The Teaching Program for Homer's Odyssey

From Tell me ODYSSEUS: The Teaching Program for Homer’s Odyssey

1. THE STORIES LEADING UP TO THE TROJAN WAR

Zeus and the As the story goes, Zeus, the supreme god and leader of the Olympians, decided Cause of The there were too many mortals. His solution to this problem was to cause a war – a Trojan War very famous war; a war with stories that would live on forever.

That war was the Trojan War. Zeus desired the beautiful sea nymph Thetis (an immortal). And he wasn’t the only one (some say Poseidon desired her as well). Zeus’ desire changed, however, Zeus when he heard the prophecy that a son born to Thetis would grow up to be And stronger than his father. Zeus knew what it was like for a son to overthrow his Thetis father—he had done exactly that in the battle of the Olympians against the Titans. Zeus was the leader of the Olympians; his father, Cronus, was the leader of the Titans. The Olympians won the battle. Zeus dethroned his father. Zeus became the leader. Thetis did not marry Zeus or any other immortal; she married Peleus—a mortal. Peleus and Thetis celebrated their wedding. But there was one big problem, Eris, the goddess of Strife, had been left off the guest-list. And she wasn’t happy about The Wedding it. Eris showed up at the wedding anyway, and she brought a gift—a Golden Apple Of Peleus inscribed with the words For the Fairest. Eris tossed the Apple into the middle of a And Thetis circle surrounded by three goddesses: Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Each goddess

claimed she deserved the Golden Apple (see below). Apple Of Discord Zeus tried to calm the discord. It didn’t work. A judge was needed and Zeus did not want to be that judge, he did not want to pick “the fairest” from among the three. Why not? Because Hera was his very jealous wife, Athena was his favorite daughter, and Aphrodite did not like competitors. And all three goddesses were powerful—and all three had nasty tempers. Zeus decided to seek the help of his son Hermes. The three goddesses continued to argue about who was the fairest so Zeus told Hermes (his son, the messenger god) to take the three goddesses to Mount Ida The Judgment (near Troy) and ask Paris, a shepherd (who also happened to be very handsome) to of Paris judge the competition. Each goddess tried to persuade Paris that they deserved the apple, and each made a promise to him should she be the one chosen: Hera promised to make Paris the ruler of the world, Athena promised him success in all wars, and Aphrodite promised him the love of the most beautiful woman in the world. Paris declared Aphrodite the fairest. Paris’ decision meant he would receive the love of the most beautiful woman in the world. That woman was Helen.

The Three HERA ATHENA APHRODITE Goddesses, Wife of Zeus Daughter of Zeus Goddess of beauty and love. and their Promises to Goddess of marriage Goddess of wisdom. Promised Paris the love of Paris Promised Paris he would be Promised Paris he would the most beautiful woman the ruler of the world. have success in all wars. in the world.

1. THE STORIES LEADING UP TO THE TROJAN WAR

Backstory: Paris’ parents were Priam and Hecuba, the King and Queen of Troy. They were also the parents of Hector (famous leader of the Trojan army). While • pregnant with Paris, his mother Hecuba had a dream that was interpreted as a sign Birth of that the child she was carrying would grow up to be the cause of the fall of Troy. Paris (also Priam and Hecuba were ordered to kill their infant son. Unable to do that, they known as Paris instead gave their son to a shepherd, and told him to kill the infant by leaving him Alexander) alone on Mount Ida. The shepherd followed their instructions, but when he found • the infant still alive after a few days, he decided to raise the child as his own son. Years later, the handsome Paris would eventually end up back at the home of his true parents, King Priam and Queen Hecuba. His sister Cassandra recognized the commoner Paris as her royal brother and told her parents, who then welcomed Paris into the family – ignoring the prophecy they had been told years earlier. After judging the contest and selecting Aphrodite as the fairest, Paris announced that he was going to sail to Sparta. His destination: the home of Menelaus and his Paris wife Helen. His purpose: to get Helen and bring her back to Troy. Those who knew Abducts the prophecy warned Paris not to go. Paris did not listen. Helen When Paris arrived in Sparta, Menelaus welcomed him and entertained him, as was the sacred guest tradition during that time. During Paris’ visit, Menelaus was called away to attend a funeral and he asked Helen to take care of Paris. When Menelaus returned from his trip – Paris was gone. And so was Helen, who by this time had fallen in love with Paris (fulfilling Aphrodite’s promise to Paris). Also missing were many of Menelaus’ treasures. Another Backstory: Helen was so beautiful that many noble men from the surrounding cities wanted to marry her. Seeing this, Odysseus (known for his intelligence) told Helen’s mortal father Tyndareus that he should ask all of Helen’s • suitors to swear an oath to support whoever was chosen to be Helen’s husband. Oath of That oath would be their promise to defend the interests of Helen’s husband, Tyndareus should those interests ever be threatened. • Odysseus was among the many men who swore the oath, but he didn’t do it in the hope of winning Helen. Odysseus gave Tyndareus the idea for the oath, and swore the oath himself, in exchange for Tyndareus’ help in marrying Penelope1 (a niece of Tyndareus). Helen ultimately chose Menelaus as her husband (some say it was her father who made the choice). Achaeans Menelaus returned to Sparta from his trip and discovered that Paris and Helen and Declare War many of his treasures were gone. Outraged, he immediately notified his brother Against The Agamemnon, King of Mycenae. Soon, all the men who had sworn the oath to Trojans Tyndareus were called to honor that oath. The Achaeans began to assemble their ships and crews, they were going to Troy to get Helen and bring her home!

1 When all the other men wanted Helen, Odysseus wanted Penelope. Odysseus and Penelope are both known for their intelligence. Penelope married Odysseus even though her father Icarius did not approve (he tried to stop his daughter from leaving with Odysseus, but she left anyway). The beautiful Helen and the clever Penelope were cousins—their fathers, Tyndareus and Icarius, were brothers. Helen was also the sister of Clytemnestra, wife of Agamemnon.