Download Prelude to the Trojan War

Leda and the Swan
 Leda – married to King Tyndareus, King of Sparta
 Eurotas River
 Son of Cronos (Zeus)
 Birth of 1st set of twins from the egg (Helen & Polydeuces)
 Birth of 2nd set of twins (Clytaimestra & Castor)
Helen’s Youth
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Great beauty from birth on
Word of her beauty spread through Greece
Kidnapped by Theseus when 12
Put in the care of his mother due to her age and his
Rescued by her brothers, Polydeuces and Castor
King Tyndareus now alarmed at what the future could
hold as her beauty grew
 Helen’s beauty brought great grief to the kingdom.
 How does he contain the suitors, keep conflicts down,
and peace in his kingdom and among the suitors?
Resolution of Tyndareus’s dilemma
regarding suitors
 Required each suitor to swear to the below oath:
 “Regardless of whom Tyndareus’s
daughter takes for husband, him will
I defend. Should ever anyone lay hands
upon her and spirit her away, I vow hereby to march against that man with all my
forces and lay his city, be it Greek or
foreign, in utter ruin” (Richardson, 206).
Suitors
 Odysseus
 Diomedes
 Antilochos
 Ajax and Teucros
 Patroclos
 Menelaos brother of Agamemnon, king of Mycenai
(who was already married to Cytaimestra, Helen’s
sister)
Outcome
 Tyndareus required all sign the oath and swear to
honor his choice for Helen.
 Tyndareus chose Menelaos and after the wedding
installed his new son-in-law as king of Sparta in his
own stead.
Far across the Aigean Sea in the
city of Troy….
 Queen Hecabe, wife of Priam, King of Troy is also
with child.
 It is close to the time of Leda and the Swan
 Troy is thriving and wealthy.
 Hecabe has a dream/vision in which
that which is in womb is not a child, but
fierce fire that destroys Troy.
 Hecabe shares her dream with King Priam.
 Priam seeks the advice of a seer, who states that “the
child will bring down the city!”.
 The seer advices Priam to kill the child before he is
born.
 King Priam cannot bring himself to have his son killed
so upon his birth the child is taken away and given to a
herdsman, with the instructions that he is to leave the
child on the hillside.
 Five days later, the child is well and alive, believes the
gods have spared the child for a reason.
 The herdsman takes the child and raises him as “Paris”.
 Paris grows to be tall and handsome, but lives as a
herdsman.
Years earlier….A great wedding
 About the time that both Helen and Paris are born…
The Golden Apple
The Judgment of Paris
 Marriage of King Peleus/sea nymph, Thetis
 Goddess of Discord – Eris – Not invited to the
wedding
 Laughter, celebration, merriment, music,
toasts, etc.
 Twelve Olympians present
 Throws Golden Apple “To the Fairest of all”
 Aphrodite, Hera, & Pallas Athena most powerful/seek
the apple
 Zeus refuses to make the judgment – as do the other
gods
 Weeks, months, and years pass – no decision
 After twenty years – Zeus has enough
 Mount Ida near Troy – find Paris with sheep
 “Let him (Paris) judge whose the apple will be. Since I
love you all equally, I must defer the decision to him.
For my part I wish you all could win (p 208).
Paris’s Decision
 Son of King Priam, King of Troy
 Working as shepherd – predicted he would ruin his
country
 Zeus commands him to chose the fairest of them
 Paris reluctant, but told he has no choice
 Paris demanded: “Let not the losers avenge themselves
against me or my people” (p 209).
 All three goddesses agreed.
 Hera - make him Lord of Europe and Asia.
 Athena – she would lead the Trojans to victory against
the Greeks and lay Greece to ruins
 Aphrodite – that the fairest woman in all the world
should be his.
 Paris: young – didn’t need or want what Hera & Athena
offered, but did want a beautiful woman, so chose
Aphrodite.
Paris in Troy
 Goes to Troy to participate in boxing and races.
 Competes against some of Priam’s sons
 Wins a footrace against one of Priam’s sons, who is
humiliated that a common herdsman bested him.
 Pulls sword to kill Paris, but Agelaos, the herdman
who raised Paris, runs to Priam, stating
“Stop him! For the one he seeks to kill, great king, is also
your son, though long thought dead” (p 212).
Cassandra, Priam & Hecabe
 Cassandra, prophetic daughter, confirms his identity
 King and Queen forget about her dream
 Joyous celebration and banquet
 Paris installed in the palace
 Soon after prepares to journey
to Sparta
 Cassandra begs him not to go,
claiming he will bring doom
upon himself and Troy.
Paris & Helen
 Paris believes he is now entitled to her. Aphrodite
encourages him
 Travels to Greece
 Welcomed as a foreign prince in the household of
Menelaos and Helen;entertained royally for 9 days
 Tenth day, Menelaos must leave because his father
has died
 Paris takes advantage of the time, seduces Helen,
and sails off with her to Troy
 Menelaos declares war and calls upon those who
swore the oath
Odysseus is Called
 Menelaus call upon all Greek kings & chieftains to help
reclaim Helen & punish Paris & Troy
 All come willingly except Odysseus & Achilles
 Odysseus does not want to leave his house, wife, and
family for a faithless woman
Odysseus’s Trick
 Odysseus, known for his shrewdness & clever ideas
 Pretends to be crazy and is plowing a field with salt
instead of seed
 Shrewd messenger tests Odysseus by placing his son in
front of the plow
 Odysseus turns the plow to avoid child and is
discovered. He must join Menelaus.
The face that launched 1,000 ships
 All original suitors MUST join Menalaos
 1, 000 ships in total sail with Menelaos and
Agamemnon to destroy Troy and recapture Helen.
Trojan War
 Goes on for ten years
 Achilles, Ajax, Odysseus –
some of the warriors
 Odysseus – known for guile
– thinks up Trojan Horse
 Troy is destroyed
 Helen returns to Greece
Sailing home…
 Poseidon – favored Trojans
 All but Odysseus honored
the gods for their victory
 Poseidon best suited to
punish Odysseus
Works Cited
Richardson, Donald. Greek Mythology for Everyone:
Legends of the Gods and Heroes. New York:
Prentice Hall Press, 1984.