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Delahoyde & Hughes
Orpheus
ILIAD
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Iliad = the story of Ilium (Troy), the city of Ilus (the
grandfather of Priam). The work, 15,693 lines of hexameter, has been
called this since the 5th century bce. TROY —— Ilus’ son, King Laomedon, decided to
build a wall for protection in the early days as the city was prospering.
Poseidon agreed to offer divine aid, but after the impenetrable city wall
was built, the Trojans refused to pay compensation for Poseidon’s
efforts. Without divine protection, the city would be vulnerable to
attack. THE WEDDING —— The mortal Peleus and the goddess
Thetis were to be wed. This was arranged by Zeus, because although he was
interested in Thetis, a prophecy revealed by Prometheus noted that her
son would be greater than the father, and Zeus is touchy on this point
due to family history. (As a reward for this knowledge, Zeus allowed
Heracles to shoot the eagle that devoured Prometheus’ liver each
day.) They invite all the gods but Eris (Discord, or Strife), somewhat
naturally. But she is enraged at the snub and throws a golden apple
(kalistei) among the guests with the inscription: "for the
fairest." Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite each claims it to be intended
for her. THE PAGEANT —— There is difficulty finding a judge to
decide between the three goddesses, Zeus naturally weaseling out. A
shepherd is brought in, who turns out to be Paris, a son of Priam, king
of Troy, and Hecuba. A prophecy had foretold that he would be the
destruction of Troy, so he was exposed as an infant on Mount Ida, saved
by shepherds, and brought up in obscurity. Now Hermes presents the vying
goddesses, presenting themselves naked. Hera bribes Paris with power and
the most prosperous kingdom, Athena promises glory in war, and Aphrodite
promises him the most beautiful woman on earth. His choosing Aphrodite
makes enemies of the other goddesses, who therefore favor the Greeks
rather than the Trojans in the coming war. HELEN —— Paris first sails to Troy to establish
himself as prince, then to Greece where he is received by Menelaus, king
of Sparta, who happens to be married to the most beautiful woman promised
for Paris, Helen ("Helen of Troy," oddly). Helen is seduced and
persuaded to elope to Troy with Paris. When Menelaus is away at a funeral
in Crete, they take some palace treasure too. THIS MEANS WAR —— Menelaus calls upon his brother,
Agamemnon in Mycenae, and assorted chieftains such as Aias (Ajax),
Diomedes, Nestor, Idomeneus, and others. Back in the courting days, many
had sworn allegiance to whomever would win the hand of Helen. They
also needed Odysseus (Ulysses), who had been warned that he’d be
gone from his home in Ithica for 20 years. He feigned madness but was
found out when his newborn son was thrown in the path of the plow he was
driving wildly about. They also draft Achilles, who had been warned that
if he went to war he would attain great glory but die young. His mother
Thetis (yep! and don’t think too hard about the time frame here)
disguised him in women’s clothes, but the ruse was discovered by
Odysseus when he and Diomedes pretended to be peddlers and hawked
trinkets for the girls of the palace and laid a sword and shield nearby.
When a trumpet blast sounded an alarm, Achilles instinctively grabbed the
shield and sword and was found out. These groups form a loose confederacy much like the way the gods
operate under Zeus. After assembling 1000 ships (since Helen’s face
has to launch that many for Marlowe), the winds die. It is discovered
that Agamemnon had killed a deer sacred to Artemis, goddess of the hunt.
To pacify her anger, Agamemnon must sacrifice his own daughter,
Iphegenia. He tells her she will be married to Achilles, gets her to the
sacrificial altar, and slashes her throat. Good news, though: the winds
pick up. The Greeks sail to Troy, stopping at an island to sacrifice to
the gods where a snake bites Philoctetes on the foot. The disgusting
wound won’t heal and he is too sick to travel, so they abandon him
and will have to address this much later. They approach Troy, but an
oracle has said that the first to land would be the first to die, so
there’s a lot of stalling. Finally Protesilaus leaps from the ship
and runs up the shore. Hector comes over the rise and kills him. The war
is on and drags on for nine years by the time the Iliad picks
up the story, covering only a few months in the tenth year.