What is an epic? An epic is a story-poem about a great hero who
performs daring deeds that require superhuman courage Told orally;
not written. In Greek epics the gods either help or hinder the
hero.
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The Heros Journey 1. Call to Adventure - 2. Wise and Helpful
Guides 3. Dangerous Trials - 4. Meeting the Monster - 5. Enchanted
Forest - 6. The Sacrifice - 7. The Heros Return -
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The Odyssey is part 2 of one of the greatest stories ever told.
In order to REALLY understand the Odyssey, one must know some
background information
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Homer was a blind poet and storyteller who lived around the
time of 720 B.C. Homer is considered the inventor of the long or
extended simile. He specialized in using flashback, cliffhangers
and fully developed characters. Aristotle called The Iliad the
first great tragedy.
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Long long ago, there was a mortal named Peleus. The gods loved
him so much that they decided to allow him to marry a beautiful
goddess named Thetis. These two will have a son named Achilles. He
becomes one of the great heroes in Greek legend. In fact, he plays
a huge role in the Trojan war (The Iliad).
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After these two get married, they have a son, Achilles. In
order to protect him, Thetis dips him in the River Styx making in
invulnerable. One little problem
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Eris, evil goddess of discord, was MAD because she was not
invited to the wedding. She plotted her revenge
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Eris threw a golden apple into the reception. It bounced right
into the middle of all the guests. The tag on the golden apple read
For the fairest
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Athena, Hera and Aphrodite all claimed the golden apple Hera
Athena Aphrodite
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Hera is the queen of the gods, Zeus wife and protector of
married women Athena is goddess of wisdom and just wars. She is
daughter of Zeus and one of the 3 virgin goddesses Aphrodite is
goddess of love and beauty.
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They decided that the only way to settle the argument was to
have a beauty contest. Can you imagine?
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Zeus said, NO WAY!!!!!!!! How can you vote against the goddess
of love and beauty in a beauty contest? How much trouble do you
think Zeus would be in if he voted against his own wife? How could
Zeus vote against his favorite child?
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Zeus was smart. He refused to judge the contest. He didnt want
any of the goddesses mad at him. Zeus said let Paris do it. Paris
was a lowly shepherd who had amazing taste in beauty.
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Three amazingly beautiful goddesses appeared to Paris. He was
shocked and amazed. All he could do was stare.
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Aphrodite offered Paris the most beautiful woman in the world
Hera offered him power and cities. Athena offered him glory and
victory in battle.
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Paris considered himself more of a lover than a fighter. As a
result, Paris awarded Aphrodite the winner of the golden
apple.
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Paris was awarded the most beautiful woman in the world.
Aphrodite neglected to mention that Helen, the most beautiful woman
in the world, was already married. Oh well, minor details for a
goddess. Paris hopped in his boat and headed off to Sparta to get
Helen.
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The Gods Take Sides TROJANS (Paris, Hector) Aphrodite Ares, God
of War Apollo Artemis Zeus (favored, but stayed neutral to please
Hera) GREEKS (Achilles, Odysseus) Hera Athena Poseidon, God of the
Sea
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Trojans Greeks The Greeks and the Trojans were enemies. They
were both rich city- states with mighty rulers. HelenParis
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Helen Helen was married to one of the Greek rulers. He was the
king of Sparta. Menelaus was a mighty ruler who loved to wage war.
He was not the brightest man in the world but he was very
rich.
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Helen How did Helen end up with Menelaus? There were so many
men who wanted to marry Helen that her father made each man swear
an oath to protect Helen and whomever she would marry. Once
Menelaus was chosen as Helens husband, the rest of the men of
Greece were obligated to protect the marriage.
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When Paris arrived in Sparta he told Menelaous that he was
there on a mission of peace. Menelaous believed him and invited
Paris to stay in his home. Soon after, Menelaous was called away on
business. He left his wife, the most beautiful woman in the world,
alone at home with a young good-looking stranger from a far off
land. Obviously, Menelaous was not the brightest man alive.
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Helen was an innocent victim who was kidnapped by Paris Helen
ran off with Paris because he was young, good-looking and smarter
than her husband.
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Regardless, Helen went home with Paris. Paris lived in Troy
with his family. Speaking of Paris family There is a whole other
story that needs to be told about Paris and his homeland
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When Paris and Helen reached Troy, they were met with grumbles.
King Priam and all of Paris brothers complained that Paris had made
a great big mistake by bringing Helen home to Troy.
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When Menelaus got home No Paris No Wife No Treasure Empty House
Duh, What happened?
