Trojan War Flashcards
How does Agamemnon appease Artemis and bring back the winds?
He sacrifices his daughter Iphigenia to her
Before the Greeks can leave for Troy, something happens that delays them, what is it?
Agamemnon kills a deer in Artemis’ sacred grove, and draws her wrath. Artemis halts the winds and prevents them from sailing.
Why is the story of the Trojan War called the Iliad?
The Greek word for Troy is Ilion
Leda
Spartan queen, seduced by Zeus in the form of a swan. She gives birth to two eggs. One with daughters, Helen and Clytemnestra. One with sons, Castor and Polydeuces
Helen
Most beautiful woman in the world
Wife of Menelaus
Trojan war is started over her
Thetis
Nereid
Married to mortal king Peleus for 1 year
Mother of Achilles
Wedding of Peleus and Thetis
Apple of discord on which is written “for the most beautiful” is thrown into the wedding by Eris. Three goddesses seek to claim the title of most beautiful.
Which three goddesses vie for the title of most beautiful?
Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite
Who becomes judge of the contest for most beautiful?
Paris, a prince of Troy
What bribe does each goddess offer to Paris to get him to choose them as the winner?
Hera: king of Asia
Athena: greatest warrior
Aphrodite: Sex with the most beautiful woman (Helen)
Who wins the contest?
Aphrodite
How does Paris violate the guest/host relationship?
He seduces Helen and elopes with her. This is the ultimate insult to Menelaus and causes the Greeks to declare war on the Trojans
What is Achilles personality like?
Hot-headed and rash. Easily offended. Passionate and emotional. Sensitive to insult.
Achilles is immortal except for where?
His heel, where Thetis held him to dunk him into the river Styx.
Who is Achilles teacher?
Chiron
Who is Achilles’ companion/lover?
Patroclus
How does Thetis hide Achilles when the Kings of Greece want him to fight in the War?
She disguises him as a girl and hides him on Skyros amongst the Kings seven daughters
Who discovers Achilles on Skyros?
Odysseus. He devises a plan to determine which of the girls is Achilles in disguise. He has someone sound a war trumpet and gauges the reactions of all of the girls.
How doe they convince Achilles to join the war?
Agamemnon promises Achilles his daughter Iphigenia as a bride.
What happens when Achilles arrives to the gathering place of the greek army before it sets sail for Troy?
Agamemnon had sacrificed Iphigenia and Achilles no longer has a royal marriage. He is very angry and tries to draw his sword on Agamemnon
Priam and Hecuba
King and queen of Troy
Paris and hector
Sons of Priam, princes of Troy
Hector is a great warrior
Paris is a weakling
Cassandra
Daughter of Priam, princess of Troy, gifted with foresight, but cursed by Apollo so no one believes her prophecies. She predicts the fall of Troy.
Andromache and astyanax
Wife and infant son of hector
Aeneas
Warrior in the Trojan court. Son of Aphrodite and Anchises
Sarpedon
Trojan ally, son of Zeus, killed by Patroclus. When he is dying, Zeus has him brought to Olympus by Thanatos and Hypnos so that he can say goodbye
Gods allied with the Trojans
Apollo
Artemis
Aphrodite
Nestor
King of Pylos
Old wise King
Diomedes
King of Argos
Known for military skill
Wounds Ares and Aphrodite in battle
Odysseus
King of Ithaca, known for his craftiness and adventures after the war
Peleus
A king, father of Achilles
Ajax the greater
Warrior, commits suicide after losing to Odysseus in a competition for Achilles armor.
Ajax the lesser
Warrior. Rapes Cassandra during the sack of Troy, dragging her away from the statue of Athena, he dies on the return home.
Gods allied with the Greeks
Athena
Hera
What happens when the Greeks first arrive in Asia (Troy)
They desecrate a temple of Apollo, Agamemnon takes a priestess of Apollo as a slave. Apollo is pissed. Apollo attacks the Greeks with arrows and they suffer terrible losses.
How does Agamemnon offend Achilles a second time?
