Tale of Troy or Iliad - The Story Behind the Trojan War

During the time when gods were petty and cruel, three of the leading goddesses had a contest to determine who was most beautiful. They contended for the prize of Eris golden apple, an apple no less dangerous than the one in the story of Snow White, despite its lack of consumable poison. To make the contest objective, the goddesses hired a human judge, Paris (also called Alexander), son of the Eastern potentate, Priam of Troy. Since Paris was to be paid according to the largesse of the winner, the contest was really to see who provided the most attractive incentive. Aphrodite won hands down, but the prize she offered was the wife of another man. Paris, after seducing Helen while a guest in the palace of her husband, King Menelaus of Sparta, went blithely on his way back to Troy with Helen. This abduction and violation of all rules of hospitality launched 1000 (Greek) ships to bring Helen back to Menelaus. Meanwhile, King Agamemnon of Mycenae, summoned the tribal kings from all over Greece to come to the aid of his cuckolded brother. Two of his best men -- one a strategist and the other a great warrior -- were Odysseus (aka Ulysses) of Ithaca, who would later come up with the idea of the Trojan Horse, and Achilles of Phthia, who may have married Helen in the Afterlife. Neither of these men wanted to join the fray; so they each devised a draft-dodging ruse worthy of M.A.S.H.s Klinger. Odysseus feigned madness by plowing his field destructively, perhaps with mismatched draft animals, perhaps with salt (a powerful destructive agent used according to legend at least one other time -- by the Romans on Carthage). Agamemnons messenger placed Telemachus, Odysseus infant son, on the path of the plough. When Odysseus swerved to avoid killing him, he was recognized as sane. Achilles -- with blame for cowardice conveniently laid at the feet of his mother, Thetis -- was made to look like and live with the maidens. Odysseus tricked him with the lure of a peddlers bag of trinkets. All the other maidens reached for the ornaments, but Achilles grabbed the sword stuck in their midst. The Greek (Achaean) leaders met together at Aulis where they awaited Agamemnons command to set sail. When an inordinate amount of time had passed and the winds still remained unfavorable, Agamemnon sought the services of Calchas the seer. Calchas told him that Artemis was angry with Agamemnon -- perhaps because he had promised her his finest sheep as a sacrifice to the goddess, but when the time came to sacrifice a golden sheep, he had, instead, substituted an ordinary one -- and to appease her, Agamemnon must sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia .... Upon the death of Iphigenia, the winds became favorable and the fleet set sail. Â   Trojan War FAQs [Summary: The head of the Greek forces was the proud king Agamemnon. He had killed his own daughter, Iphigenia, in order to appease the goddess Artemis (big sister of Apollo, and one of the children of Zeus and Leto), who was angry with Agamemnon and so, had stalled the Greek forces on the coast, at Aulis. In order to set sail for Troy they needed a favorable wind, but Artemis ensured the winds would fail to cooperate until Agamemnon had satisfied her -- by performing the required sacrifice of his own daughter. Once Artemis was satisfied, the Greeks set sail for Troy where to fight the Trojan War.] Agamemnon did not stay in the good graces of either of the children of Leto for long. He soon incurred the wrath of her son, Apollo. In revenge, Apollo the mouse god caused an outbreak of plague to lay the troops low. Agamemnon and Achilles had received the young women Chryseis and Briseis as prizes of war or war brides. Chryseis was the daughter of Chryses, who was a priest of Apollo. Chryses wanted his daughter back and even offered a ransom, but Agamemnon refused. Calchas the seer advised Agamemnon on the connection between his behavior toward the priest of Apollo and the plague that was decimating his army. Agamemnon had to return Chryseis to the priest of Apollo if he wanted the plague to end. After much Greek suffering, Agamemnon agreed to the recommendation of Calchas the seer, but only on condition that he take possession of the war prize of Achilles -- Briseis -- as a replacement. A minor point to think about: When Agamemnon had sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia, he hadnt required his fellow Greek aristocrats to give him a new daughter. No one could stop Agamemnon. Achilles was enraged. The honor of the leader of the Greeks, Agamemnon, had been assuaged, but what about the honor of the greatest of the Greek heroes -- Achilles? Following the dictates of his own conscience, Achilles could no longer cooperate, so he withdrew his troops (the Myrmidons) and sat on the sidelines. With the help of fickle gods, the Trojans began to inflict heavy personal damages on the Greeks, as Achilles and the Myrmidons sat on the sidelines. Patroclus, Achilles friend (or lover), persuaded Achilles that his Myrmidons would make the difference in the battle, so Achilles let Patroclus take his men as well as Achilles personal armor so that Patroclus would appear to be Achilles in the battlefield. It worked, but since Patroclus was not so great a warrior as Achilles, Prince Hector, the noble son of Trojan King Priam, struck Patroclus down. What even Patroclus words had failed to do, Hector accomplished. The death of Patroclus spurred Achilles into action and armed with a new shield forged by Hephaestus, the blacksmith of the gods (as a favor for Achilles sea goddess mother Thetis) Achilles went into battle. Achilles soon avenged himself. After killing Hector, he tied the body to the back of his war chariot, The grief-maddened Achilles then dragged Hectors corpse through the sand and dirt for days. In time, Achilles calmed down and returned the corpse of Hector to his grieving father. In a later battle, Achilles was killed by an arrow to the one part of his body Thetis had held when she had dipped the baby Achilles into the River Styx to confer immortality. With Achilles death, the Greeks lost their greatest fighter, but they still had their best weapon. [Summary: The greatest of the Greek heroes -- Achilles -- was dead. The 10-year Trojan War, which had begun when the Greeks set sail to retrieve Menelaus wife, Helen, form the Trojans, was at a stalemate.] Crafty Odysseus devised a plan that ultimately doomed the Trojans. Sending all the Greek ships away or into hiding, it appeared to the Trojans that the Greeks had given up. The Greeks left a parting gift in front of the walls of the city of Troy. it was a giant wooden horse which appeared to be an offering to Athena -- a peace offering. The jubilant Trojans dragged the monstrous, wheeled, wooden horse into their city to celebrate the end of the 10 years of fighting. Who Really Built the Trojan Horse?What Is the Trojan Horse? But beware of Greeks bearing gifts! Having won the war, the filicidal King Agamemnon went back to his wife for the reward he so richly deserved. Ajax, who had lost out to Odysseus in the contest for Achilles arms, went crazy and killed himself. Odysseus set out on the voyage (Homer, according to tradition, tells in The Odyssey, which is the sequel to The Iliad) that made him more famous than his help with Troy. And Aphrodites son, the Trojan hero Aeneas, set out from his burning homeland -- carrying his father on his shoulders -- on his way to Dido, in Carthage, and, finally, to the land that was to become Rome. Were Helen and Menelaus reconciled? According to Odysseus they were, but thats part of a future story.

