Homer and the Iliad. Causes of the Trojan War. Nomen G A K Datum Spatium

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1 Homer and the Iliad Nomen G A K Datum Spatium Besides reading, writing, and arithmetic, children would learn both from their parents and from their teachers the stories of Greece and Rome, which were part of the common culture of the ancient world. The most powerful of these focused on the sack of Troy by the Greeks; and this cycle of stories was linked to Rome, since the Romans believed that their ancestors were Trojans who had escaped when Troy was sacked. This story has been told in Greek by the first and some would say the greatest poet of Western literature. He probably lived before 700 BCE and his name was Homer. We know almost nothing about him. He came from Ionia in what is now western Turkey, and according to tradition he was blind. He may have composed both the Iliad and the Odyssey, the great poems which have come down to us under his name, but even that is uncertain. The Iliad is the tragic story of the terrible events which led up to the sack of Troy, a city in northwest Turkey, by the Greeks. The Odyssey tells of Odysseus return from Troy to Greece and his recovery of his kingdom, and the adventures and dangers he met in the process. Causes of the Trojan War The gods held a great wedding feast to celebrate the marriage of Peleus and Thetis. The goddess, Eris (Strife), or Discordia (Latin name), however, had not been invited. Furious at this insult, she stormed into the hall where the feast was taking place and flung down a golden apple. Inscribed upon this were the words, Pulcherrimae (For the most beautiful.) As Eris had planned, the apple was going to prove the cause of terrible troubles. The obvious candidates for the title of most beautiful goddess were Juno, Minerva, and Venus. Understandably, none of the gods was prepared to make the decision between them. The judge would have to face the anger of the two losers. Jupiter therefore decided that a mortal must settle the matter, and his choice fell on the Trojan prince, Paris. He was extremely good looking and seemed likely to be highly experienced in such matters. So the goddesses flew to Mount Ida near Troy where Paris was tending his flocks. After he had overcome his astonishment and realized what was expected of him, all three of them tried to bribe him to give them the apple. Juno offered him a vast kingdom, Minerva promised him military glory, and Venus said that she would give him the most beautiful woman in the world. This was Helen, the wife of Menelaus, king of Sparta in Greece. Venus offer seemed the most attractive to Paris and he presented the apple to her. Paris now went to stay with Menelaus in Sparta. Here he and Helen fell in love with each other and they ran off back to Troy. Menelaus joined with his brother Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, to lead a huge expedition of Greeks against Troy in order to bring the faithless wife home again. Helen s face launched a thousand ships. But the war that took place around the walls of Troy did not go well for the Greeks. Homer s Iliad begins by telling of the disastrous quarrel, which arose when King Agamemnon took from Achilles, the greatest warrior of all time and a Greek, a slave girl who had been given to Achilles by the army. This was a devastating blow, not only to the emotions of Achilles, who was very fond of the girl, but far more importantly to his honor. adapted from Oxford Latin Course 1

2 Trojan War - Personae Graecī Achilles: Agamemnon: Helen: Menelaus: Patroclus: Ulixes: Troianī Aeneas: Andromache: Hector: Hecuba: Paris: Priam: Deī et Deae Apollo: Juno: Jupiter: Mercurius: Minerva: 2

