CLA2323 Past Paper Notes November 19th PDF

CLA2323 November 19^th^ [The legend of cupid and psyche] Psyche is a mortal girl in Greece, about 18 years old \- her name is the Greek word for "soul": psuchē \- her legend is not discussed in our textbook \- the god's name Cupid (Cupido) = the Latin version of the Greek name Eros \- in our B...

CLA2323 November 19^th^ [The legend of cupid and psyche] Psyche is a mortal girl in Greece, about 18 years old \- her name is the Greek word for "soul": psuchē \- her legend is not discussed in our textbook \- the god's name Cupid (Cupido) = the Latin version of the Greek name Eros \- in our Brightspace module "Readings for Nov. 12", see "The young woman Psyche in the Underworld" The charming Cupid and Psyche tale comes to us from a delightful novel written in Latin circa 160 A.D. by a Roman citizen named Lucius Apuleius, a wealthy orator in Roman provincial North Africa. By definition, a novel is a book-length fictional story written in prose. Apuleius' novel---the only complete Latin novel that survives from ancient times---was officially titled the Metamorphoses ("the Transformations"). But universally it is known in English as The Golden Ass (where "ass" = donkey). In the novel, the Cupid and Psyche tale provides a short centerpiece. Apuleius apparently borrowed it from an existing Greek folk tale, but he gave it its best-known telling. The tale operates at about three different levels: \(1) an engaging young-adult female adventure story \(2) an allegory of how a young person may be tested and matured by romantic love. Here the character's name, "Soul", seems relevant. \(3) a different allegory, about a spiritual journey after death---that is, the soul of a dead person, attaining a happy afterlife in Elysium. This attainment is achieved because, while alive, the person has been initiated into one of the secretive Mystery religions of the Greco-Roman world. Again, see Buxton pp. 52 and 212--213, on the Orphic fringe sect. Here again, the character's "Soul" name seems relevant. Some of the above ideas are addressed in the "Psyche in the Underworld" posting. Topic \#2 [The heroes castor and Polydeuces] Scattered mentions in Buxton--- \- page 98: the illustration and caption (Leda and the swan), and the text, top right \- p. 107 top: the illustration \- p. 193 ---alternative spelling: Kastor and Polydeukes ---also known as Castor and Pollux (their ancient Roman names) ---also known as the Dioscuri, as explained below: Slide 15 ---along with their twin sisters (yes, four of them), the Dioscuri are the best-remembered heroes of the city of Sparta ---in astronomy, they are the Heavenly Twins, the constellation Gemini. (Gemini = Twins" in Latin.) Our extant sources \- Apollodorus' Library \- the Greek poet Pindar in his Tenth Nemean Ode, circa 470 B.C. \- some mentions in Homer Tyndareus \[Tyndareos\], king of Sparta, had a beautiful wife, younger than he, named Leda. The god Zeus violated her, after approaching her in the form of a handsome swan: Buxton page 98. Around the same general time, Leda also had conventional intercourse with her husband. In one birthing, she produced two pairs of twins: Castor and Polydeuces, and Helen and Clytemnestra \[Clytemnaestra\]. As in the Heracles myth, the twins are fraternal. By the most familiar version, Polydeuces was the son of Zeus and was immortal and invulnerable. Castor was Tyndareus' son and was mortal. Helen (later to be notorious as Helen of Troy) was Zeus' daughter. Clytemnestra was mortal. At real-life ancient Sparta circa 500 B.C., Helen was worshipped as a goddess who had lived and died on Earth. She was thought of as living eternally on Mt. Olympus. Footnote: Castor's name means "beaver" in Greek and Latin: That use survives in modern French. The Greek name Poludeukes means "much sweet wine". Polydeuces' situation seems unusual. Heracles, the greatest son of Zeus, had to live on earth as a mortal man: Heracles suffered and died; he wasn't immortal from birth. But Polydeuces seems to have been immortal and invulnerable from the start. (Dionysus, the son of Zeus and a mortal woman, was immortal from birth, but he never lived as a mortal human.) Anyway, Polydeuces' immortality isn't the only inconsistent detail in Greek myth. In Greek writings, Castor and Polydeuces are often called jointly by the name Dios kouroi---the "youths of Zeus" or "sons of Zeus". In English, we inherit the latinized form Dioscuri. Both boys were skilled horsemen. Also, Polydeuces was a famous boxer; Castor was a famous wrestler. They had several adventures--- \- They rode to the rescue of their sister Helen, after she was kidnapped by the Athenian hero Theseus: Slide 33 of last week's slideshow, repeated below. \- \- They hunted the Calydonian Boar and were in on the kill of it. \- They sailed with Jason on the Argo in quest of the Golden Fleece. See Buxton's "Argonauts" list, page 111. [The death of the twins] See Buxton page 193, right, lower In their final exploit, Castor and Polydeuces