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Meneleus called all the Greeks together who had taken the oath
to protect Helens marriage. Many of the Greeks didnt want to go to
war. But, then Meneleus reminded the men of how much money $$$$$
and treasure could be theirs if they conquered Troy. Not to mention
all the gorgeous women
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WAR All the best of the best heroes and warriors gathered
together. They were ready for WAR. Agamemnon and Meneleus were the
leaders of the army.
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Before the all the Greeks could gather and leave for Troy a
tragedy happened. Artemis really, really mad One of the Greeks, who
was waiting to leave for Troy, shot a pregnant bunny. This made
Artemis really, really mad. She is the goddess of the moon, the
hunt and protector of animals.
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Artemis stopped the wind. The men waited and waited and waited
and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited
and waited
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She would not allow any Greek to leave for Troy until they
sacrificed to her.
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Artemis required Agamemnon to sacrifice one of his daughters,
Iphigenia. Unless, Agamemnon complied, Artemis would prevent the
war by stopping the wind.
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Agamemnon sent word to his wife Clytemnestra. Send our
daughter, Iphigenia, to the Greek camp. Achilles, the greatest
warrior, wants to marry her before he leaves for Troy.
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Clytemnestra and her daughter, Iphigenia, were very excited.
They got all dressed up and rushed to the Greek camp.
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When she got there No wedding No flowers No happy day Agamemnon
sacrificed his daughter to Artemis.
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The Greeks sailed for Troy Clytemnestra cried, mourned and
hated her husband. But thats another story
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The Greeks went to war. They pillaged. They burned towns. They
stole treasure. They stole women (war prizes). And this was all
just on the way to Troy. They werent even serious yet.
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The Iliad is the story of the last few months of the Trojan War
Did I mention, the war lasted 10 very long years?
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The Iliad is the story of the last few months of the Trojan
War. The Odyssey is the story of Odysseus journey home from the
war. It takes poor Odysseus 20 years to get home.
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Poor Odysseus, that is 20 long years away from home and family.
Ithaca - Ithaca - Odysseus beloved island home Penelope Penelope,
Odysseus faithful wife
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faked insanity Did we mention that Odysseus faked insanity
trying to get out of going away to the Trojan war? acting crazy
trick. When the Greeks arrived to pick up Odysseus to go to war, he
was acting crazy. In fact, he was plowing a field and planting
rocks. In order to test his sanity, the Greeks laid Odysseus son in
front of the plow. When he swerved around the baby, they knew it
was a trick.
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Why on earth would a macho Greek leader want to stay home from
war? Paradise home, beautiful young wife and a new baby
(Telemachus)
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Odysseus bids farewell to his wife Penelope and infant son
Telemachus, as his faithful dog Argos lies nearby.
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Clever Tricky Smart Witty God-like wisdom
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Agamemnon and Meneleous ( Helens angry husband ) were the
leaders of the army. Their biggest, baddest warrior was Achilles.
GreeksTrojans King Priam ruled Troy. Troy was under attack because
of Paris stealing Helen. The biggest, baddest warrior was
Hector.
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On the way to Troy the Greeks did a lot of damage. They
gathered many goodies. The Greeks had a weird tradition that they
called war prizes. They would capture a town and steal its
beautiful women. The women would be handed out as war prizes to the
leaders and great heroes.
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Agamemnon was awarded a very beautiful girl. She was Apollos
priests daughter. Agamemnon was a happy man. He thought his war
prize was more beautiful and that he would love her more than his
very own wife (Clytemnestra). She is already mad about the death of
her daughter. Can you imagine how mad she would be if she heard
this?
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The priest begged Agamemnon to release his daughter. He even
offered many gifts.
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NO
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The priest was sad and mad. He prayed to Apollo and asked for
HELP.
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Apollo caused the Greeks to get sick. Many strong heroes died.
It was very sad for the Greeks.
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The Greeks held a meeting and decided to send a messenger to
Apollo to find out what they could do to make him happy The
messenger came back but wont tell
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I know why Apollo is mad but if I tell, Im a dead man. Someone
here will kill me. Im too scared. Someone must promise to protect
me. Achilles said, Dont worry little buddy. No one here will lay a
hand on you.
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The messenger told the Greeks that Apollo was mad at them
because of how Agamemnon had treated his priest. Until things were
made right with the priest, by returning his daughter, the Greeks
would continue to die.
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The Greeks said.
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NO
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Achilles said, Yes, you must return the girl to her father.
Agamemnon pouted and said, Fine, then Im taking your war prize to
replace mine.
