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Home , Orestes (Greek myth), Polyxena, Troy (BBC radio drama)

The Fall of Ch 21, pp. 554-577 After the Fated death of (see p.547, lines 405-411) Killed by an arrow shot by One point of vulnerability: Achilles' heel > p.530 sacrifice of Polyxena

Contest for the weapons of Achilles: vs Ajax p. 556 Odysseus meets Ajax in the underworld, hoping for reconciliation: " 'Ajax ... even in death can you never forget your quarrel with me and the cursed arms of Achilles?' ... So I appealed but he answered me never a word and departed along with the other ghosts, to the gloomy place of the dead."

The , as remembered in pp.557-60 Tenth year of war: Greeks pretend to abandon siege of Troy Wooden horse left ‘as offering to gods’ for safe return: 50 warriors concealed inside Helen's attempted treachery p.559, lines 265-77 "Three times you walked by the horse and stroked the hollow deception and spoke to the noble Argives, calling on each by his name and simulating the voices of all the wives of the Achaeans" priest Laocoon: ‘beware of Greeks, even bearing gifts’ silenced by attack of two serpents Trojans bring horse into city –Troy falls pp.559-60

Slaughter of Trojan Royal Family king at the altar p.562 ’s baby son p.563: remember pp.541-3

Archaeological exploration of Troy: Heinrich Schliemann

Myths of the Greek victors’ homecomings from Troy: nostos = homecoming, cf. nostalgia, an ache for homecoming storm on their departure: ...."When the pale dawn returned we saw the Aegean dotted with Argive corpses floating like flowers among the shattered wrecks" (Aeschylus, ) (storm is the result of Athena's anger at rape of by lesser Ajax)

Menelaus: lost for a while in Egypt, reunited with Helen Odysseus: ten years wandering by sea, almost loses his kingdom (, Odyssey) Agamemnon: murdered at home by his wife and her lover (Aeschylus' trilogy Agamemnon, Choephori [=Libation Bearers] and Eumenides) Agamemnon + take revenge for death of "I spread a sumptuous net, like one for fishes, rich robes, but deadly. He could only struggle. Once, twice, I chopped. .... I sent him down to Hades"

Choephori: ' return and revenge p. 573

Eumenides: trial and aquittal of Orestes; Furies become Eumenides, 'the kindly ones' defends Orestes' choice to kill Clytemnestra: p. 574 "she who gives birth to what we call 'her child' is not the parent of the new-sown growth; rather, she is its nurse. Its parent is the man who gives his seed to her, a stranger woman, to keep for him, a stranger, as it swells, if so the gods decree. Here is the proof: A male can father childen without the mother-- as witness she who stands among you here, Athena, daughter of Olympian Zeus."

Athena casts the deciding vote to acquit Orestes: p. 574 "thus siding with the father, I cannot place an equal value on a woman's death, who killed her husband, guardian of the home"

What is justice? revenge? rule of law? scroll down for sample exam questions

Sample questions

1. At the end of Aeschylus' trilogy of tragedies, the Oresteia, the family curse of Agamemnon's family finds a resolution when a. Orestes is murdered by his son b. Orestes blinds himself and goes into exile c. Orestes is tried and acquitted at Athens by a court presided over by Athena d. Hera gives up her anger against Orestes e. Orestes makes a very large sacrifice to Poseidon

2. The murder of Agamemnon was committed by a. Cassandra b. Cassiopeia c. Clytemnestra d. Andromeda e. Calliope

3. The murder of Agamemnon was avenged by a. Orestes b. Oedipus c. Oenomaus d. Thyestes e. Myrtilus

4. Who walked around the Trojan horse and tried to trick the men inside into responding? a. Athena b. Hecabe c. Priam d. Hera e. Helen

5. Who cast the vote that resulted in Orestes' acquittal? a. Medea b. the Pythia c. Athena d. Poseidon e. Apollo

6. In myth, what was said to be the cause of the storms that delayed or prevented Greeks from returning home from Troy? a. the rape of Cassandra as she sought protection near a statue of Athena b. Myrtilus' betrayal of Oenomaus c. the wrath of Achilles d. the wrath of Poseidon e. the Clashing Rocks

7. ______won the contest for the arms of Achilles. a. Ajax b. c. d. Paris e. Odysseus scroll down for answers 1. c 2. c 3. a 4. e 5. c 6. a 7. e