Odysseus (Ch 20)

Etymology: Unknown. Ep. Polytropos "of many twists and turns".
Origin: King of Ithica, husband of Penelope, father of Telemachus. Son of Laertes and Anticlia.
Claim to Fame: Cunning, Trojan Horse, Katabasis (mortal descent into hell)
Literature: Vergil's Aeneid, Homer's Odyssey, Homer's Illiad

Nostos ("Homecoming")

After 10 years of fighting at Troy alongside Achilles, it takes him 10 years to return home to Ithaca to his faithful wife and growing son.

1. Cicones, Thracian tribe allied with the Trojans
Odysseus sacks the city of the Cicones at Ismarus, but spares Apollo's priest Maron in exchange for 12 amphorae of wine. Six men from each of his ships are slaughtered as reinforcements arrive and they must flee.

2. Lotus-Eaters, North Africa
As they were rounding the tip of the Peloponnesus, the wind blows them off course to the land of the lotus-eaters, where one taste of their fruit is to attain blissful, apathetic oblivion. Odysseus resists the temptations to be relieved of all wants, desires, and passions in life through eternal sleep, and forces his men back to the ships to continue on home.

3. Polyphemus, one-eyed giant, son of Poseidon
Odysseus is captured by the giant Polyphemus, who kills and eats his six of his men before imprisoning them in his cave. They drug him with the 12 amphorae of wine, and while he is sleeping Odysseus blinds him with a burning stick, whispering to him that his name is "nobody" so the other cyclopes could not charge him. To escape, Odysseus and his surviving crew tie themselves to the bellies of the giant's sheep, so when he took them out to graze the prisoners were left undiscovered. As they sail away, Odysseus accidentally reveals his name, earning the wrath of Poseidon by the wrongdoing of his son.

4. Aeolus, keeper of the winds
They stop of the island of Aeolus, and befriend its inhabitant so that he gives Odysseus a leather bag containing the winds that will blow them home safely. Unfortunately just as they are almost in view of Ithaca Odysseus falls asleep and the mischievous crew open the bag, blowing them all back to Aeolus' island. This time, they cannot convince Aeolus to aid them again, so they turn to the seas once more.

5. Laestrygones, cannibalistic tribe
Captured by cannibals, 11 of Odysseus' 12 ships are destroyed and the men are devoured. Odysseus and his own ship's crew is all that remains.

6. Circe, sorceress, daughter of Helius. Island of Aeaea.
Odysseus and his crew are welcomed by Circe, and while he stays behind with the ship, they are all transformed into swine. Hermes intervenes, giving Odysseus the herb "moly" (antidote to her witchcraft), and Odysseus seduces Circe into transforming his men back into humans and letting them go. He first convinces her to reveal the means by which he can learn how to get home, several warnings for the jounrey ahead, and attains instructions to perform Nekuia ("spirit summoning") to consult the spirit of the dead seer Tiresias.

7. Katabasis, kata "down" + basis "going" (Homer's Odyssey Book 11, "Book of the Dead")
In the far west, Odysseus performs the rituals of Nekuia to summon the spirit of Tiresias. As instructed by Circe, Odysseus sacrificed an unfertile heifer and black sheep as well as pour a libation of honey, wine, milk, water, and blood to replenish the dead and convince Erebus to release several shades:
- Anticlia (mother), who died of a broken heart waiting for her son. Odysseus attempts three times to embrace her, but passes through her shade
- Elpenor (comrade at arms), who died of a drunken escapade and was left unburied and unwept. Cursed for 100 years.
- Achilles (comrade at arms), who died of Paris' divine arrow, asserts "it's better a slave on earth than King of the Dead"
- Ajax (comrade at arms), who died of suicide at the incomprehension of losing a wager to Odysseus, turns his back and refuses to speak.
- Tiresias (seer), who died of old age, is given blood in exchange for the knowledge that will return Odysseus alone to Ithica, where he must face Penelope's suitors before he can attain his rightful place.

8. Sirens, women who lure ships to rocks said to hold intellectual/sexual secrets = femme fatale
Eager to hear their song, Odysseus orders his men to tie him to the mast of the ship (by no means untie him) and plug their own ears with wax so they can safely pass. Like Prometheus, Odysseus succeeds in overcoming temptation with foresight.

9. Scylla and Charybdis, straits of Messina (Sicily and Italy)
To negotiate the violent rocks and whirlpools, Odysseus adheres to the side of the strait associated with Scylla. Six of his men are consumed by her. They also pass safely through Planctae ("clashing rocks"), the Mediterranean Sea/ Black Sea passage connection.

