Transcript Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece
Background and History for The
Iliad
Ancient Greek Literature
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Begins with the epics The Iliad and The
Odyssey, both written by Homer
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These stories were used to teach wealthy
students in ancient Greece.
Epithet
 Descriptive
words and phrases that
characterize persons and things. Like a
nickname, but it also describes them.
– Ex: “The Big Bad Wolf”
“Godlike Achilles”
“Brilliant Achilles”
“Man-Killing Hector”
“Man of Steel” (Superman)
“The Amazing Spiderman”
“The Dark Knight” (Batman)
“The Boy Genius” (Jimmy Neutron)
RANSOM
In the ancient Greece culture ransoms were a
common practice.
 A ransom was a form of economic exchange
and could be offered for:
return of a corpse
payment for release of prisoner
payment for a crime
 Ransoms were used to pay the soldiers
 If a Greek rejected a ransom would imply that
this war was extremely savage or personal
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Fate
 Every
person, hero or not, was given a
distinct fate (or destiny) at birth.
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was wise to accept one’s fate; to avoid
it was foolish
 HUBRIS-
overabundance of pride. This is
the most common tragic flaw.
Origins of the Trojan War
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Began with Eris, goddess of strife
– Anger: she had not been invited to the
wedding of Peleus and Thetis
– Vengeance: she threw an apple with the
inscription “for the fairest”
– Strife: Hera, Athena and Aphrodite argue
– Strife: Prince Paris of Troy had to choose
– Strife: Chose Aphrodite who had promised
him Helen of Sparta… who was married… to
Menelaus, King of Sparta
Trojan War
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Ten year war
The Iliad covers the 10th year
Achilles main character
Prince Paris steals Helen from Greece; war begins
Achilles: infamous Greek soldier; he is the hero
Hector: Trojan hero; only soldier who is a match
for Achilles
Greek Gods: play prominent roles in the story;
they take sides and help their chosen heroes
The Greek Gods that are
in the Iliad
Religion
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There were no sacred writings or bible
– Developed a rich set of myths (traditional stories)
about their gods
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Worship centered on an elite group of gods, the
12 Olympians
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12 Olympians, headed by Zeus and Hera
gods had human qualities: love, hate, and jealousy
gods lived forever
gods fought and competed with one another
live at the top of the highest mountain in Greece:
Mount Olympus
12 Olympians
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Zeus (Roman god: Jupiter)
– vanquished his father and the other Titans,
– he and his brothers, Poseidon and Hades,
divided up the world
– Zeus ruled the sky and was given supreme
authority over the earth and Mount Olympus
12 Olympians
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Aphrodite (Roman name: Venus)
– goddess of love, beauty and fertility
– protector of sailors
12 Olympians
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Athena (Roman name: Minerva)
– goddess of crafts, domestic arts, and war
– patron goddess of Athens
– said to have been born from
Zeus’s forehead, fully armed
12 Olympians
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Apollo (Roman name: Apollo)
– god of prophecy, music and healing
– he brought about the demise of Achilles,
guiding Paris’s arrow
12 Olympians
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Ares (Roman name: Mars)
– god of savage war, bloodlust
– handsome and cruel
– depicted carrying a bloodstained spear
– throne on Mount Olympus is said to be
covered in human skin
12 Olympians
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Poseidon (Roman name: Neptune)
– god of sea, earthquakes, and horses
– spent most of his time in the sea, so
sailors would pray to him.