TROJAN WAR
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and has been narrated through many works of Greek literature, most notably through Homer's Iliad. The Iliad relates four days in the tenth year of the decade-long siege of Troy; the Odyssey describes the journey home of Odysseus, one of the war's heroes. Other parts of the war are described in a cycle of epic poems, which have survived through fragments. Episodes from the war provided material for Greek tragedy and other works of Greek literature, and for Roman poets including Virgil and Ovid.
The war originated from a quarrel between the goddesses Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite, after Eris, the goddess of strife and discord, gave them a golden apple, sometimes known as the Apple of Discord, marked "for the fairest". Zeus sent the goddesses to Paris, who judged that Aphrodite, as the "fairest", should receive the apple. In exchange, Aphrodite made Helen, the most beautiful of all women and wife of Menelaus, fall in love with Paris, who took her to Troy. Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and the brother of Helen's husband
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| Achilles tending the wounded Patroclus |
Menelaus, led an expedition of Achaean troops to Troy and besieged the city for ten years because of Paris' insult. After the deaths of many heroes, including the Achaeans Achilles and Ajax, and the Trojans Hector and Paris, the city fell to the ruse of the Trojan Horse. The Achaeans slaughtered the Trojans (except for some of the women and children whom they kept or sold as slaves) and desecrated the temples, thus earning the gods' wrath. Few of the Achaeans returned safely to their homes and many founded colonies in distant shores. The Romans later traced their origin to Aeneas, one of the Trojans, who was said to have led the surviving Trojans to modern-day Italy.
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| The Burning of Troy |
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| Trojan Horse |
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| Golden Apple |
CASSANDRA
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| Cassandra in front of the burning city of Troy at the peak of her insanity. |
Cassandra also known as Alexandra or Kassandra, was a daughter of King Priam and of Queen Hecuba of Troy. In modern usage her name is employed as a rhetorical device to indicate someone whose accurate prophecies are not believed by those around them.
A common version of her story relates how, in an effort to seduce her, Apollo gave her the power of prophecy—but when she refused him, he spat into her mouth to inflict a curse that nobody would ever believe her prophecies. In an alternative version, she fell asleep in a temple, and snakes licked (or whispered in) her ears so that she could hear the future. (A snake as a source of knowledge is a recurring theme in Greek mythology, though sometimes the snake brings understanding of the language of animals rather than an ability to know the future. Likewise, prophets without honor in their own country reflect a standard narrative trope.)
Cassandra became a figure of epic tradition and of tragedy. In some versions of the myth, Apollo curses her by spitting into her mouth during a kiss. In Aeschylus' Agamemnon, she foretells the betrayal of Clytemnestra. She also bemoans her relationship with Apollo:
Apollo, Apollo!
God of all ways, but only Death's to me,
Once and again, O thou, Destroyer named,
Thou hast destroyed me, thou, my love of old!
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| Goddess of Love, Beauty, and Sexuality |
Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation. Her Roman equivalent is the goddess Venus. She is identified with the planet Venus. She was born when Cronus cut off Uranus's genitals and threw them into the sea, and she arose from the sea foam (aphros). According to Homer's Iliad, she is the daughter of Zeus and Dione. According to Plato (Symposium, 180e), these two origins were of entirely separate entities: Aphrodite Ourania and Aphrodite Pandemos.
Because of her beauty, other gods feared that their rivalry over her would interrupt the peace among them and lead to war, so Zeus married her to Hephaestus, who, because of his ugliness and deformity, was not seen as a threat. Aphrodite had many lovers—both gods, such as Ares, and men, such as Anchises. She played a role in the Eros and Psyche legend, and later was both Adonis's lover and his surrogate mother. Many lesser beings were said to be children of Aphrodite.
Aphrodite is also known as Cytherea (Lady of Cythera) and Cypris (Lady of Cyprus) after the two cult sites, Cythera and Cyprus, which claimed to be her place of birth. Myrtle, doves, sparrows, horses, and swans were said to be sacred to her. The ancient Greeks identified her with the Ancient Egyptian goddess Hathor.