3 Venus: 3

4 The Siege of Troy Agamemnōn, rēx Mycēnārum, omnēs prīncipēs Graecōrum convocavit; iussit eōs bellum in Trōiānōs parāre. frāter eius, Menelāus, aderat; Achillēs, hērōum fortissimus, vēnit ā Thessaliā; aderat Ulixēs ab Ithacā cum comitibus, et multī aliī. magnum exercitum paraverant et multās nāvēs. tum, ad urbem Trōiam nāvigaverunt et Trōiānōs petiverunt. sed Trōiānī urbem fortiter dēfenderunt. decem annōs Graecī urbem obsiderunt sed eam capere nōn poterant. tandem Agamemnōn et Achillēs in rixam ceciderunt. Achillēs īrātus erat; nōn iam pugnabat sed prope nāvēs manebat ōtiōsus. Trōiānī iam Graecōs vicerunt et pepulerunt ad nāvēs. Agamemnōn amīcōs ad Achillem misit quī eum iusserunt ad pugnam redīre. illī, Ō Achillēs, inquiunt, Trōiānī nōs vincunt et pellunt ad nāvēs. in magnō perīculō sumus. tū dēbēs ad pugnam redīre et comitēs dēfendere. Pugnabisne nobiscum? sed ille amīcīs nōn respondit quod iratissimus erat. mox Trōiānī nāvēs Graecorum oppugnaverunt et incenderunt. Patroclus, amīcus cārus Achillis, ad Achillem appropinquavit et Trōiānī iam nāvēs incendunt, inquit, Poterisne nobiscum pugnare? sī tū pugnāre nōn vīs, dēbēs mē cum comitibus tuīs in pugnam mittere. itaque Achillēs invītus Patroclum in pugnam misit. ille arma Achillis induit et comitēs in pugnam dūxit. Trōiānī, ubi arma magnī Achillis viderunt, territī erant et ad urbem refugebant. Patroclus in eōs cucurrit et multōs interfecit. sed Hector, fortissimus Trōiānōrum, restitit et Patroclum in pugnam vocavit. hastam iecit et Patroclum necavit. iubeo, iubere, iussi, iussus order obsideo, obsidere, obsedi, obsessus beseige rixa, rixae, f. quarrel otiosus, otiosa, otiosum idle, doing nothing pello, pellere, pepuli, pulsus to drive back, push back redeo, redire, redii, reditus return, go back comis, comitis, m/f comrade, associate, follower incendo, incendere, incendi, incensus to set fire, burn carus, cara, carum dear armum, armi, n. arms, armor resisto, resistere, restiti resist, stand ground, make a stand Mycenae, Mycenarum, m. Myceneans, people of Mycenae 1. Why does Agamemnon send soldiers to Achilles? 2. What do the friends say to Achilles? 3. Why does Achilles send Patroclus into battle? 4. Why do the Trojans flee back to the city? 4

5 The Death of Hector Achillēs, ubi Patroclus mortuus erat, eum diū lūgebat; Hectorem punīre cupiebat. redīit ad pugnam et comitēs in Trōiānōs dūxit. illī, postquam Achillem vīderant, perterritī erant; in urbem fūgerunt. Hector sōlus extrā mūrōs mansit. pater Priamus, rēx Trōiae, et māter Hecuba eum vīderunt ē mūrīs; fīlium vocaverunt; Priamus clāmavit: Hector, nōlī Achillem in pugnam vocāre! nōn poteris eum vincere. urbem intrā; festīnā. māter clamavit: filī cāre, nōlī extrā mūrōs manēre; nōlī mortem obīre; māter tua misera tē petit. sed Hector eōs nōn audivit; urbem intrāre nōn voluit. Trōiānōs vocavit et portās claudite, Trōiānī inquit; festināte. ego sōlus manebō extrā mūrōs et Achillem ad pugnam vocabō. Trōiānī invītī portās clauserunt. Hector sōlus Achillem exspectabat. ille propius appropinquabat. tum Hector subitō timebat. tergum vertit et fūgit. Achillēs celeriter cucurrit sed eum capere nōn potuit. ter circum mūrōs fūgit Hector, sed tandem restit; sē vertit et Achillem in pugnam vocavit. ille prōcessit et hastam in Hectorem coniēcit, sed Hector hastam vītavit. deinde Hector hastam coniēcit et Achillis scutum percussit. sed Achillēs incolumis erat; nam scutum eum servaverat. deinde Achillēs hastam summā vī coniēcit; volavit hasta per auram et Hectorem trānsfīxit. ille ad terram cecidit mortuus. contendit Achillēs et malam rem fecit. Hectorem mortuum ad currum alligat et circum mūrōs traxit. pater et māter ē mūrīs spectaverunt. Hecuba clāmavit: Ō Achilles, inquit, tandem ab īrā dēsiste; fīlium nōbīs redde. sed Achillēs eam nōn audivit; Hectorem ad nāvēs traxit et eum relīquit in terrā. lūgeo, lūgēre, lūxī, lūctus to mourn obeō, obīre, obīvī, obitus to meet propius very near, very close ter three times coniciō, conicere, coniēcī, coniectus to hurl, throw vītō, vītare, vītavī, vītatus to avoid scutum, scutī, n shield incolumis, is, e unharmed vī ablative singular of vīs, vīs, f strength, force volō, volāre, volāvī, volātus to fly aura, aurae, f air cadō, cadere, cecidī, casus to fall alligō, alligāre, alligāvī, alligātus to tie relinquō, relinquere, relīquī, relictus to leave Paragraph 1: 1. What did Achilles want to do about Patroclus death? 2. How did the Trojans feel after Achilles returned to the fight? What did they do? 5