kidnap two young noblewomen and are pursued and overtaken by the two women's fiancés (who are brothers---an odd mirroring of the Dioscuri's earlier rescuing of their sister). The offended brothers are heroes themselves: Idas and Lynceus \[Lynkeus\], who previously had been the Dioscuri's shipmates on the Argo: See Buxton's page 111 list. In the ensuing combat, all three mortal men are killed, with only the invulnerable Polydeuces left standing. A beautiful poem by the Greek poet Pindar, circa 470 B.C., describes how Polydeuces stands over his dead brother and prays to father Zeus: "Let me die with him." But Zeus decides a different fate--- By Zeus' decree, both brothers would share death and immortality alike. Together, they would divide eternity, one day at time, moving between (i) the Underworld and (ii) a form of immortality at Mt. Olympus. As Homer describes them in the Odyssey, Book 11: "The fertile earth holds them, yet they live... One day they are alive, one day dead." Thus the brothers are inseparable in death, as they had been in life. [The twins worship in ancient Greece] Like Heracles, the twins were favourites of worship in real-life ancient Greece. They were thought of as both human and divine, partaking of both natures and therefore particularly sympathetic to human prayers and suffering: They were thought to be ready to intercede with their father Zeus, on behalf of us mortals. The Dioscuri were often pictured as heavenly riders on white steeds. They were patron heroes of the real-life aristocratic male youth who typically supplied the cavalry for ancient Greek city-states. Being Spartans, they were associated particularly with Sparta and other Dorian Greek cities. The twins were imagined as being willing to ride to the rescue for humans. Thus they were worshipped as protectors of people in danger---including sailors at sea. At sea, their benevolent presence was supposed to be revealed in the electrical phenomenon that we today call Saint Elmo's Fire, whereby the mast and rigging of a sailing ship would seem to light up and sparkle, on its own, in a thunderstorm. See Buxton p. 193, bottom. (This St. Elmo's Fire is different from the 1985 Molly Ringwald movie.) [Riders to the rescue: the battle of sagras river] Battle of the Sagras River, circa 540 B.C. Find Locri and Croton on Buxton's map on page 12, far left side. In real life, two Greek cities were enemies on the south coast of Italy: Locri and Croton. The Locrians were Dorian Greeks (the same as the Spartans). The Crotonians had a different Greek ethnicity. Locri was the underdog against powerful Croton: Locri was on the defensive when Croton's army invaded Locri's territory. But in the battle, Locri won a major victory over Croton. It was claimed that, during the fighting, the Dioscuri had been seen on horseback: in the sky or on the ground, assisting the army of Locri. [Riders to the rescue: the battle of lake regillus ] The twins were beloved also by the Romans. Although the Romans weren't themselves Greek, they adopted the Twins into Roman worship and called them "Castor and Pollux". The Battle of Lake Regillus, circa 496 B.C. Again, this comes from real-life ancient history. The Romans copycatted the miracle at Locri, after the Romans won a victory over Italian-ethnic enemies in west-central Italy. The Romans claimed that at the Lake Regillus battle, they had seen the Dioscuri riding to their aid. A fine example of Roman copycatting of the Greeks. The "Theban cycle" -The adjective "Theban" means "of the city of Thebes". -Find Thebes on Buxton's page 13 map. -Ancient Egypt also had a city that the Greeks called "Thebes": coincidence. The main tales in the Theban Cycle \(1) The misdeeds of King Laius \[Laios\] \(2) Oedipus \(3) The Seven Against Thebes ---"The Seven" are champions from Argos, who fail to capture Thebes \(4) The princess Antigone \(5) The Epigonoi ("descendants"): Buxton pp. 168--169 ---these are the second-generation champions from Argos, who successfully capture Thebes [Weird family tales] Overall, the Theban Cycle tends to treat bizarrely the relations between family members: father-son, mother-son, brother-brother, wife-husband, etc. See Buxton's introductory comments, page 146. Tales of Thebes aren't the only place in Greek mythology where family is portrayed distortedly. Compare, for example, the House of Pelops at Mycenae, pp. 148--153; or the Danaids, pp. 158--159; or the offended wives on the island of Lemnos, page 110; or Medea murdering her children, page 113; or Heracles going crazy and killing his first family, page 115. Or the grotesque tale of Procne \[Prokne\], Philomela, and Tereus, pp. 154--155. If the Greek myths have a purpose or message in this family-weirdness pattern, it is not obvious. Some general comments at Buxton page 148. Buxton points out that the myths will exaggerate and dramatize the kinds of tensions or resentments that can exist normally in families. For example, in real life we may sometimes see two brothers who grow