The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn By Mark Twain - 1753 Words

Today, what has been considered by many one of the most dynamic works of American literature yet, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is ranked the 4th most banned book in America over 125 years after its publication. Some are baffled at how a book full of slavery and segregation can be banned when it is simply a reflection of a disturbing past and a learning opportunity for people of many generations to come. Yet, others are against its negative use of derogatory language in nearly every chapter in the novel. Throughout the reading, Twain’s clever use of specific events and dialogue between characters creates a passage into a real-world situation of the 1800’s that expresses the journey to freedom between a slave and homeless†¦show more content†¦I bet I was glad to see him† (Twain 50). In the beginning, Huck finds Jim on the same island the he was hiding out in and even though their interaction is in the early stages, this is likely the fir st sign of Huck creating a bond between him and Jim that will only seem to strengthen with the duration of the novel. â€Å" †¦ my heart was mos’ broke bekase you wuz los’, en I didn’ k’yer no’ mo’†¦En when I wake up en fine you back ag’in, all safe en soun’, de tears come†¦I’s so thankful† (91). Here is when the full impact of Jim’s generosity and caring nature takes full force. He has already grown attached to Huck and sees him as a friend more than a white person who can cause him harm. Huck, unfortunately takes a longer time to dwell on what comes out of his mouth to Jim. This can also be seen as a learning experience, as Huck sees what it means to feel bad for his treatment of a slave. Twain’s main approach with these passages is most likely to show the beginning hardships of friendship between two unlikely people. This sort of message in the 1880’s, might well have taken more of a hard hit, being as it was written during a time when inequality among fellow humans was very much in full swing. Huck befriending a runaway slave is way out of the ordinary, and might have even been seen as a crime. It was basically a sin to even be involved in communications with a slave such as Jim. Huck knew he would be going against society’s norms, but he continued to tolerate Jim on his own