6 3. Where did Hector remain? Paragraph 2: 1. According to the first line of paragraph 2, who is Priam? 2. What did Priam tell Hector NOT to do? 3. What person, number, and tense is poteris? 4. What case is filī cāre? Paragraph 3: 1. What was Hector s response to his parents? 2. What does he command the Trojans to do? 3. What adjective does Hector use to describe how he will fight Achilles? Paragraph 4: 1. What tense is appropinquabat? 2. What did Hector do when Achilles approached? Paragraph 5: 1. Who threw the first spear? 2. What saved Achilles? 3. What tense is servaverat? 6

7 Paragraph 6: 1. What happened to Hector? Paragraph 7: 1. What did Achilles do to Hector s body? 2. What does Hecuba plead? 3. Does Achilles honor Hecuba s request? 7

8 The Ransom of Hector diū māter fīlium mortuum lūgebat; diū lūgebat Andromachē uxor Hectoris; diū lūgebat Priamus. tandem, ubi nox vēnit, Priamus ex urbe exīit et sōlus ad Graecōrum nāvēs prōcessit. deus Mercurius eum dūxit per vigilēs Graecōrum. tandem ad Achillis tabernāculum advēnit; intravit et Achillem salūtavit; ad terram prōcubuit et Ō Achilles, tē ōrō, inquit, tandem ab īrā dēsiste et fīlium mortuum ad mātrem miseram remitte. Achillēs, ubi Priamum vīdit, attonitus erat. misericordiā commōtus erat; Priamum ē terrā tollit. fīlium mortuum reddidit et patrem ad urbem Trōiam incolumem remīsit. vigil, vigilis, m watchman, guard tabernāculum, tabernāculī, n tent ōrō, ōrāre, ōrāvī, ōrātus to plead, beg misericordia, ae, f pity, compassion commōtus, a, um moved, affected 1. What does Priam do when night comes? 2. How does he find his way through the Greek guards? 3. What does he do when he enters Achilles tent? 4. How does Achilles react to Priam s words? 5. Does Achilles behavior here change our view of his character? 8

9 The Iliad, Part 2 Achilles, although he has now taken revenge on Hector for killing his friend Patroclus, nevertheless pushes his hatred beyond his enemy s death. He drags Hector s corpse around Patroclus tomb again and again in his wild anger and grief. It was considered a terrible thing in the Greek world to leave a man unburied, since it meant that his spirit could not find rest in the next life. Most of the gods disapprove of Achilles treatment Hector s corpse, and Apollo protects it, making sure that it does not become damaged in any way. Jupiter now decides that Achilles must give Hector s body back to his father Priam. He sends Iris, goddess of the rainbow, to tell Priam to go to the Greek camp at night and to ask Achilles to grant him his request. He also sends Thetis, the mother of Achilles, to see her son and to make sure that he does what he is told. Priam loads a wagon with a fabulous ransom and sets off for the Greek camp with a single charioteer. As they approach the enemy lines, the god Mercury meets them in disguise and leads them to Achilles hut. Miraculously they are unnoticed by any of the Greeks. Achilles gazes in amazement as the old man enters, kneels before him and takes hold of the fatal hands which have killed so many of his children. Priam begs him to accept the ransom and return Hector s corpse, making him imagine the feelings of an old father who has lost his son. The two men, one so young and the other so very old, weep together. Priam remembers Hector and Achilles thinks of his own father Peleus at home in Greece, destined never to see his son again. For Achilles had been given the choice between a short life with immortal fame and a long, but obscure, existence. He had chosen the former. As the two enemies weep, the anger of Achilles disappears and he agrees to Priam s request. They eat together and later that night Priam leaves the Greek camp, again under the protection of Mercury. He returns to the city with his son s body on the wagon which had carried the ransom on the way out. The Trojans will be given the opportunity to pay full funeral rites to Hector back at Troy, during a truce guaranteed by Achilles. Two events are not part of the Iliad. One of them is the death of Achilles. He will be mortally wounded by an arrow in his heel, the only part of his body where a weapon can penetrate. The other is the fall of Troy, which cannot be avoided now that Hector is dead. So, Achilles and Priam soon join Patroclus and Hector and the countless other victims of the Trojan War in the Underworld. 1. Explain the causes of Achilles anger against first the Greeks and then the Trojans. 2. How do the events described above bring the Iliad to a satisfactory conclusion? 9