up not liking each other; in mythology (not just Greek) this fact gets exaggerated into fratricide: brother murders brother. Compare the biblical tale of Cain and Abel and the Roman myth of Romulus and Remus. In Greek myth, we have Polyneices and Eteocles of Thebes, who kill each other in combat (Buxton pp. 166--167), also Atreus and Thyestes of Mycenae, who despise each other (Buxton pp. 150--151). [Our sources for the Theban cycle] Although some parts of the Theban myths reach us from our trusty Apollodorus, our major sources are earlier and more literary than Apollodorus--- Namely, the great Athenian tragic playwrights Aeschylus \[Aischylos\] and Sophocles \[Sophokles\]. See Buxton's table on page 8. Specifically, we have Sophocles' masterpiece, Oedipus the King (written circa 425 B.C.), plus his Oedipus at Colonus (401 B.C.) and his Antigone (circa 442 B.C.). Note: Sophocles' Oedipus the King is often alternatively called Oedipus Rex. Also we have Aeschylus' tragedy Seven against Thebes (467 B.C.). [The misdeeds of the King Laius of Thebes] Buxton pp. 162--164 Let's start with a biblical passage: Exodus 34.7: God is described as "not absolving the guilty, but rather visiting the sins of the fathers upon their children and grandchildren, even to the third and fourth generation." Although the Hebrew Bible has no direct relationship to the Greek Theban Cycle, nevertheless the words do sum-up one idea that can be found also in Greek mythology---in tales of Thebes and also in tales of Mycenae (pp. 148--153). That is, the idea of a family curse that spans several generations. The misfortunes begin when King Laius of Thebes visits Mycenae and falls in love with Chrysippus \[Chrysippos\], a teenaged (or pre-teen) prince of Mycenae. Abducting the boy, Laius brings him home to Thebes to be his unwilling sex partner. According to Greek mythical "history", this was the first instance of homosexual activity between humans, as opposed to that between a god and a human. Laius had introduced male homosexuality or pederasty as a human behaviour. [The curse on Laius] Chrysippus eventually kills himself, from shame. This leads to a curse laid on Laius by Chrysippus' father, Pelops. See the page 162 textbook comment, cross-referencing Pelops' curse-on-Laius with the curse that's on Pelops, described at page 149. \- in Greek mythology, curses always are efficacious. (Also, although not relevant here, curses from dying people are extra strong.) Meanwhile, Laius has a young wife at home: Iocastē. (Usually her name in English is styled as "Jocasta".) In a drunken stupor, Laius impregnates her---despite knowing a prophecy that any son of his by Jocasta will grow up to kill him (Laius). [The myth of Oedipus] Buxton pp. 164--166; also pp. 237--238 on the Oedipus Complex theory of Sigmund Freud. The tale of baby Oedipus is in the familiar pattern of the abandoned baby: The helpless baby is deliberately left to die in the wilderness, often on a mountainside, due typically to an alarming prophecy regarding the child. But the child always survives and always grows up to greatness, typically returning eventually to confront his/her original malefactor. Included in the "abandoned baby" group are Atalanta (page 106), the Trojan prince Paris (page 131), the twins Amphion and Zethus \[Zethos\] (page 156), and the Roman twins Romulus and Remus. The dramatic narrative of Oedipus' life is given at Buxton pp. 164--166. [The point of the oedipus myth] Today, many people imagine that Oedipus' story is about a man who deliberately marries his mother: This wrong emphasis is due to Sigmund Freud's popularizing the myth in his famous "Oedipus Complex" theory of circa 1900 A.D. See Buxton pp. 237--238. However, the ancient Greeks would have interpreted the myth as being mainly about a man who cannot escape his fate. The Delphic oracle predicted that Oedipus would kill his father and marry and his mother---and so he did, despite his strong efforts to avoid it. Oedipus' downfall comes not through hubris but through another natural human failing: ignorance. He didn't know who his real parents were. [Oedipus' downfall: all in one day] The story is told by the Athenian tragic playwright Sophocles in his masterpiece, Oedipus the King (or Oedipus Rex: they are the same play), from the 420s B.C. probably. Oedipus, aged around 40, has been King of Thebes for about 20 years. Jocasta, his wife, is in about her late 50s. They have four children. Oedipus is beloved and honored, in his kingdom and family. But on this day, he is about to fall disastrously---yet not through hubris. Instead, his fatal "flaw" will be his human ignorance: All of Oedipus' destructive actions lie in his past, unknown to him. They are like ticking timebombs. Today, by accident, he will uncover the bizarre truth about himself... Our main ancient source--- \- Sophocles' extant stage tragedy Oedipus at Colonus, 401 B.C. (performed posthumously: Sophocles died around 406 B.C.). A pro-Athenian spin. Oedipus departs Thebes, perhaps