Odyssey Webquest PDF

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Odyssey Webquest...

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Odyssey Webquest Research each of the following questions and develop an answer in your own words. Q 1: Who was Homer? What do we actually know about him? [As a corollary to this question, who was Herodotus?] Homer is the traditionally-credited creator of the Iliad and the Odyssey, revered as the greatest of Greek epic poets. Herodotus was a Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the fifth century BC.

Q 2: How much of what we know about the Trojan War is historical? What then is the rest of the “story”? The Trojan War, fought between Greeks and the defenders of the city of Troy in Anatolia sometime in the late Bronze Age. The Trojan War has its roots in the marriage between Peleus and Thetis, a seagoddess. Peleus and Thetis had not invited Eris, the goddess of discord, to their marriage and the outraged goddess stormed into the wedding banquet and threw a golden apple onto the table. The apple belonged to, Eris said, whomever was the fairest. Q 3: Find a map that contains both ancient Greece and Troy; where (today) is the site of Troy located? About how far is it from mainland Greece? In North West Turkey, 280 km Q 4: Name 2 causes for the Trojan War, one mythological and one historical. Mythological: Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus king of Sparta. Historical: According to classical sources, the war began after the abduction (or elopement) of Queen Helen of Sparta by the Trojan prince Paris. Helen’s jilted husband Menelaus convinced his brother Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, to lead an expedition to retrieve her. Q 5: Identify and explain the significance of each of the following individuals….

-Agamemnon: Agamemnon, in Greek legend, king of Mycenae or Argos. He was the son (or grandson) of Atreus, king of Mycenae, and his wife Aërope and was the brother of Menelaus. After Atreus was murdered by his nephew Aegisthus (son of Thyestes), Agamemnon and Menelaus took refuge with Tyndareus, king of Sparta, whose daughters, Clytemnestra and Helen, they respectively married. By Clytemnestra, Agamemnon had a son, Orestes, and three daughters, Iphigeneia (Iphianassa), Electra (Laodice), and Chrysothemis. Menelaus succeeded Tyndareus, and Agamemnon recovered his father’s kingdom. -Menelaus: Menelaus, in Greek mythology, king of Sparta and the younger son of Atreus, king of Mycenae; the abduction of his wife, Helen, led to the Trojan War. During the war Menelaus served under his elder brother Agamemnon, the commander in chief of the Greek forces. When Phrontis, one of his crewmen, was killed, Menelaus delayed his voyage until the man had been buried, thus giving evidence of his strength of character. After the fall of Troy, Menelaus recovered Helen and brought her home. -Helen (of Troy): Helen, Greek Helene, in Greek legend, the most beautiful woman of Greece and the indirect cause of the Trojan War. She was daughter of Zeus, either by Leda or by Nemesis, and sister of the Dioscuri. As a young girl she was carried off by Theseus, but she was rescued by her brothers. She was also the sister of Clytemnestra, who married Agamemnon. Her suitors came from all parts of Greece, and from among them she chose Menelaus, Agamemnon’s younger brother. During an absence of Menelaus, however, Helen fled to Troy with Paris, son of the Trojan king Priam; when Paris was slain, she married his brother Deiphobus, whom she betrayed to Menelaus when Troy was subsequently captured. Menelaus and she then returned to Sparta, where they lived happily until their deaths.

-Odysseus: Odysseus, Latin Ulixes, English Ulysses, hero of Homer’s epic poem the Odyssey and one of the most frequently portrayed figures in Western literature. According to Homer, Odysseus was king of Ithaca, son of Laertes and Anticleia (the daughter of Autolycus of Parnassus), and father, by his wife, Penelope, of Telemachus. (In later tradition, Odysseus was instead the son of Sisyphus and fathered sons by Circe, Calypso, and others.) -Paris Q 6: Approximately when did the Trojan War take place? 13th or 12th century

Q 7: Who was the Greeks’ main champion? The Trojans’? How did each one die? Greek: Achilles; he was killed near the end of the Trojan War by Paris, who shot him in the heel with an arrow. Roman: Hector; Achilles fought one-on-one against Hector until Hector died. Then Achilles attached him to his chariot and dragged him through the sand and dirt until he had reduced his rage.

Q 8: Who is Iphigeneia, and what impact does she have in the events of Troy? Iphigenia was the eldest daughter of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon. When in Aulis, Agememnon killed a stag in a grove sacred to Diana. Angered, Diana stopped the winds so that the Greek fleet could not sail to Troy. The seer Calchas was called upon, and he announced that the only way the Greek fleet would sail was if Iphigenia was sacrificed. Agamemnon at first adamantly refused, but, under pressure, Agamemnon slowly gave in and he agreed to the sacrifice.

Q 9: Looking a bit more closely at Agamemnon, what factors—both human and divine—impacted his decisions in the campaign against Troy? Are his actions forgivable and/or understandable given the magnitude of the war? Agamemnon abused his power and publicly insulted Achilles. I do not think his actions are forgivable. He just seemed spiteful. Q 10: How long did the Trojan War allegedly last, and how did it finally end? How did the Greeks behave in the victorious aftermath? Ten Years, the trojans built a giant wooden horse and put it at the gates of Troy and attacked. They all returned home and some of the gods were mad because their temples and buildings had been destroyed....