The Trojan War and Achilles

• The Trojan War features the hero Achilles.

Achilles' Background

• Achilles was the son of Peleus, a mortal man, and Thetis, a sea nymph.
• His mother attempted to make him immortal by dipping him in the River Styx, but his heel was not submerged, leaving it vulnerable.
• Achilles' heel could easily be injured, eventually leading to his death by Paris, who shot him with an arrow guided by Apollo.
• Achilles' parents were told by an oracle that Achilles would die in the Trojan War.
• His parents hid him in Scyros dressed as a girl to avoid his fate.
• A prophet revealed that the war could not be won without Achilles, so Odysseus found him..
• Zeus offered Achilles a choice between a long, prosperous life or a short, famous one; Achilles chose fame.

The Wrath of Achilles

• In the tenth year of the Trojan War, Achilles quarreled with Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and commander of the Greek army.
• Agamemnon had stolen the daughter of Apollo's priest, angering Apollo, who sent a plague upon the Greek army.
• Agamemnon returned the priest's daughter but stole Achilles' girlfriend instead.
• Enraged, Achilles withdrew from the war with his troops.

The Duel

• Paris (son of Priam, king of Troy) and Menelaus (king of Sparta) agreed to a duel to end the war.
• The winner would take Helen and all her possessions.
• Menelaus was about to strangle Paris, but Aphrodite rescued Paris by cloaking everything in mist.

The Death of Patroclus

• After Achilles withdrew, the Greeks fared poorly because Thetis had asked Zeus to punish Agamemnon.
• The Trojans drove the Greeks back to their ships.
• Agamemnon offered Achilles gifts as an apology, but Achilles refused.
• Achilles' best friend Patroclus persuaded Achilles to let him wear his armor into battle to scare the Trojans.
• Achilles reluctantly agreed, warning Patroclus to avoid Hector.
• Patroclus led Achilles' men (the Myrmidons) against the Trojans but forgot Achilles' warnings and fought against Hector.
• Hector killed Patroclus and took Achilles' armor, devastating Achilles.
• Achilles decided to re-enter the war to avenge Patroclus.

The Death of Hector

• Achilles' mother, Thetis, persuaded Hephaestus to make new armor for Achilles.
• Achilles reconciled with Agamemnon, who returned Briseis.
• Achilles led the Greek forces against the Trojans and routed them.
• Athena tricked Hector into fighting Achilles by impersonating Hector's brother.
• Achilles killed Hector, dragging his body around the city of Troy.
• Hector's body was left to be eaten by dogs, an outrage to both Trojans and Greeks as proper burial was crucial to them.
• Achilles' action were part of his revenge.
• Achilles built a funeral pyre for Patroclus and held funeral games in his honor.
• Priam, king of Troy, begged Achilles to return Hector's body.
• Achilles, guided by a dream, returned Hector's body, and a truce was called for nine days while the Trojans mourned.
• Many more troops were killed before Paris, guided by Apollo, struck Achilles in the heel, killing him.
• Achilles' armor was given to Odysseus.

The Wooden Horse

• The wooden horse was a plan devised by Odysseus to end the ten-year war.
• The Greeks built a large, hollow wooden horse and hid soldiers inside, including Diomedes, Menelaus, and Odysseus.
• The rest of the Greek army sailed to Tenedos to deceive the Trojans.
• The Trojans thought the Greeks had left, celebrating the end of the war.
• They found the wooden horse and debated whether to drag it into the city as a gift for Athene or destroy it as a trick.

Laocoon

• Laocoon, a Trojan priest, wanted to destroy the horse as he was suspicious of it.
• He threw his spear at the horse, but Athene disguised the sound/dulled the sound.
• Poseidon sent snakes to punish Laocoon and his sons, crushing them to death.

Sinon

• The Trojans found Sinon, a Greek soldier, who pretended to have been mistreated.
• He claimed the horse was a gift to Athene and would protect the city if brought inside.
• Despite Cassandra's warnings, the Trojans brought the horse into the city.
• The Trojans celebrated and fell asleep, and Sinon released the Greeks from inside the horse.
• The Greeks rushed and signalled the fleet to return from Tenedos.
• Troy was burned to the ground, and King Priam and his family were killed
• Priam was killed by Achilles' son, Neoptolemus..
• Aeneas escaped with his father and son and eventually found a site for a new city.
• Aeneas' son built the city of Alba Longa from which Romulus, the founder of Rome, was born.