10. Cattle of Thrinacia, island of Helius
Warned by Circe not to touch the cattle, Odysseus's crew disobeys, earning the wrath of Helius as enacted by Zeus's thunderbolt. Everyone drowns but Odysseus, who avoids Charybdis, clinging to the wreckage of his ship.

11. Calypso ("concealer"), sea-nymph and daughter of Atlas

Imprisons Odysseus on the island of Ogygia for 7 years. Although she nourishes him back to health as well as promises him immortality, Odysseus cannot justify (a) not returning to his family and kingdom, and (b) having his name left unspoken due to his concealment. He petitions Zeus, who sends Hermes to sanction his release.

12. Phaeacians, peaceful seafaring tribe, Scheria

Odysseus' raft is shipwrecked by Poseidon near the isle of the Scheria but Leucothea and Athena help him ashore. He is discovered by the princess Nausicaa, daughter of Alcinous and Arete, who earns his stays at their court through the retelling of his adventures. He shows prowess in a number of contests, and is sent home to Ithica with magical intervention.

Poseidon, angered by the Phaeacian's intervention, turns their ships to stone.

Arrival at Ithica

Since Telemachus is too young to be eligible for the throne, Peripheron Penelope ("circumspect") is harassed by a number of suitors intending to steal it from Odysseus.

- Telemacheus travels to Pylos to visit King Nestor, and Sparta to visit King Menalaus, to discover whether Odysseus still lives.
- Meanwhile, Penelope promises she shall pick a suitor once she is finished weaving her husbands shround (each night she undoes the days work to start over in the morning)

Disguised as a begger, Athena directs Odysseus to Eumaeus, the swine herd who kept Odysseus' faithful dog, Argus. The dog recognises his master and drops dead, affirming his identity as the lost king to Eumaeus and Telemachus. Similarly, an old nurse of his (Euryclea, characterized by her gashed thigh) washes his feet as a charity to a beggar, but upon recognizing them, she recognizes her king.

He arranges a meeting with Penelope on the claim he has seen Odysseus, dropping hints at his true identity by commenting on the fact she is not wearing a certain brooch (a gift from Odysseus, long ago).
In response to her suspicion of the stranger at court Penelope arranges an archery contest for the suitors, whereby they must string her husbands bow and shoot through 12 axeheads. Each one fails, until the beggar is given a turn, whereby Odysseus enacts his vengeance through his dramatic reveal.

• Father and son slaughters Antinoos (main suitor) and the rest, sparing only Medon (herald) and Phemius (bard). 
• The 12 Servant-girls that taunted the beggar at court as well as slept with the suitors were charged with cleaning up the bloodshed, then were hanged for their disloyalty. 
• Goat-herd Melanthius was mutilated and killed for violating Xenia.

Having been sent away during the bloodshed, Penelope enacts one last test for the stranger by asking Nurse Euryclea to move her marriage bed, which only few know that it is actually hand-carved out of a living, rooted olive tree. Odysseus' outrage at this order confirms his identity as it is a secret symbol of their tryst. Athena then consummates Odysseus's return and he obtains his rightful place as ruler of Ithica.

Trojan Saga, pt. III (Ch 19)

Post-Iliad Events

Penthesilea, Queen of the Amazons, comes to fight for the Trojans but is defeated by Achilles and stripped of her armour. Upon realizing she is a woman, Achilles is smitten, and falls in love with her as he kills her. For this unrequited love, he is jibed by Thersites (Greek joker figure) as being "the ugliest man in Troy". After slaying the joker, a fellow soldier, he must withdraw to Lesbos for blood purification before returning to battle.

Achilles is finally slain by Paris's arrow, guided by Apollo, which punctures his moral heel. Achilles' corpse and armour is fought for by Ajax the Greater and is recovered back to the Achaean camp, where the ghost of Achilles demands the sacrifice of Priam's daughter Polyxena.

Odysseus and Ajax fight over armour, which is eventually arbitrated over by Athena and a Greek jury. Odysseus wins the arms due to cunning, as he blackmails a group of terrorized Trojan prisoners into testifying to his might. Ajax goes insane with incomprehension, and slaughters a flock of sheep under the disillusion they are the jury of Greek leaders. After realizing his "failure as a hero" he commits suicide by falling upon his own sword. The death of Ajax the Greater is a symbol of the end of the "old hero". The last of his kind, he represents a nation of heroes that relied on brute strength over cunning and wiles. From his blood, a hyacinth sprouts, honoring the passing of his spirit.
Odysseus concludes that "we who live are nothing more than ghosts and weightless shades", implying that no matter how great and mighty you are, you will inevitable be levelled by your mortality.

