Mythology of the Iliad and the Odyssey by Karen Bornemann Spies
Authors: Karen Bornemann Spies
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sacrificed over the tomb of Achilles. As their city perished, the surviving women of Troy, victims of war, waited for the Greek ships to take them away to slavery.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Q:
How did Achilles die?
A:
Paris shot an arrow at Achilles. Apollo guided the arrow so that it hit Achilles in his heel, the only spot on his body that was vulnerable.
Q:
Describe Achilles’ funeral.
A:
First, his body was placed atop a funeral pyre and set on fire. His ashes were mixed with those of his friend Patroclus. They were placed in a golden urn and buried in a giant tomb. Then, Thetis held funeral games in honor of her dead son.
Q:
What happened to Achilles’ armor? Why?
A:
Greek custom awarded the armor of a deceased warrior to the leading surviving warrior. Both Ajax and Odysseus claimed this honor. The Greeks voted to give the armor to Odysseus, because Trojan war prisoners testified that Odysseus was the better warrior.
Q:
What did a prophet tell the Greeks that they needed to do to win the war?
A:
They needed to get Neoptolemus to join the fighting, use the bow and arrows of the hero Heracles, and capture the Palladium.
Q:
What idea did Odysseus propose to win the war?
A:
He suggested that the Greeks build a gigantic wooden horse and hide some of the Greek army inside. Then, they should burn their tents and have their ships sail just out of sight of Troy. This would look like they had left the battlefield.
Q:
How were the Trojans convinced to take the horse inside their city walls?
A:
The Greeks left behind a warrior named Sinon, who told a clever story that Odysseus had invented. Sinon said that the Greeks had angered Athena by stealing her Palladium. He was chosen to be the sacrifice which would appease Athena, but he hid before the Greeks could put him to death. Sinon said that if the horse was left outside the city walls, the Greeks would return to destroy Troy someday.
Q:
Did all the Trojans believe Sinon?
A:
No, the prophetess Cassandra and the priest Laocoön warned against bringing the horse inside the walls.
Q:
What happened to Laocoön? What did the Trojans think this meant?
A:
After he gave his warning, two serpents came out of the sea and strangled Laocoön and his two sons. The Trojans took this as a sign that anyone who opposed bringing the horse inside the walls would die.
Q:
What happened during the night after the Trojans brought the horse inside the walls?
A:
Sinon signaled to the Greek ships to return to Troy. He also let the warriors out of the horse’s belly. The Greeks then attacked the sleeping Trojans and destroyed their city.
INTRODUCTION
After their victory in the Trojan War, Odysseus and the rest of the Greek army set out for their homes. The journey of Odysseus is depicted in Homer’s epic, the
Odyssey
. The word
odyssey
has come to mean a journey or quest, specifically “a long wandering or voyage usually marked by many changes of fortune.” 1 The Greek word
odusseia
means “the story of Odysseus.” 2 Odysseus’ wandering voyage home took ten years and was filled with adventures and changes of fortune.
The journeys of the Greek leaders other than Odysseus were described in an epic entitled
Nostoi
(meaning “Returns” or “Homecoming”), which is now lost. Only a brief summary of this poem exists and does not mention Odysseus. Nostoi is the root of our word nostalgia, or homesickness.
The
Odyssey
, like the
Iliad
, was written in the late eighth century B.C. Historians feel that it was composed after the
Iliad
, because Homer assumed that the reader of the
Odyssey
had knowledge of the Trojan War. Also, he did not duplicate events described in the
Iliad
.
Odysseus was the most admired of the Greek heroes. He thought before he acted. He was clever and crafty, as shown by his idea of the Trojan horse. His use of disguises played a crucial part in the
Odyssey
. In contrast, Achilles displayed a fiery temper and a tendency to act first before carefully thinking through
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Q:
How did Achilles die?
A:
Paris shot an arrow at Achilles. Apollo guided the arrow so that it hit Achilles in his heel, the only spot on his body that was vulnerable.
Q:
Describe Achilles’ funeral.
A:
First, his body was placed atop a funeral pyre and set on fire. His ashes were mixed with those of his friend Patroclus. They were placed in a golden urn and buried in a giant tomb. Then, Thetis held funeral games in honor of her dead son.
Q:
What happened to Achilles’ armor? Why?
A:
Greek custom awarded the armor of a deceased warrior to the leading surviving warrior. Both Ajax and Odysseus claimed this honor. The Greeks voted to give the armor to Odysseus, because Trojan war prisoners testified that Odysseus was the better warrior.
Q:
What did a prophet tell the Greeks that they needed to do to win the war?
A:
They needed to get Neoptolemus to join the fighting, use the bow and arrows of the hero Heracles, and capture the Palladium.
Q:
What idea did Odysseus propose to win the war?
A:
He suggested that the Greeks build a gigantic wooden horse and hide some of the Greek army inside. Then, they should burn their tents and have their ships sail just out of sight of Troy. This would look like they had left the battlefield.
Q:
How were the Trojans convinced to take the horse inside their city walls?
A:
The Greeks left behind a warrior named Sinon, who told a clever story that Odysseus had invented. Sinon said that the Greeks had angered Athena by stealing her Palladium. He was chosen to be the sacrifice which would appease Athena, but he hid before the Greeks could put him to death. Sinon said that if the horse was left outside the city walls, the Greeks would return to destroy Troy someday.
Q:
Did all the Trojans believe Sinon?
A:
No, the prophetess Cassandra and the priest Laocoön warned against bringing the horse inside the walls.
Q:
What happened to Laocoön? What did the Trojans think this meant?
A:
After he gave his warning, two serpents came out of the sea and strangled Laocoön and his two sons. The Trojans took this as a sign that anyone who opposed bringing the horse inside the walls would die.
Q:
What happened during the night after the Trojans brought the horse inside the walls?
A:
Sinon signaled to the Greek ships to return to Troy. He also let the warriors out of the horse’s belly. The Greeks then attacked the sleeping Trojans and destroyed their city.
INTRODUCTION
After their victory in the Trojan War, Odysseus and the rest of the Greek army set out for their homes. The journey of Odysseus is depicted in Homer’s epic, the
Odyssey
. The word
odyssey
has come to mean a journey or quest, specifically “a long wandering or voyage usually marked by many changes of fortune.” 1 The Greek word
odusseia
means “the story of Odysseus.” 2 Odysseus’ wandering voyage home took ten years and was filled with adventures and changes of fortune.
The journeys of the Greek leaders other than Odysseus were described in an epic entitled
Nostoi
(meaning “Returns” or “Homecoming”), which is now lost. Only a brief summary of this poem exists and does not mention Odysseus. Nostoi is the root of our word nostalgia, or homesickness.
The
Odyssey
, like the
Iliad
, was written in the late eighth century B.C. Historians feel that it was composed after the
Iliad
, because Homer assumed that the reader of the
Odyssey
had knowledge of the Trojan War. Also, he did not duplicate events described in the
Iliad
.
Odysseus was the most admired of the Greek heroes. He thought before he acted. He was clever and crafty, as shown by his idea of the Trojan horse. His use of disguises played a crucial part in the
Odyssey
. In contrast, Achilles displayed a fiery temper and a tendency to act first before carefully thinking through
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