God of music
and arts. Sister is Artemis, also an archer god.
HEPHAISTOS
Smithy god (blacksmith). God of crafts and fire.
THETIS
(one of the Nereids, the 50 daughters of Nereus, the old
man of the sea; mother of Achilles by Peleus)
Judgement of Paris
Paris, son of Priam decides “who is the fairest of them all”
Hera,
Athena,
Aphrodite
Homer: The Gods!
!
Trojan supporters!
•Aphrodite (won the judgement of Paris)
•Ares (lover of Aphrodite, rival of Athena)
•Apollo (traditional friend of Troy)
•Artemis (sister of Apollo)
•Scamander (river of the Troad, fights Hephaistos)
•Leto (mother of Apollo and Artemis)
!
Greek supporters!
•Hera (lost the judgement of Paris)
•Athena (lost the judgement of Paris)
•Poseidon (traditional friend of Troy, but denied payment by Laomedon after
building the walls: but he helps Aeneas in Book 20)
•Hephaistos (friend of Thetis)
•Hermes (fights Leto)
!
http://people.duke.edu/~wj25/Greek_Originals/
Iliad_Summaries.html
!
Iliad: the Proem