on the very night of his day of bizarre revelations. Dethroned, he is expelled by Thebes' new regent (meaning "temporary ruler"), Creon, who is Jocasta's brother. Jocasta, who was Oedipus' wife-and-mother, has killed herself, and Oedipus has gouged out his own eyes in horror at the situation. In a single day, he has descended from being a beloved king and family man to being a blind, penniless outcast, shunned by society for his religious pollution. For years, he wanders homeless, accompanied only by his loyal daughter Antigone. [The death of Oedipus, at Athens] The elderly Oedipus wanders to an outlying section of Athens called Colonus---in some versions, pursued by the horrible Furies, who punish kinship-murder (see Buxton pp. 86--87)---and at Athens finally receives official religious purification. The benefactor who grants this asylum and purification is Athens' King Theseus. Then Oedipus dies. Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus propagandistically celebrates the playwright's native Athens as being a refuge for exiles and a defender of the oppressed. Buxton page 166. Oedipus' daughter Antigone returns to Thebes, where new troubles await [The myth of seven against thebes] See Buxton pp. 166--167 for the narrative and a table of the "Seven versus Seven". Events begin when the aggrieved Polyneices flees Thebes for Argos. This is the 3rd of our "company of heroes" tales, so far. Do you recall the prior two? Answer: (i) the Calydonian Boar hunt, (ii) Jason and the Argonauts. Our main ancient sources for the myth of the Seven: \- Aeschylus' extant stage tragedy the Seven Against Thebes (467 B.C.) \- Apollodorus' Library (circa 125 A.D.) [The seven from Argos, against Thebes] Polyneices \[Polyneikes\], prince of Thebes, instigator of the expedition Adrastus \[Adrastos\], King of Argos. (But see Buxton's other choice-of-hero, based on Aeschylus' stage play.) Amphiaraus \[Amphiaraos\] of Argos Hippomedon of Argos Capaneus \[Kapaneus\] of Argos Parthenopaeus \[Parthenopaios\] of Arcadia, the son of Atalanta Tydeus of Calydon, the son-in-law of King Adrastus at Argos [Buxtons "seven against thebes" section] On Buxton page 166, lower right, the subhead "The capture of Thebes" looks out-of-place: It is an editing error of some kind. Thebes was not captured by the Seven, and in Buxton's pages the "capture of Thebes" by the Epigonoi doesn't occur until page 169. On page 166, Buxton's subhead should read as "The failed attack on Thebes". [The theban cycle: the myth of Antigone] Buxton pp. 167--168, also the photo caption on page 239 At Thebes, with King Eteocles dead, his uncle Creon is back as regent (temporary ruler): See Slide 45, above. Creon decrees that the corpses of the attackers from Argos, scattered outside the walls, should all remain unburied. According to Greek belief, the souls of the unburied mean would be denied a resting place in the Underworld. The tale's heroine is Oedipus' daughter Antigone (the one who had accompanied him in exile). Always, she is characterized as a loyal heart, faithful to her family. Yet her name could mean something like "born to oppose". Sophocles' extant stage tragedy Antigone (circa 442 B.C.) is a study in civil disobedience and courage. The play draws on the old myth to paint the classic conflict of public duty versus personal conscience. In this situation, Antigone lives up to her name: At the cost of her life, she defies the ruler's commandment, to uphold a higher, unwritten law of social-and-family obligation. [The Theban cycle: the epigonoi ("Descendants")] Buxton pp. 168--169 ---these are the second-generation champions from Argos. Successfully, they capture Thebes. ---the name Epigonoi often appears in print in latinized form: Epigoni. ---the Epigonoi leader is Alcmaeon \[Alkmaion, Alcmeon\] of Argos, son of Amphiaraus: page 169. ---then a 2nd challenge to Alcmaeon: Returning to Argos, Alcmaeon is compelled to kill his own mother, Eriphyle, to avenge his father's death at her contriving. Compare the tale of Orestes and Clytemnestra at Mycenae: page 152. Like Orestes, Alcmaeon faces an ancient Greek "Catch 22": He is guilty of impiety if he does nothing, but guilty also if he acts and kills his mother. ---having killed her, Alcmaeon is then pursued by the dreaded Furies (Greek: Erinues, Erinyes: "Angry Ones," "Furies"). The Furies' cosmic job is to punish blood-guilt: See Buxton pp. 86--87 and the page 44 chart, upper middle-left. Again, compare the similar plight of Orestes. Like Orestes, Alcmaeon does eventually gain religious purification for his sin. Unfortunately, his story still ends unhappily. Topic \#4 the trojan cycle [Tales of troy ] Overview \- Troy's beginnings: Buxton pp. 130--131 \- Prince Paris of Troy (and Queen Helen of Sparta): pp. 131--133 \- The Trojan War: pp. 133--139 \- Also, pp. 200--205: archaeology at the real-life site of Troy The Trojan War: overview \- good general comments by Buxton, page 130: left-hand column, bottom, to right-hand column, top The Trojan War, a