Agamemnon is forced to return the priestess he took as a slave, so he demands that Achilles give him the girl he took as a slave. Achilles claims to have already fallen in love with the girl. He is forced to give her up. He attacks Agamemnon and Athena is forced to intervene to diffuse the situation. Achilles quits the war.
After Achilles quits the war what does Thetis do?
She asks Zeus to cause the Greeks to suffer terrible losses, until they have to beg Achilles to return to the war and his honor restored
When Menelaus and Paris face each other, how does Paris survive?
Just before Menelaus is about to kill Paris, Aphrodite carries him away to Helen’s bedroom
Who specifically does Patroclus kill when he goes into battle in Achilles armor?
Sarpedon
How does Patroclus die?
Apollo ambushes him, and he falls to the ground stunned, allowing Hector to get the advantage and kill him
What is the turning point in the war for Achilles?
The death of Patroclus
How does Hector desecrate the body of Patroclus?
He strips him of his armor
What does Thetis warn Achilles of?
She warns him that after the death of hector, his own death will soon follow
How does Hector die?
After the Trojan forces are driven back inside the city, Hector remains outside the walls. Achilles chased him around the walls of the city three times, but can’t catch him. Hector is tricked by Athena who poses as his brother, and this allows Achilles to kill him.
What does Achilles do to Hector’s body after he kills him?
He ties it to his chariot and drags it back to his hut. He continues to drag the corpse around the tomb of Patroclus every day for 12 days
Who retrieves Hector’s body?
Priam, with the aid of Hermes.
How does Achilles honor Patroclus during the funeral?
Sacrifices 12 Trojan prisoners and holds athletic games.
After the funeral of Hector, what two leaders does Achilles kill?
Penthesilea leader of the Amazons
Memnon a son of Eos and Tithonus, a brother of Priam
How does Achilles die?
He is shot through the heel by Paris, aided by Apollo.
Who retrieves the body of Achilles?
Ajax
How is Achilles honored at his funeral?
Funeral lasts 17 days Mourned by mortals and immortals Flocks of sheep sacrificed Many heroes parade around he pyre Bones are mixed with Patroclus' and put into a golden urn by Thetis Games held in his honor
What does the ghost of Achilles demand from the Greeks during the sack of Troy
That Polyxena, a daughter of Priam be sacrificed at his tomb
What do Diomedes and Odysseus do before the Greeks can sack Troy?
They steal the Palladium
Who wins the armor of Achilles?
Odysseus
How does Ajax the greater die?
He commits suicide due to the shame of losing to Odysseus in the competition for Achilles armor
How does Priam die?
Killed by Neoptolemus, son of Achilles, during the sack of Troy
How does Paris die?
Killed by Philoctetes, who has Heracles poisoned arrows
how do the Greeks enter Troy?
Some hide in a giant wooden horse while the rest pretend to sail home, the Trojans bring the horse inside the walls
Who tells the Trojans not to bring the horse inside they walls?
Cassandra and Laocoon
Who escapes Troy?
Aeneas and his son Ascanius and his father Anchises
What happens to Astyanax?
He is throne from the walls during the sack
What happens to Andromache?
She is taken as a slave by Neoptolemus
What happens to Hecuba?
She sails back to Greece with Odysseus and lands in Thrace where she finds the body of her son Polydorus, who was murdered by King Polymestor. She takes revenge on the King, killing his children and blinding him. She is turned into a dog
What are the Theomachies?
Two episodes of the Iliad in which the gods fight each other on the battlefield. In one, Athena aids Diomedes in wounding Ares and Aphrodite. In the second Hera attacks Artemis
What happens to Helen after the war?
She is given to Deiphobus, the brother of Paris after his death. She betrays him by hiding his sword during the sack, and he is killed by Menelaus and Odysseus. She sails back to Sparta with Menelaus
What happens to Cassandra after the fall of Troy
She is taken by Agamemnon and killed along with him by Clytemnestra
What happens to Nestor after the war?
He returns home safely because he returned before the sack of Troy
What happens to Diomedes after the war?
He returns home to find that his wife has been unfaithful, he leaves Argos and goes to Italy where he founds several cities
What happens to Odysseus after the war?
It takes him ten years to get home, the story of this is called the Odyssey