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I wouldnt do that if I were you, said Achilles. After all, Im
the biggest, baddest warrior you have. Without me you are nothing.
The Trojans would have beaten you along time ago. Why, Agamemnon,
are you whining about this? You always get the most treasure. You
know, I do all the work and you get all the glory. If you take away
my war prize, I just might pack up and go home. Youll wish you had
treated me better when the Trojans are knocking at your door.
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Achilles cried because Agamemnon took his woman. He was so
upset that he refused to fight. Just like he said.
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Ha ha! Ha ha, shes mine. Agamemnon was very mature about the
whole thing. He said, Ha ha, shes mine. We dont need you to fight.
Well be just fine.
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The Greeks started losing; without Achilles they just werent
that tough. Hector, the biggest, badest Trojan, started inflicting
serious pain on the Greeks Yeah Agamemnon, this will work without
Achilles The Greeks say...
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Achilles was sad to see his friends all getting hurt and dying.
He loved and lived to fight and was seriously bummed out that he
was not able to participate and earn glory and honor through his
deeds in battle. Honor was very, very important to the Greeks.
Achilles would not fight because of the dishonor Agamemnon caused
him. He felt he had to prove a point.
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When the Trojans pushed the fighting back almost to the ships I
wish Achilles was in the fight
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Achilles was so very sad. He walked along the beach and called
to his mommy (goddess Thetis) He asked her what he should do. The
big guy, Zeus, owed her a favor. She found out Achilles fate.
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Zeus said Achilles has two possible fates. If he fights at
Troy, then he will earn honor and immortality. He will be a hero
and be remembered forever. If he does not fight at Troy, then
Achilles will live a long good life but die and not be
remembered.
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Patroclous was Achilles best friend. Patroclous begged his
friend to let him wear the scary armor of Achilles. If the Trojans
thought Achilles was back in the battle then maybe they would back
off. Pat
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t Okay Pat, you can wear my armor and kick some Trojan butt.
However, I do not want you to push them all the way back to the
city. That would rob me of honor. Achilles was worried that his
friend would encounter the great Trojan hero, Hector.
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Pat went out wearing Achilles armor. The Trojan warriors
freaked out and ran toward the city. Pat and the Greek army
followed. They killed many Trojans. Caught up in the moment, Pat
chases the Trojans to the city walls. Achilles told him not to go
that far. He forgot. Im Achilles, really.
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Hector Killed Pat
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Achilles is the strongest man alive. In fact, he is the son of
a goddess. He is macho, strong, stubborn and angry about the death
of his best friend. He wants to go kill some Trojans but he had no
armor. Pat lost the armor to Hector. As a prize of war Hector kept
the very valuable armor for himself
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Thetis had Hephestus, the god of iron-working, make Achilles
new armor. It was awesome and fearful. Achilles did not waste any
time at all. He went into battle and killed tons and tons of
Trojans. The ones who escaped, ran into the gates of the city. All
but one Historic armor
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Achilles was able to kill Hector because he knew where the
weakness was in his armor. How did he know? Remember, the armor
that Hector was wearing used to be his! Talk about your twisted
irony.
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Achilles was so upset over the death of his friend, Pat, that
he hooked Hector up to the back of his chariot and dragged him
around the city. It was ugly!!!
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For 10 years they fought. Sometimes the Greeks would be winning
and sometimes the Trojans. Sometimes the gods and goddess would get
involved and help and sometimes they wouldnt.
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Hey guys, I have an idea!
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Troy is a huge city with powerful walls. We havent be able to
break down or get inside the walls. So, here is my idea. Lets pack
everything up and make it look like we gave up and went home. Well
hide the ships just around the coast. We will leave one guy and an
offering to the gods.
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Our offering will be their downfall. They will open the gates
to check everything out. The guy that we leave behind will tell
them that the big statue is an offering to the gods and they better
be nice to it. When they take it into the city
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Our smarty pants Odysseus came up with the idea of the Trojan
Horse. His idea has been copied zillions of times
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Hiding in the belly of the horse was the best of the best Greek
warriors. When the Trojans brought the horse into the city, they
brought in big trouble. The saying, Beware of Greeks bearing gifts
came from this story.
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Thinking they had won the war, the Trojans had a huge party.
They ate, drank and were merry.
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When all the Trojans slept, the Greeks sneaked out and opened
the gates. The Greek army was waiting. The Greeks killed the
Trojans and won the war. Nice work Odysseus!
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Greeks The Greeks divided up the spoils and headed for
home.