vast tale of many episodes and subplots, is by far the most important single topic in Greek mythology. Certain aspects of the war---but not the whole story---supply the material for Homer's two epic poems, the Iliad and Odyssey, written down around 750 B.C. The Iliad and Odyssey, totaling about 27,800 lines of verse, are the two earliest and arguably the two greatest works of Western literature, written in perhaps the 2nd human generation after the Greeks had acquired alphabetic writing. For real-life ancient Greeks of 600 or 400 B.C., Homer's two poems supplied the Greeks' "Bible", providing moral lessons and an explanation for the ordering of the universe, human destiny, the will of Heaven, and other major questions. For example, we hear of Greek fathers who required their sons to memorize the two poems verbatim, to improve the boys' character and provide them with a guide for life. [Homers iliad and odyssey, written down circa 750 B.C] See Buxton pp. 135--136 (on the Iliad), 140--145 (the Odyssey), and 204--205 (Troy). See also our Brightspace posting "Greek mythology in the Dark Age", page 3, in the "Read for Sept. 24" module. Contrary to some popular belief, Homer's two poems cover only two patches of the Trojan War myth: (a) in the Iliad, a period of about 40 days during the war's tenth year, and (b) in the Odyssey, a period of about 40 days at the end of the homeward journey of one Greek hero, Odysseus, after the war. Thus our modern knowledge for events of the entire ten-year war has to be patched together from several sources aside from Homer. These include our trusty Apollodorus (the Library or Bibliothēkē, circa 125 A.D.); the stage tragedies of the Athenian playwrights Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, of the 400s B.C.; and the Roman poet Vergil, in his epic poem in Latin, the Aeneid (circa 20 B.C.). [The trojan cycle: who are the trojans?] For purposes of our CLA2323 course, the Trojans are an imaginary non-Greek people of Greek myth. Modern archaeology shows that there really was a Bronze Age city, 1200s B.C., at the legendary site of Troy, in northwestern Asia Minor. Presumably it was a non-Greek city whose livelihood came from levying tolls on shipping in the Hellespont channel. Archaeology tells us that the city was destroyed by attackers several times in its history, including in around 1220 B.C. Modern scholars look at the 1220 B.C. date as a possible clue to the idea of a real-life Trojan War: Trojans versus Mycenaean Greeks. In the Brightspace module "Read for Sept. 17", see the pdf "Timeline of early Greek history", pp. 2 bottom and 3 top. Speculation is fascinating: Possibly, this real-life event supplied a foundation for the Greeks' subsequent myths about a Trojan War. See Buxton pp. 200--205. [Foreigners in Greek mythology] The Greek myths generally treat two different categories of non-Greeks--- \(a) those who are uncivilized or anti-civilization, such as the Thracians or Amazons \(b) those who are civilized, with values basically harmonious with those of the Greeks, such as the Phoenicians, Lydians, or Trojans [Those foreign trojans] Yet even this "friendly" treatment of the Trojans can take two different aspects: The Trojans can be made to look either "more Greek" or "more foreign", depending usually on the writer who's the storyteller. Oversimplifying somewhat, we can say that writers before about 500 B.C. may make the Trojans seem "more Greek", while writers after 500 B.C. might show them as "more foreign". "more Greek": In Homer's Iliad (circa 750 B.C.) the Trojans seem almost like a category of Greeks: Homer never emphasizes any differences. For example, Homer's Trojans converse easily with the Greeks (in truce-parleys and during one-on-one battlefield duels); Homer never mentions the existence of a separate Trojan language. Also, we see the Trojans worshipping Greek gods like Athena, and enjoying the special patronage of Apollo and Aphrodite. Aphrodite is the mother of the Trojan hero Aeneas \[Aineias\] and a friend to the Trojan prince Paris. "more foreign": But later ancient Greek writers and visual artists might picture the Trojans as being closer to Near Easterners, looking different from the Greeks in dress and even skin colour. Technically, Troy was located in Asia---that is, east of the Aegean Sea---and this fact can be either emphasized or minimized in the Greek storytelling, depending on the writer's (or painter's) motives. This change in interpretation-of-the-Trojans derives from a real-life event, one of the central events in Greek history: the invasions of Greece by the Persian Empire in 490 and 480 B.C. Buxton mentions, too briefly, at pp. 20, 40, 98, and 201. [By the 400s BC: the trojans as "stand-ins" for the Persians] The Persians sought to annex Greece to be the westernmost segment of their massive empire (at that time stretching from modern Bulgaria to modern Pakistan). After a failed navy-and-army attack on Athens in 490 B.C., the Persians in 480 B.C. launched a huge