10 The Fall of Troy decem annōs Graecī Trōiānōs obsidebant, sed urbem capere nōn poterant. tandem Agamemnōn, rex Graecōrum, dēspērabat; omnēs prīncipēs convenīre iussit et decem annōs iam Trōiam obsidebamus, inquit; saepe Trōiānōs in pugnā vincimus, sed urbem capere nōn potuimus. ego dēspērō. quid faciemus? domumne redīre dēbēmus? quid vōs monētis? obsideō, obsidēre, obsēdī, obsessus besiege desperō, desperāre, desperāvī, desperatus give up hope, despair redeō, redīre, rediī/redīvī, reditus return moneō, monēre, monuī, monitus warn, advise 1. For how long were the Greeks besieging Troy? 2. Why does Agamemnon call the Greek leaders together? 3. Choose the best translation of: saepe Trōiānōs in pugnā vincimus A. the Trojans always win in a fight B. we often conquer the Trojans in a fight C. the Trojans often win in a fight D. we always conquer the Trojans in a fight cēterī prīncipēs tacebant, sed Ulixēs ego nōn dēsperō, inquit; cōnsilium novum habeō. audīte me! omnēs prīncipēs cōnsilium Ulixis attentē audivērunt; cōnsilium laetī accēpērunt. equum ligneum facient, ingentem; multōs virōs fortēs in equum immittent. illī in equum ascendent et in ventre equī sē cēlabunt. cēterī nāvēs cōnscendent et nāvigabunt ad īnsulam vīcīnam. attentē attentively ligneus, lignea, ligneum wooden immittō, immittere, immīsī, immissus send into ascendō, ascendere, ascendī, ascensus climb into, ascend, go into, climb up venter, ventris, m. belly, stomach, womb celō, celāre, celāvī, celātus hide, conceal sē celāre hide oneself conscendō, conscendere, conscendī, conscensus embark, climb aboard 10

11 4. Who offers an idea? 5. Name one thing that the Greeks plan to do? 6. What form of the verb is audīte? A. infinitive B. indicative C. imperative D. imperfect 7. Which of the following English words is related by derivation to equī? A. equestrian B. equal C. equanimity D. equator prīmā lūce Trōiānī Graecōrum nāvēs, quī abībant, vident; gaudent quod Graecī nōn adsunt, gaudent quod pugnae tandem finiunt. ē portīs urbis currunt ad ōram dēsertam; equum ingentem, quī in ōrā stābat, spectant. aliī equum dēbēmus in urbem dūcere, inquiunt. aliī equō nōlīte crēdere, inquiunt; timēmus Graecōrum dōna. fortasse Graecī in eō sē cēlānt. tandem cōnstituunt eum in urbem dūcere. omnēs laetī eum per portās trahunt et in arce pōnunt. deinde epulās faciunt et multum vīnum bibunt. abeō, abīre, abiī/abivī, abitus go away, leave, depart gaudeō, gaudēre be glad, rejoice ora, orae, f. shore, coast constituō, constituere, constitī, constitutus decide arx, arcis, f. citadel (highest point of the city) epula, epulae, f. feast 8. When do the Trojan see the departing Greek ships? 9. How do the Trojans react? 10. What do the Trojans see on the shore? 11. What is one of the arguments given about that which the Greeks left behind? 12. What do the Trojans decide to do? 13. The phrase prīmā lūce in the ablative case because it... A. shows possession C.shows time when B. B. is the object of the preposition D. shows place where 11