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HEPHAESTUS
Hephaestus is the Greek god of blacksmiths, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metals, metallurgy, fire and volcanoes. Hephaestus' Roman equivalent is Vulcan. In Greek mythology, Hephaestus was the son of Zeus and Hera, the king and queen of the gods. In another version, he was Hera's parthenogenous child, rejected by his mother because of his deformity and thrown off of Mount Olympus and down to earth.
As a smithing god, Hephaestus made all the weapons of the gods in Olympus. He served as the blacksmith of the gods, and was worshipped in the manufacturing and industrial centers of Greece, particularly Athens. The cult of Hephaestus was based in Lemnos. Hephaestus' symbols are a smith's hammer, anvil, and a pair of tongs.
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| God of fire, metalworking, stone masonry, forges, the art of sculpture, and blacksmiths. |
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| Hephaestus in his Forge |
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| Thetis Receiving the Weapons of Achilles from Hephaestus |
PATROCLUS
Patroclus was the son of Menoetius in Greek mythology, and best friend of the hero Achilles. His father was one of the Argonauts, while many different women have been mentioned as Patroclus' mother; Polymele, Sthenele, and Periopis.
When he was young, Patroclus had an argument with one of his friends, Clysonymus, while playing dice; in the heated argument that followed, Patroclus accidentally killed him. To evade the wrath of Clysonymus' family, Menoetius took Patroclus and they both fled to Phthia, where King Peleus reigned. There, Patroclus met Achilles with whom they formed a deep friendship, and Peleus sent both of them to be tutored by the Centaur Chiron.
Both Patroclus and Achilles were prospective suitors of Helen when she was about to get married; thus, they both took the Oath of Tyndareus, according to which all suitors of Helen would protect her and her future husband from any threat or danger. When Helen eloped with Paris, prince of Troy, Menelaus, who had married Helen, invoked the Oath of Tyndareus, thus getting the support of all previous suitors, including Patroclus and Achilles. This was the start of the Trojan War.
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| Achilles and Patroclus: Archetypal |
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The Cremation of Patroclus |
!IMPORTANT NOTE!
TWELVE OLYMPIANS
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Zeus overthrew his Father Cronus and then drew lots with his brothers Poseidon and Hades. Zeus won the draw and became the supreme ruler of the gods. He is lord of the sky, and the rain. His weapon is a thunderbolt, which he hurls at those who displease him. He is married to Hera but is famous for his many affairs. He is also known as the god that punishes those that lie or break oaths. |
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Poseidon is the brother of Zeus. After the overthrow of their Father Cronus he drew lots with Zeus and Hades, another brother, to share the power of the world. His prize was to become lord of the sea. He was widely worshipped by seamen. He married Amphitrite, a granddaughter of the Titan Oceanus. He desired Demeter, who asked him to make the most beautiful animal that the world had ever seen, just to put him off. So, Poseidon created the first horse. In some accounts, his first attempts were unsuccessful, he created a variety of animals in his quest and then created the first horse. His weapon is a trident, which can shake the earth, and shatter any object. He is the most powerful Olympian god, after Zeus. |
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Hades is the brother of Zeus. After the overthrow of their Father Cronus he drew lots with Zeus and Poseidon, another brother, to share the power of the world. He had the worst draw and was made lord of the underworld, ruling over the dead. He is a greedy god who is greatly concerned with increasing his subjects. He is exceedingly disinclined to allow any of his subjects leave. He is also the god of wealth, due to the precious metals that mined from the earth. He has a helmet that makes him invisible and he rarely leaves the underworld. He is unpitying and terrible, but not capricious. His wife is Persephone whom Hades abducted. He is the King of the dead but, death itself is another god, Thanatos. |
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Hestia is Zeus sister. She is a virgin goddess. She does not have a distinct personality. She plays no part in myths. She is the Goddess of the Hearth, the symbol of the house around which a newborn child is carried before it is received into the family. Each city had a public hearth sacred to Hestia, where the fire was never allowed to go out. |
