ENGLISH NOTES (add to Homer file)

Epic Poem

 The language of the poem is grand and elaborate to match the story
 The epic poem includes an invocation of the muses
 Muse (in Greek and Roman mythology) each of nine goddesses, the
daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, who preside over the arts and
sciences.
 source of inspiration for a creative artist
 Also includes epithets used as poetic device

Muses

 According to Hesiod, there were nine muses

 Believed to be the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne (goddess of
memory)
 Another version stated that they were daughters of Uranus and Gaea

Epithet

 an adjective or phrase expressing a quality or attribute regarded as

characteristic of the person or thing mentioned: old men are often unfairly
awarded the epithet ‘dirty’.
 Glorified nickname which may be used to give someone’s style
 Significant, assigned by elders to represent one’s distinction
 Describe people and places to make them distinct
 Hector: tall, man-killing
 Achilles: son of Pelius
 Agamemnon: son of

Trojan War

 Eris: daughter of Zeus and Hera, goddess of discord, strife, and rivalry.
Sibling of Ares, the god of war

The banquet

 Thetis – a sea nymph, immortal devoted to the mother of Achilles,

nurtured Haphaestus
 Peleus – mortal with Achilles as the offspring

The Judgement of Paris

 Paris was on the slopes of the mountain, known for keeping his word
 Zeus instructed Hermes to bring the nymphs
 Perception of beauty through the naked body
 Bribes: Paris was bribed by Hera, Athena, Aphrodite. Yes to Aphrodite
because he would be given Helen, the most beautiful woman
 Despite Aphrodite’s promise, Paris was still a humble shepherd.
 King Priam had a contest for a bull in his festival. Paris’ boss did not allow
him to join because he would be exposed to his parents.
 Paris went to Sparta as the leader of the peaceful delegation. When
Menelaus went to Crete, Helen and Paris and sailed for Troy
 Menelaus asked help from his brother, Agamemnon, king of Mycenae
 the daughter of Zeus and Leda, born from an egg because Zeus was
disguised as a Leda. In the Homeric poems she was the outstandingly
beautiful wife of Menelaus, and her abduction by Paris (to whom she had
been promised, as a bribe, by Aphrodite) led to the Trojan War
 Suitors of Helen came from all over Greece hoping to win her heart.
Helen’s stepfather, King Tyndareus, was worried that choosing one suitor
might anger the others
 All the suitors of Helen were asked to take an oath to accept Helen’s
choice and to support the person whenever the need arises
 Stormy winds prevented the Greek fleet from sailing
 Artemis was angered by the Greeks killing one of her sacred
animals/Agamemnon boasted that he was a better hunter than Artemis.
Either the Greeks’ fault or Agamemnon’s
 Agamemnon was asked to sacrifice his daughter, Ephiginea
 Menelaus treated Paris as his own son
 Discord was not invited to the banquet but presents a golden apple: for
the fairest
 Helen was married to Menelaus king of Sparta. They went to Troy. The
rage started the Trojan war
 Agamemnon summoned all the Greek cities n gods to plot against his
brother

TROY: Hector, Priam, Paris, Hekabe, Helen

 The Iliad happened in Troy nine years after the start of the Trojan war
 In medias res (in the midst of things) is a way to start a work somewhere in
the middle of the plot [last years after the Trojan war]

The Iliad

 Started with
 Chryses, Chryseis’ father, went to the Greek camp and tried to ransom
his daughter with gifts
 As Chryses walked, he prayed to the god, Apollo
 Calchas was taken by Agamenon to accompany the Greeks to war
 He predicted that the war against the trojans would last 10 years
 Calchas also suggested that the fleet would only escape the raging
sea if Iphigenia were sacrifices
 He also explained why Apollo was slaughtering the army with the
plague
 Chryseis was given back to her father by Odysseus
 Agamemnon sent his soldiers to bring Briseis, Achilles’ prize, to his tent
 Achilles acted immaturely; he widthrew his troops and men after going
to his tent and sulking
 Athena (Minerva) came down from heaven and seized Achilles by his
yellow hair (Athena could only be seen by Achilles)

GREEK SIDE: Hera, Athena, Poseidon, Hermes, Hephaestus
TROJAN SIDE: Aphrodite, Apollo, Artemis, Ares