The Trojan War

CC 303 Intro to Classical Mythology - Fall 2009
Department of Classics. University of Texas at Austin, Prof. Lawrence Kim

The Greeks
Achilles, Agamemnon (leader), Odysseus, Diomedes, Ajax (Aias), Menelaus, Patroclus

The Trojans and Allies
Chryses, Priam, Hector, Paris, Andromache, Hecuba, Chryseis, Briseis

Gods on Greeks' Side:
Athena, Hera, Poseidon

Gods on Trojans' Side:
Zeus, Aphrodite, Ares, Apollo

The Iliad: Ninth Year of the War

1. 1. Book 1: Achilles’ Withdrawal
   • The Plague
   • The Quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon
   • Chryseis and Briseis
   • Achilles' Withdrawal
   • Achilles' Prayer to Thetis: Let the Greeks lose
   1. Important Events in Books 2-8
   • Book 3: Helen on the Wall Looking at the Greeks
   • Book 3: Menelaus vs. Paris in Single Combat
   • Book 5: Diomedes wounds Ares and Aphrodite
   • Book 6: Hector in Troy: Hecuba, Andromache, Astyanax
   • Book 7: Hector vs. Ajax in Single Combat
   • Book 8: Trojans winning; Hector reaches Greek ships
     
   2. Book 9: The Embassy to Achilles
      
   1. Agamemnon concedes to Achilles – Briseis and gifts
   2. Odysseus, Ajax, Phoenix go to Achilles
   • Each speaks in turn, giving different reasons
   3. Achilles rejects their offer
   • He is still angry – cannot forgive or forget
   • Mother Thetis’ prophecy:
   • Short and glorious life at Troy OR
   • Long and un-glorious life at home
   4. Impasse: No one knows what to do; what does Achilles want?
      
   3. Important Events in Books 10-23
   1. Books 11-13: Trojan Successes; Hector’s glory
   2. Book 14: Hera’s seduction of Zeus; Greeks start winning again
   3. Book 15: Zeus wakes; Hector ready to burn the ships
   4. Book 16: Patroclus puts on Achilles’ armor to defend the ships
      
      • Achilles: once Patroclus fights off the Trojans, return
      • Patroclus disobeys, and is killed by Hector
   5. Book 18: Achilles wants revenge on Hector
      
      • Thetis has Hephaestus make new armor for Achilles
   6. Book 21: Gods battle each other; Achilles fights a river
   7. Book 22: Achilles kills Hector before the walls of Troy
      
      • Drags the body around behind his chariot
   8. Book 23: Funeral Games for Patroclus
      
      
   4. Book 24: Priam, Achilles, and the End of Anger
   • Achilles’ grief remains; still angry
   • With Hermes’ help, Priam goes to Achilles’ hut
   • Reconciliation; recognition and ransom
   • Achilles gives Priam Hector’s body
     

1. The Sacrifice of Iphigenia at Aulis. Roman wall painting.
2. Agamemnon rebuffs the Priest Chryses.
3. The Rage of Achilles. Giovanni Batista Tiepolo, 1757.
4. Achilles bandages Patroclus' arm. Attic Red-figure kylix by the Sosias Painter, c. 500 BCE.
5. *Jupiter and Thetis. Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres, 1811. Musée Granet, Aix-en-Provence, France.
6. Hector Taking Leave of Andromache. Jean Restout, 1728. Visual retelling of the climax of Book 6 of Homer's Iliad. Hector looks nervously at the sky while Andromache clutches baby Astyanax.
7. Achilles Receiving the Ambassadors of Agamemnon. Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres, 1801. Ecole nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris.
8. Priam ransoms the body of Hector from Achilles, who reclines on a couch behind a table with the body beneath. Attic Red-figure skyphos by the Brygos Painter, c. 485-480 BCE.