EmmaSalino Period3APLiterature

GreekandRomanMythologyAllusions
TheFamilyTree
Castor Tyndareus Leda Zeus

Clytemnestra

Pollux

Helen

Oreste s

Electra

Iphigenia

Hermione

LedaandtheSwan
Leda and the Swan*
William Butler Yeats

A sudden blow: the great wings beating still Above the staggering girl, her thighs caressed By the dark webs, her nape caught in his bill, He holds her helpless breast upon his breast. How The And But can those terrified vague fingers push feathered glory from her loosening thighs? how can body, laid in that white rush, feel the strange heart beating where it lies?

A shudder in the loins engenders there The broken wall, the burning roof and tower[20] And Agamemnon dead. Being so caught up, So mastered by the brute blood of the air, Did she put on his knowledge with his power Before the indifferent beak could let her drop?

InLedaandtheSwan,Zeus transformsintoaswanandseducesLeda, wifeofTyndareus.Thatsamenight, TyndareusalsoseducedLeda.Shegivesbirth totwoeggs.Inone,HelenandPolluxalso calledPolydeucestotheGreeksareborn, withtheimmortalityoftheirfatherZeus.In another,ClytemnestraandCastorareborn, themortalchildrenofTyndareus. Helencametobethewomanfought forintheTrojanWaraswellasthemother ofHermione, wifeof Orestes,and Clytemnestra marriedKing

Agamemnon,givingbirthtothreechildren. CastorandPolluxbecameinseparable;inalmostalltalesCastor wasaskilledhorsetrainerandPolluxanexperiencedboxer.Thetwins appearedinmanyothermyths,rescuingtheirsisterHelenaftershehadbeenkidnappedbyTheseus, assistingJasonandtheArgonauts.InGreekmyththeywereconsideredthepatronsofsailors;inRoman theywereconsideredpatronsofhorses.AstorygoesthatthetwinscapturedtheircousinsPhoebeand Hilariatomarry,whowerealreadypromisedtotwoothercousins,IdasandLynceus.Thefourfight, killingIdas,Lynceus,andCastor. Zeus,somovedbyPolluxsgriefofhismortalbrother,placedthetwointhestars,becomingThe Gemini.
*Thepoem,LedaandtheSwan,isoneofthemostpopularworksthatalludetotheGreekmyth.

Agamemnon,Orestes,andElectra Agamemnon,brotherofMenelaus, husbandofClytemnestra,kingofMycenae, fatherofOrestes,Electra,andIphigenia,went offtofightintheTrojanWarwhenOrestes wasjustachild. Beforehissails,Agamemnonwas forcedtosacrificehisdaughterIphigeniato Artemisforinsultingthegoddessofthe wildernessandhunt.Strangely,IphigeniawastransportedtoTaurusandreplacedwithan animalatthepeakofhersacrifice. Duringhisabsence,Clytemnestratookonaparamour,Aegisthus.WhenAgamemnon returned,ClytemnestraandAegisthusmurderedhim,withAegisthusbecomingking.Electra, fearingthatOresteswasindangerhewastherightfulheirtothethronesenthimtotheir uncleStrophius,kingofPhocis.Orestesgrewupalongwiththekingsson,Pylades. WhenOresteshadmatured,heconsultedtheoracleofApolloinDelphiforhisdutyof hisfathersmurder.Confirminghisdestinyforavengingthemurder,Orestestravelledto MycenaewithPyladesasmessengers,andthenslewClytemnestraandAegisthus,after revealinghimselftoElectra.
Extra,Extra Insomeversions,Orestesispraisedforhisrevenge.Inothers, hewasconsideredasinnerforcommittingmatricide,themurder ofonesmother.Intheseversions,OrestesischasedbytheFuries nonstop,withPyladesathisside.Seekinghelp,hetravelstothe oracleonceagain.ThistimeApolloencourageshimtopresenthis casetothecourtofelders,Areopagus.WithApolloandAthenaon hisside,OresteswasrelievedoftheFuries. InRomanversions,Apolloinstructshimtobringhimthestatueof hissister,Diana(Artemis).Indoingso,heandPyladesmustfacethepriestessofDiana,none otherthanIphigenia.Uponlearningheridentity,thethreebringbackthestatueofDiana.They thentravelledtoAthenswithMinerva(Athena),whoeventuallyacquittedOrestesofhiscrimes.