The Trojan War

wedding of King Pelius and Thetis

Jan 1, 1000

Eris, the goddess of Discord, was the only god uninvited. She threw a golden apple into the wedding that said "For the fairest". Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera all wanted the apple, but Zeus would not choose between them.

The judgment of Paris

Jan 2, 1000

Aphrodite promised Paris the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen. It didn't mattered to the gods whether Helen was married but for mere mortals it did. She was wife of king Menelaus of Sparta

Paris abducts Helen

Jan 3, 1000

While Odysseus was away, suitors abused the hospitality of Odysseus' wife and household, while Odysseus relied on the hospitality of strangers to survive his 10-year odyssey home

the unbreakable promise

Jan 4, 1000

Menelaus had been aware of the possibility that his wife, Helen, would be snatched from him. Helen had been snatched before their marriage, by TheseusWhen Menelaus finally won the hand of Helen, he and Helen's father extracted a promise from all the other suitors that they would come to his aid should Helen be taken away again. It was on the basis of this promise that Agamemnon, acting on brother Menelaus' behalf, was able to coerce the Achaeans to join forces with him and his brother, and sail

The Trojan war draft dodgers

Jan 5, 1000

Agamemnon had trouble rounding up the men. Odysseus feigned madness. Achilles tried to pretend he was a woman. But Agamemnon saw through Odysseus' ruse and Odysseus tricked Achilles into revealing himself, and so, all the leaders who had promised to join, did so. Each leader brought his own troops, weapons, and ships. They all stood poised to sail at Aulis.

Agamemnon amd his family

Jan 6, 1000

Agamemnon was from the House of Atreus, that cursed family that stemmed from Tantalus, a son of Zeus. Tantalus had spitefully served the gods a feast with an awful main course, the cooked body of his own son Pelops. Demeter was upset at the time because her daughter, Persephone, had disappeared. This left her distracted, so unlike all the other gods and goddesses, she failed to recognize the meat dish as human flesh.

the illad on the war itself

Jan 7, 1000

Well-matched forces dragged the Trojan War on and on. It was in its tenth year when the climactic and most dramatic events finally took place. First, a sacrilegious Agamemnon, leader of all the Achaeans (Greeks), captured a priestess of Apollo. When the Greek leader refused to return the priestess to her father, plague struck the Achaeans.

the Action of The Iliad Begins in the Tenth Year

Jan 8, 1000

sacrilegious Agamemnon, leader of all the Achaeans, captured a priestess of Apollo. When the Greek leader refused to return the priestess to her father, plague struck the Achaeanshis plague may have been bubonic, since it was connected with the mouse-aspect of Apollo. Calchas, the seer, summoned once again, augured that health would be restored only when the priestess was returned. Agamemnon agreed, but only if he could have a substitute war prize: Briseis, Achilles'

The Greatest Greek Hero Won't Fight

Jan 9, 1000

When Agamemnon took Briseis from Achilles, the hero was outraged and refused to fight. Thetis, Achilles' immortal mother, prevailed upon Zeus to punish Agamemnon by making the Trojans stymy the Achaean

Patroclus Fights As Achilles

Jan 10, 1000

Achilles had a dear friend and companion at Troy named PatroclusPatroclus tried to persuade Achilles to fight because Achilles was so capable a warrior that he could turn the tide of battle. Nothing had changed for Achilles, so he refused. Patroclus presented an alternative. He asked Achilles to let him lead Achilles' troops, the Myrmidons. Achilles agreed, and even lent Patroclus his armor.