12 14. Choose the best translation: equum dēbēmus in urbem dūcere A. we ought to lead the horse into the city B. they say we owe a horse in the city C. we ought to say a horse is in the city D. the horse should not come into the city nox adest. dormiunt Trōiānī. Graecī, quī in īnsulā sunt, nāvēs cōnscendunt et celeriter ad urbem Trōiam redeunt. eī, quī in equō sē celant, tacitī exeunt et festīnant ad portās. vigilēs Trōiānōrum dormiunt; ēbriī sunt. Graecī eōs interficiunt; portās celeriter aperiunt et comitēs accipiunt. omnēs in viās urbis currunt. paucī Trōiānōrum resistunt. mox Graecī tōtam urbem capiunt. tandem rēgiam Priamī oppugnant; Priamum et fīliōs eius necant. paucī ēvādunt. sīc Graecī tandem Trōiam capiunt et urbem dēlent. vigil, vigilis, m. guard, sentry, watchman ēbrius, ēbria, ēbrium drunk aperiō, aperīre, aperuī, apertus open regia, regiae, f. palace oppugnāre = petere evadō, evadere, evasī, evasus escape, evade, avoid sīc thus 15. What do the Greeks do while the Trojans are sleeping? 16. Whom do the Greeks kill before opening the gates? 17. After they attack the palace, whom do the Greeks kill? 18. Who escapes? 19. Choose the best translation: quī in equō sē celant (line 2) A. because they hide themselves in the horse B. where they hide in the horse C. who is sealed in the horse D. who are hiding themselves in the horse 20. What case is Trōiānōrum (line 3)? A. ablative B. dative C. genitive D. vocative 12

13 Aenēās ex urbe Trōiā fugit Trōiānōrum paucī ēvādunt; urbem ardentem relinquunt et fugiunt in montēs. inter eōs est Aenēās, prīnceps Trōiānus; ille patrem et uxorem et parvum fīlium ē flammīs ēripit et ad montēs dūcit. mox aliī ad montēs conveniunt. omnēs dēspērant, sed Aenēās, Trōia incensa est, inquit, sed nōs Trōiānī superfuimus. venīte mēcum. novam Trōiam in aliā terrā condere dēbēmus. illī Aenēam laetī audiunt. montēs relinquunt et ad ōram dēscendunt; nāvēs cōnscendunt et mox ab urbe Trōiā in terrās ignōtās nāvigant. diū in undīs errant et multōs labōrēs subeunt. tandem in Italiam adveniunt et urbem condunt. ardens burning ēripiō, ēripere, ēripuī, ereptus snatch away, rescue incensus, incensa, incensus burned debeō, debēre, debuī, debitus ought condō, condere, condidī, conditus found, establish descendō, descendere, descendī, descensus climb down, go down, descend ignotus, ignota, ignotum unknown, strange errō, errāre, errāvī, erratus wander, make a mistake subeō, subīre, subiī/subivī, subitus undergo, endure 1. Whom does Aeneas rescue from Troy? 2. Where does he take them? 3. How does Aeneas encourage the surviving Trojans? 4. How do the survivors react to Aeneas words? 5. What is one thing the survivors do after listening to Aeneas speech? 6. Where do they sail to and how do they fare on the voyage? 7. What case is urbe (line 6)? A. ablativeb. dative C. genitive D. vocative 8. Choose the best translation: diū in undīs errant A. soon they were on the waves B. for a long time they were wandering on the waves C. for a long time they were on the waves D. the gods were wandering on the waves 13