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Sparta and the rest of mainland Greece declares war on
Troy (Ilium) in Asia Minor over the kidnapping of Helen
of Argos, wife of King Menelaus of Sparta, by Paris, son
of King Priam of Troy.
- Homer Iliad,
3, p. 73. Menelaus prays to Zeus, "Grant me
revenge, King Zeus, on Paris, the man who wronged
me in the beginning. Use my hands to bring him down..."
After nine years of the war, Homer's Iliad begins
a record of the events of a few months during the tenth
year.
- Homer Iliad,
2, p. 48-9. Odysseus convinces the Achaeans (Greeks)
to renew their resolve to conquer Troy saying, "Nine,
then, is the number of years that we shall have to
fight at Troy, and in the tenth its broad streets
will be ours...stand your ground till we capture
Priam's spacious town."
According to myth, the gods of Mt. Olympus played a hand
in the war, but the humanistic gods bickered too much
amongst themselves to mount an effective defense or offense
on either side.
- Homer Iliad,
8, p. 154. The goddess Athena complains that her
father, Zeus, is always "meddling" with her plans
to intervene in the war.
- Homer Iliad,
15, p. 271. Zeus is disgusted that Hera and the other
gods are playing a part in the war (more precisely
that they are playing a part on the opposite side
of his liking). Zeus says to Hera, "Hera...you are
incorrigible: I am sure this is your doing...I have
half a mind to strike you with my bolt and let you
be the first to reap the fruits of your unconscionable
tricks."
Finally, according to Homer's mythical element of the Iliad,
Zeus allows the gods to enter the battle on whichever
side they choose. This leads to further fighting between
the gods, but hastens the conclusion of the war.
- Homer Iliad,
20, p. 366. Zeus says, "...I propose to stay
here and seat myself in some Olympian glen from which
I can enjoy the spectacle. The rest of you have my
permission to join the Trojans and Achaeans, and
to give your help to either side as your sympathies
dictate."
The dual between Achilles and Hector is one of the most
memorable in history. Achilles' victory leads to the
sacking of Troy.
- Homer Iliad,
22, p. 406-7. Achilles kills Hector in a great dual. Hector's
death and the hubris filled victory of Achilles
are recorded. Achilles says, "The swift Achilles
scowled at him. ' You cur...I only wish that I could
summon up the appetite to carve and eat you raw myself..."
The Iliad ends in an unstable truce between
the warring parties after Achilles agrees to return the
body of Hector to King Priam.
- Homer Iliad,
24, p. 450-2. King Priam convinces Achilles to return the
body of Hector. After some pleading, Achilles agrees because
of the memory of his deceased father.
The Odyssey is Homer's account of the extremely
long, yet adventurous, journey of Odysseus, one of the
heroes of the Trojan War, back to his home at Ithaca in
Greece. The Odyssey begins several years after the
fall of Troy.
King Nestor, one of the survivors of the Trojan War and
a friend of Odysseus, tells Telemachus, Odysseus' son,
the story of Nestor's last contact with Odysseus.
- Homer Odyssey,
3, p. 53-4. According to Nestor, after the war, "Zeus
planned disaster for [the Greeks] on the homeward run." A
quarrel ensued between the "two sons of Atreus," Agamemnon
and Menelaus, which divided the Greek fleet. According to
Nestor, "It was the followers of Odysseus, that wise
and subtle king, who thus saw fit to renew their allegiance
to Agamemnon son of Atreus. But I, well aware of [Zeus']
sinister designs, fled on with the massed ships that formed
my company." Nestor then tells Telemachus that
he never saw Odysseus again. Nestor also sheds some
light on the homecomings of other Trojan warriors.
With the help of his son Telemachus, Odysseus slaughters
the suitors who have squandered his estate in a vain
attempt to marry his wife Penelope. Homer writes of the
grizzly manner in which Odysseus took vengeance on the
suitors.
- Homer Odyssey,
22, p. 340. "Next Melanthius was dragged out
across the court and through the gate. There with
a sharp knife they sliced his nose and ears off;
they ripped away his privy parts as raw meat for
the dogs, and in their fury they lopped off his hands
and feet."
The Odyssey ends with a civil war in
response to the slaughter of the suitors. Zeus end hastens
an end to the conflict through Athena. Odysseus resumes
as king of Ithaca.
- Homer Odyssey,
24, p. 365. "Zeus let fly a flaming bolt, which
fell in front of the bright-eyed Daughter of the
formidable Sire. Athena called out at once to Odysseus
by his royal titles, commanding him to hold his hand
and bring this civil strife to a finish... Odysseus
obeyed her... And presently Pallas Athena... established
peace between the two contending forces."
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