invasion of Greece. Yet, in a series of desperate campaigns (stirringly recounted for us by the ancient Greek historian Herodotus), the not-wealthy and normally disunified and Greek cities defeated the Persian invasion and kept Greece free. This victory was basically a miracle And it had a strong effect on Greek thinking and religion, including in subsequent telling of Greek mythology. Starting around the 470s B.C., the mythical Trojans might be treated as "stand-ins" for the real-life enemy Persians. (Ditto for the mythical Amazons: stand-ins for the Persians.) [The battle between east and west] For example, the historian Herodotus, writing circa 440 B.C., seems to view the Trojan War as being (i) historical fact and (ii) a "rehearsal" for the latter-day wars between Greece and Persia: all part of a recurring collision between West and East. Certain Athenian stage tragedies of the 400s B.C. take a similar view. In this light, the Trojans can be made to look more Eastern. Our textbook delivers one good sentence on this idea: In discussing the myth of Zeus and the Phoenician princess Europa, Buxton says (page 98, left-hand column), "It is notable that early Greek myths usually make little of the distinction between 'Greek' and 'barbarian', until the Greco-Persian wars in the early 5th century B.C. sharpened the Greeks' awareness of politico-ethnic difference." [Those devious trojans] In the negative vein of "foreign", the mythical Trojans had the reputation of being liars and cheaters---or at least of including certain cheaters, such as the prince Paris or the prince Laomedon. In the storytelling, this vice can be emphasized (or not) as part of the Trojans' larger "foreign" identity. Another feature of Trojans in Greek myth is that they are often imagined as good-looking: romantically attractive to gods and Greeks alike. Examples include the Trojan prince Ganymede, who attracts the god Zeus (Buxton page 100, left); the Trojan nobleman Anchises, who attracts Aphrodite (Buxton page 78); the Trojan prince Paris, who seduces Helen of Sparta (Buxton page 133 top); the Trojan prince Tithonus \[Tithonos\], who attracts the goddess Eos (Buxton page 96, right upper); and the Trojan princess Cassandra, who attracts Apollo (Buxton page 100, right). Trojans, male or female, are dreamboats. [Troys beginnings] Buxton pp. 130--131 Our main source is Apollodorus' Library. Troy is founded by a local prince, Ilus \[Ilos\]---whence the city's alternative name: Ilion. Eventually, Ilus' son Laomedon builds a perimeter wall for Troy. However--- Laomedon shows dishonesty and hubris in tricking (i) the gods Apollo and Poseidon and (ii) the hero Heracles. The aggrieved Heracles attacks and sacks the newly built city of Troy, in the generation before the Trojan War. He kills Laomedon and installs Laomedon's son Priam as king, to rebuild Troy. Laomedon = a symbol of Trojan deceit. Similarly, later, Priam's son Paris will run off with another man's wife. [Paris, prince of troy] Buxton pp. 131--133 \- Our main sources for the Paris tale: Apollodorus and Ovid's Latin book-of-poems the Heroïdes (circa 10 B.C.) \- King Priam and Queen Hecuba \[Hekabe\] of Troy \- Their children: Hector \[Hektor\], Cassandra, Polyxena, etc. See Buxton page 100 for the myth of Cassandra and Apollo. \- Hecuba dreams of the "firebrand Paris," bringing destruction to Troy. A firebrand = a red-hot burning log. \- Paris' birth and aftermath: the storytelling pattern of "the abandoned baby. \- The name Paris means "pouch" in Greek, in reference to the baby being saved from death-by-exposure and being carried to safety in a shepherd's pouch. (No reference to the capital city of France.) The boy grows up as a shepherd's son on Mt. Ida---yet with "regal" good looks and athleticism. [The "abandoned baby" again] See Slide 36, above, about the Oedipus tale. "Leave the helpless baby in the wilderness---or on the river, or adrift on the sea": This pattern occurs in the Greek myths of Atalanta, Paris, Perseus, Oedipus, Telephus \[Telephos\], and Amphion and Zethus \[Zethos\]. The intention usually is to kill the baby, but sometimes, alternatively, to save the baby from pursuing assassins. Similarly, Romulus and Remus in Roman myth. And baby Moses in the Bible: Exodus 1--2. The baby never dies, and always returns as a grown-up hero or leader. In the Greek myths, this pattern overlaps with the concept of fate. The babies can't be killed, because they are fated for success. This "threatened baby" pattern is a Greek borrowing from storytelling in Mesopotamia. To be discussed further in next week's class. [The famous "judgement of Paris"] Buxton page 132 \- The backstory: the marriage celebration of Peleus and Thetis: Buxton page 95 \- The fateful golden apple: "For the most beautiful" \- Paris, while still a shepherd on Mt. Ida, is chosen to ejudicate. The contestants are Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena. \- Paris awards the prize to Aphrodite. \- Among other results, the Judgment turns Hera and