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Hera is Zeus wife and sister. The Titans Ocean and Tethys raised her. She is the protector of marriage and takes special care of married women. Hera's marriage was founded in strife with Zeus and continued in strife. Zeus courted her unsuccessfully. Then he changed himself into dishevelled cuckoo. Hera feeling sorry for the bird held it to her breast to warm it. Zeus then transformed in his normal form and took advantage of the opportunity he gained, and raped her. Then she married him to cover her shame. Zeus was being particularly overbearing to the other gods and Hera convinced them to join in a revolt. Her part in the revolt was to drug Zeus, and when she managed that, the gods bound the sleeping Zeus to a couch, noticing to tie many knots. After that, they began to quarrel over the next step. Briareus overheard the arguments, full of gratitude to Zeus, Briareus slipped in and try to untie the knots. Zeus sprang from the couch and grabbed up his thunderbolt. The gods fell to their knees begging and pleading for mercy. Then Zeus seized Hera and hung her from the sky with gold chains. She wept in pain all night but none of the others dared to interfere. Her weeping kept Zeus up and the next morning he agreed to release her if she would swear never to rebel again. She didn’t have a choice, so she agreed. Since she couldn’t rebel again, she often intrigued against Zeus's plans and she was often able to outwit him. Most stories concerning Hera have to do with her revenge for Zeus's infidelities. Her sacred animals are the cow and the peacock. Her favourite city is Argos. |
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Ares is the son of Zeus and Hera. Both parents disliked him. He is the god of war and he is considered murderous and bloodstained but, also a coward. When he was caught in an act of adultery with Aphrodite, her husband Hephaestus publicly ridiculed him. His bird is the vulture. His animal is the dog. |
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Athena is the daughter of Zeus. She is fierce and brave in battle but only fights to protect the state and home from outside enemies. She is the goddess of the city, handicrafts, and agriculture. She has invented the bridle, which permits man to tame horses, the trumpet, the flute, the pot, the rake, the yoke, the ship, and the chariot. She is the embodiment of wisdom, reason, and purity. She is Zeus's favourite child and she is allowed to use his weapons including his thunderbolt. Her favourite city is Athens. Her tree is the olive and the owl is her bird. She is a virgin goddess. |
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Apollo is the son of Zeus and Leto. His twin sister is Artemis. He is the god of music, playing a golden lyre, of light and truth, who can not tell a lie. One of Apollo's more important daily tasks is to harness his chariot with four horses and drive the sun across the sky. He is famous for his oracle at Delphi and people use to travel to it from all over the Greek world to divine the future. His tree is the laurel, his bird is the crow and his animal is the dolphin. |
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Aphrodite is the goddess of love, desire and beauty. In addition to her natural gifts she has a magical girdle that compels anyone she wishes to desire her. There are two accounts of her birth. One says she is the daughter of Zeus and Dione. The other goes back to when Cronus castrated Uranus and tossed his severed genitals into the sea. Aphrodite then arose from the sea foam on a giant scallop and walked to shore in Cyprus. She is the wife of Hephaestus. The myrtle is her tree, the dove, the swan, and the sparrow are her birds. |
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Hermes is the son of Zeus and Maia. He is Zeus’s messenger. He is the fastest of the gods. He wears winged sandals, a winged hat, and carries a magic wand. He is the god of thieves and commerce. He is the guide for the dead to go to the underworld. He invented the lyre, the pipes, the musical scale, astronomy, weights and measures, boxing, gymnastics, and the care of olive trees. |
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Artemis is the daughter of Zeus and Leto. Her twin brother is Apollo. She is the lady of the wild things. She is the huntsman of the gods. She is the protector of the young. Like Apollo she hunts with silver arrows. She is a virgin goddess, and the goddess of chastity. She also presides over childbirth, which may seem odd for a virgin, but goes back to cause Leto no pain when she was born. She became associated with Hecate. The cypress is her tree. All wild animals are scared to her and especially the deer. |
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Hephaestus is the son of Zeus and Hera. Sometimes it is said that Hera alone produced him and that he has no father. He is the only god who is physically ugly and lame. Accounts as how he became lame vary. Some say that Hera, upset by having an ugly child, flung him from Mount Olympus into the sea, breaking his legs. Others that he took Hera's side in an argument with Zeus and Zeus flung him off Mount Olympus. He is the god of fire and the forge. He is the smith and armourer of the gods. He uses a volcano as his forge. He is the patron god of both smiths and weavers. He is kind and peace loving. His wife is Aphrodite. Sometimes his wife is identified as Aglaia. |
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