Women in the Early 19th Century Free Essays

The American experiment that began as a Republic after ratification of the Constitution created political, social, and economic participation for its citizens, but not for women. The status of women in the early 19th century was shaped by economic considerations, religious beliefs, and long-held notions of female inferiority. While poor, laboring women suffered the most, the characteristics of inequality were evident in all social classes. We will write a custom essay sample on Women in the Early 19th Century or any similar topic only for you Order Now The Proper Role of Women in the Early Republic The early 19th century experienced a shift, at least for women in the urban centers of the Northeast, from the household economies that reflected an agricultural society to the necessity of linking female responsibilities with their husband’s careers. For lower class women, this meant supplementing family income by working either in early industrial mills, as domestic servants, or vending on city streets. Upper middle class women focused on social endeavors tied to their husband’s employment and continued social upper mobility. This included supervising servants, facilitating parties, and raising the children. Women who voiced any political activism were frowned upon. Perhaps the only place a woman might venture such opinions was around the dinner table. Above all, women were equated with virtue and purity. Middle and upper class women devoted time to helping charities that sought to alleviate the plight of the poor, especially widows and abandoned mothers with children. They worked with Protestant missions and labored to save poor women from prostitution. Due to the cult of female purity, they were viewed as being the best teachers, the â€Å"moral guardians† of society. Women in the Working Class In the early 19th century, many Northeast cities, especially port cities, saw an increase in crude mass production industries, as in the first textile mills. One result was the use of poor class women working for cheap wages, often to augment their husband’s meager incomes. Some poor women left the cities during periods of harvest to assist farmers needing cheap laborers. Others earned meager sums vending on city streets. Still others worked in the growing sewing trades or as domestic servants. Single mothers, however, were often forced to rely on the Almshouses and the various charities geared toward the poor. Widows had a particularly difficult time. Historian Christine Stansell, in her 1986 study of New York women 1789 to 1860, writes that â€Å"widowhood was virtually synonymous with impoverishment. † Another result of the changes in female status was the slow decline in birthrates. Historians John D’Emilio and Estelle B. Freedman state that, â€Å"Economic interest encouraged some families to have fewer children. † They demonstrate a possible correlation of the rise of industrialization and the decline of agricultural pursuits with steadily lowering birthrates throughout the 19th century. Impact of Protestant Theological Shifts By the early 19th century, Protestantism had discarded earlier notions of man’s relationship to God. This was particularly true of the Calvinist principle of predestination. Religion focused on an individual relationship with God and placed on man a greater sense of controlling one’s destiny. These views were being shaped by Transcendentalism as well as the emphasis on personal commitment coming out of the Second Great Awakening. Such views had a direct impact on sexuality and lowering birthrates. Sexuality was no longer simply a loveless act of procreation. Thus, families limited the number of children based on their economic situation. Still, the changing attitude was not universal and men and women had numerous children, especially in rural, farm areas. Lucretia Mott, an early advocate of women’s rights, for example, had six children. Female Status in the Early 19th Century Although the expectations of women in the early 19th century were shifting, their status within a patriarchal society remained the same. Politically, they were powerless. Job opportunities were severely limited. Because of the social expectations that tied female dependence on men, single women and widows were the most vulnerable. Even upper middle class women were doomed to conform to patterns of daily life that were dictated by their husbands. How to cite Women in the Early 19th Century, Papers