Greek Life and Culture Survey English 9

8 th Century B.C. Greek Society Patriarchal Agricultural Monarchal Slave-holding Polytheistic “Shame Society” Epic Poetry is popular

Shame Society If a person loses their honor, they are shamed. Shaming someone is a no-no, especially someone higher up on the social ladder.

Hospitality Very important in Greek Society and mythology Economy depended on it– Greece is surrounded by water and mountains, so merchants traveled by sea. Laws protected strangers from harm; people welcomed strangers in their homes (fed, clothed, and sheltered them)

Oral Poetry Poems were recited to audiences– no actors Told by bards (also known as rhapsodes) Memorized by repetition No abstract thought, therefore no language for abstract thought (for example, no Greek word for “soul”)

Homer (not Simpson) Gets credit for the creation of The Iliad and The Odyssey Written 750 B.C. (approximately) Some scholars believe Homer was blind Very little known about his life……

Separatists and Analysts Separatists believe that many different people contributed to the material which makes up The Iliad and The Odyssey. Analysts believe that the stories came from one person.

Epic Poems A long poem involving a hero who represents his society’s values Written on one theme– Aristotle’s formula for the perfect poem involved having a central theme Begin with an invocation to the gods Homeric similes

Epic Hero/Warrior Subject of an epic poem or long work Has a flaw that causes downfall Warriors in Greek Mythology measure themselves in terms of “loot” Live by the Warrior Code– he who has the most “loot” is the most honorable

The Iliad: Things to Know Theme of the Iliad is rage (“rage” is the first word in the poem) Tells the story of the last 41 days of the Trojan War Made up of 15,693 lines of verse! Troy is also called “Ilium”

Words for “Greeks” Acheans Hellenes Argives

The Back Story Trojan War started because of a breach of hospitality Helen (the most beautiful woman in the world) is married to Menelaus, King of Sparta Every man who wanted to marry her promises to protect her if need be Runs off to Troy with Paris (one of the Princes of Troy)

More Back Story All of Helen’s suitors are gathered to fight a war for her Agamemnon, King of Mycenae, also Menelaus’ brother, is chosen to be the Greeks’ leader Agamemnon insults Artemis, goddess of the hunt, by proclaiming that he is a better hunter than she Artemis requires Agamemnon to sacrifice his eldest daughter, Iphegenia, in order for the ships to sail to Troy The ships set sail after the sacrifice

Irony The Trojan War occurred to keep a family together (Helen and Menelaus), but started by destroying an innocent family (Agamemnon, Clytemnestra, and Iphegenia)

Achilles The Hero of The Iliad Prophecy: Achilles can either fight at Troy and die, or stay home and lead a normal life (and live to be an old man). He chooses to fight. Rejects the Warrior Code and fights for friendship in the end of The Iliad

The Iliad: Plot Greeks have been camped out on the beaches of Troy for nine years– the war is at a stand still. Agamemnon has stolen a slave woman (Briseis) from Achilles Achilles will not fight

More Plot Hector, Prince of Troy and the best fighter on the Trojan side, Kills Achilles’ best friend, Patroclus, who is disguised as Achilles Achilles rejoins the fight, bent on killing Hector to avenge his friend

More Plot! Achilles challenges Hector to a duel Achilles chases Hector around the walls of Troy three times, kills him, and drags his body back to the Greek camps to be eaten by dogs

Resolution King Priam sneaks into the Greek camp at night to beg Achilles for the body of his son Achilles agrees, deciding that a proper burial and time for grieving are important for family members

Moral of the Story The Iliad is an anti-war poem Achilles turns inside himself for the answers, as opposed to measuring his worth in terms of material things The war is completely futile, since Helen expresses regret for marrying Paris and comes home to Greece willingly with Menelaus