Athena into enemies of Troy, and makes Aphrodite the ally of Troy. Also relevant: Aphrodite has a human son at Troy: the Trojan hero Aeneas, son of Anchises (Slide 68, above). [Paris elopes with Helen ] Buxton pp. 132--133 \- With Aphrodite assisting, Prince Paris of Troy pays a diplomatic visit to King Menelaus \[Menelaos\] of Sparta. \- Menelaus (from Mycenae, originally) is married to Helen of Sparta, and is Sparta's king by virtue of this marriage. Helen is daughter of Zeus, sister of Polydeuces. Of divine beauty. \- After Menelaus is called away for his grandfather's funeral, Helen and Paris fall in love and elope to Troy. Paris "steals" another man's wife. \- By real-life ancient Greek standards, Paris has committed two big no-no's: He has broken (i) the law of hospitality and (ii) the sanctity of two other people's marriage. \- By the ancient Greek definition, Paris commits "adultery" (Greek: moicheia). = sleeping with another man's wife. [The ancient Greek and Roman definition of adultery] Buxton discusses "adultery" at page 132, lower right, without clearly defining it for ancient Greece. In ancient Greece and Rome, extramarital adventuring by the married man was not considered of itself to be adultery. That is, a married man could not commit adultery against his own marriage. Instead, adultery occurred when a male had sex with a married woman: No other circumstance qualified. The "adultery" was against the sanctity of the other man's marriage. If the wife was involved willingly, then she too was committing adultery. Thus a man could commit adultery only by sleeping with another man's wife. For the ancient Greeks and Romans, the threat to society was the possibility of illegitimate babies in the marriage. Ancient Greek law codes had substantial penalties for a man committing moicheia, including prison and blinding. Paris commits adultery when he elopes with Helen. Remarkably, the god Zeus is shown to commit adultery when he has intercourse with two different married ladies: Leda (the babies = Helen and Polydeuces) and Alcmene (the baby = Heracles). So, "Zeus the adulterer"---as mentioned at Buxton page 225, left-hand column, middle. [The trojan refuse to return Helen to Menelaus] Menelaus complains to his brother, King Agamemnon of Mycenae, the most powerful king in Greece. Agamemnon sends envoys to Troy to demand Helen's return, and he sends messengers to all of Helen's prior suitors in Greece, reminding them of their oath: Buxton page 133, left, middle. Oddly, Troy's wise King Priam refuses to surrender Helen. In one version, the envoys arrive at Troy before Paris and Helen do, and so Priam doesn't know what they're talking about. In another version, Priam is compelled by the Trojan rules of hospitality, since Helen had come willingly. Either way, the storytelling needs Priam to refuse. **Footnote\...** **Please remember that Greek mythology mirrors certain real-life conditions of the Mycenaean Civilization, 1600--1200 B.C., with its multiple small kingdoms in Greece: perhaps 15 in all.** **Buxton's page 134 "Greek Contingents" table lists 29 different regions which contribute Greek heroes for the Trojan War. Probably, originally, you were meant to view about half those regions as being each its own Greek kingdom.** **Thus (confusingly), the Greek army at Troy includes a number of local Greek kings from the kingdoms. But the top king is Agamemnon.** [Topic \#5 the trojan war begins] The gathering of the Greeks to attack Troy. Personalities of the major Greek heroes \- Buxton pp. 133--135. See the page 134 table and map \- Our main sources: Apollodorus, and sections in Homer's Iliad \- This is our final and biggest instance of a "company of heroes" myth The major heroes on the Greek side--- Agamemnon and his brother Menelaus \- Agamemnon is the army's commander and is king of Mycenae Achilles \- Achilles is the mightiest warrior on the Greek side, the mightiest on either side \- described as being just 15 years old at the war's start: the youngest of the champions \- has been told prophetically that he is fated never to return from Troy \- Achilles' cousin and comrade is Patroclus \[Patroklos\] Odysseus \- Buxton page 133, left lower: Odysseus has been told prophetically that if he goes to Troy, the war will keep him away for 20 years. The 20 = (i) 10 years of fighting and (ii) another 10 to get home, "...and you will return alone and destitute." At first, Odysseus tries to avoid the duty. [The major heroes on the greek side] Ajax \[Aias\], son of Telamon. Huge in size and strength. Utterly dependable. Slightly dumb. \- Ajax and Odysseus are contrasts in personality: Sophocles' stage tragedy Ajax, circa 448 B.C. Diomedes, son of Tydeus. (Tydeus was the champion of the Seven Against Thebes: See above, Slide 53.) Like Odysseus, Diomedes is a special favourite of the goddess Athena. Nestor \- Nestor is the most elderly of the Greek warriors, imagined as being in his 60s. He has memories of the prior generation of heroes: Peleus, Tydeus, Telamon, etc. Philoctetes, a famous archer who owns the bow and arrows of the great Heracles. The Greek name Philoktētēs means "he loves his possessions". Note also the presence of another Greek warrior named Ajax: the "Lesser Ajax", son of Oileus: small in size and a swift runner. The great Ajax will die during the war, but the lesser one will survive through the war's end. [Many of the heroes are also kings ] In a less-than-believable detail, many (not all) of the Greek champions are also kings of kingdoms, large or small, back in Greece--- As said already, the top commander, Agamemnon, is king of Mycenae Menelaus is king of Sparta Diomedes, king of Argos Nestor, king of Pylos Odysseus is king of Ithaca \[Ithaka\], an island off the Greek west coast Menestheus, king of Athens. Et cetera. Most of the kings are imagined as being in their 30s or 40s. Even though the war will last for 10 years, the hero-kings will remain physically fit throughout. As said already, Nestor is imagined as being older, in his 60s, yet he remains physically formidable. [The trojan war: major characters on the trojan side] The Trojan heroes Hector \[Hektor\], son of Priam and Hecuba Aeneas \[Aineias\], son of Anchises and the goddess Aphrodite The Trojan women: Cassandra, Polyxena, Andromache Helen at Troy: Buxton page 205 (from the Iliad Book 3) And among the gods Apollo and Aphrodite support the Trojans Hera, Athena, and Poseidon support the Greeks Zeus, Ares, and Hermes tend to be neutral The gods watch the war from heaven, or from atop Mt. Ida near Troy, or from the mountain peak of Tenedos island, also near Troy. Or sometimes they descend (not Zeus) to join in the human fighting. By the war's end, page 138, Apollo has turned against the Trojans---perhaps because by now they are fated to lose. [Nine years of inconsequential war] Buxton page 135 top As described in Homer's Iliad and other sources, the Trojan War is not really a siege as we imagine ancient siege warfare to have been, from the era of Alexander the Great (300s B.C.) or of the Romans (200s B.C. and later). In the myth, there are no catapults, no siege mounds, etc. Instead, the fighting takes the form of repeated infantry-battles on the plains outside the walls of Troy. For these, the defending Trojan forces come and go unopposed through the gates (briefly opened). The Greeks never attack the gates. Oddly, it's more like a consensual sports contest than a siege. Obviously, the myth derives from an era much earlier than the beginnings of real-life ancient Greek siege science (in the 300s B.C.). The old myth cannot imagine what a siege "ought to" look like. Not until the war's tenth year do the important story-developments emerge... [The wars tenth year: homers iliad] The anger of Achilles, which will culminate in the death of Hector Buxton pp. 135--136; pp. 204--205; page 177 illustration and caption Our main source for Year 10 is Homer's Iliad, whose announced subject in its opening words is the "anger of Achilles". The word "anger" here = Greek mēnis, related to our word "mania". Achilles quarrels with the Greek commander, King Agamemnon. Achilles and his contingent withdraw from the fighting. Agamemnon's name means "steadfast in mind" or "very determined". However, in the Iliad, Agamemnon comes across as a terrible leader: arrogant, selfish, divisive. Reckless in his hubris, Agamemnon (i) disrespects a priest of Apollo and then (ii) acts high-handedly toward his own top-champion warrior: He confiscates Achilles' concubine for himself: Buxton page 135, right middle. Previously, Agamemnon had been foolish in boasting: Buxton page 135, left top. Now lacking Achilles' help, the Greeks suffer a series of field-defeats on the plains outside Troy. However, the Greek hero Ajax (son of Telamon) heroically saves the beached Greeks ships from being burned up by the advancing Trojans. The anger of Achilles, which will culminate in the death of Hector Buxton page 136, left-hand side Iliad Book 16: the Patroclus episode: To aid the Greeks, Patroclus with Achilles' permission enters the battle in Achilles' armour and kills the Trojan hero Sarpedon. Sarpedon is a son of Zeus whom even the sorrowing Zeus (watching from Olympus) cannot save, because Sarpedon's fate is now to die: Buxton page 70. Patroclus routs the Trojans and in pursuit climbs halfway up Troy's wall, but is repulsed by the god Apollo. (Please note the "human boundary" symbolism.) Then the Trojan champion Hector slays Patroclus outside the walls. Achilles is frantic with grief at his friend's death. Now comes Achilles' true anger (mēnis). Achilles re-enters the fight, equipped in wondrous new armour (supplied by the god Hephaestus, at the behest of Achilles' goddess-mother, Thetis). He slays Hector outside the walls. Then, the "embassy of Priam" to ransom Hector's corpse: Iliad Book 24. See Buxton page 136 and the vase painting and caption at pp. 14--15. The Iliad ends with the funeral of Hector at Troy. Achilles is alive, but his death has been foretold.