The three conditions foreseen by Helenus, the Trojan seer, are met by the Achaean army:

• Neoptolemus, the son of Achilles, is recovered. He brutally slaughters Priam at an altar.
• The Paladium, the wooden figure of Pallas, friend of Athena, is stolen by Odysseus disguised as a beggar.
• The Bow of Heracles is recovered from Philoctetes in Lemnos.

As such, Odysseus commands Epeus to build a giant wooden horse. While the Greeks feign retreat by sailing away behind the island of Tenedos, they leave behind Sinon, who pretends he's escaped from becoming a Greek human sacrifice. Sinon explains that the horse is an offering to Athena, and is built so large that the Trojans will not be able to fit it inside their walls, but the Trojans tear down their own gates in order to capture it.

The Trojans are warned twice: once by Cassandra, daughter of Prium suffering a curse from Apollo, and the other by Laocoon, who declares Sinon a liar and the horse a ruse. He hurls a spear into the side of the horse and hears the rattling of soldiers' armour, which is miraculously drowned out by the sudden appearance of two sea serpents that drag him and his two children into the sea.

With the city penetrated, the Achaeans mercilessly ransack Troy. Euripedes' Trojan Women, as well as other Greek literary works, depict the Post-Iliad as a powerful anti-war tragedy, as seen through the eyes of prisoner women (Hecuba, Cassandra, Andromache).

• Ajax the Lesser, son of Oileus, attempts to rape Cassandra at the temple of Athena, ensuring his death on the way home. Cassandra herself is taken as concubine to Agamemnon, as told in Aeschylus' Agamemnon.
• Odysseus hurls Hectors son Astyanax from the walls of Troy, before his mother's eyes, because "only a fool kills a father and allows his son to live. Andromache herself is taken as a concubine.

As told in Vergil's Aeneid, Aeneas (Aphrodite + Anchises) is visited upon by Hector's ghost, is told to escape far away, to a land where he is the eventual founder of Rome.

The Trojan Saga, pt. II (Ch 19)

Homer's Iliad Proper

Wrath of Achilles (Book I)
The Trojan priest of Apollo Chryses attempts to ransom his daughter from her position as concubine at Agamemnon's court, but because she is considered part of the 'spoils of war', his wish is refused. In despair Chryses calls upon Apollo to punish the hubristic king, and a plague of arrows is launched against the Achaeans, decimating the army's beasts and men.
Calchas, seer of Sparta, protected by Achilles, prophetizes she must be returned, but Agamemnon demands compensation in the form of Achilles's concubine, Burseis. Achilles nearly slaughters the entire court but is held back by Athena, who reimburses his loss with an alliance to the Gods and the promise of a 10-fold reward. Achilles takes his leave with these words of warning to Agamemnon: "You will tear your heart, angry that you did not honor the best of the Achaeans". He withdraws from fighting as Burseis is taken from him, and as a result the Trojans gain the upper hand in the battle.
He is consoled by Thetis, who appeals to Zeus and binds him to his oath that (a) Achilles is granted honor, and (b) the Trojans will succeed while Achilles is absent from war.

The Trojans (Book VI)
Achilles nemesis, Hector (son of Priam, brother of Paris), awaits in Troy at the head of his army. Although his wife Andromache, and his newborn son Astyanax, plead with Hector not to go to battle (and inevitably widowing her) but he refuses to violate the warrior ethos. Even though he knows his struggle will be a lost cause, he cannot bear the public shame of being seen as a coward.

Embassy to Achilles (Book IX)
Agamemnon sends three heroes to nurse Achilles pride and convince him to return to battle: Odysseus (for guile), Phoenix (for wisdom), and Ajax the Greater, son of Telamon (for strength).
Achilles hubristically rejects Odysseus, despite being amply compensated for his humiliation (all spoils of victory, his concubine returned untouched, as well as 20 of the finest Trojan women), claiming that he will not submit to a bribe from a cowardly ruler.
He then more sensitively rejects his old tutor, Phoenix, who attempts to play upon his sentiments of honor and dishonor.
He finally rejects Ajax, who bluntly states the warrior code and finds it hard to believe Achilles will not fight simply for a girl.
Meanwhile, Patrocles (Achilles long time friend and training partner) begs Achilles that take action against Hector, who is burning the Greek ships. He dons Achilles' armour, and is warned not to fight Hector one on one. The ruse works and the tides turn against the Trojans, until Patrocles goes one step too far and is wounded, revealing his identity. Hector slays him and strips him of his armour (highest indignity).
Achilles is shocked back into action and vows vengeance upon Hector, despite being aware of his imminent (but glorified) death. He ends his quarrel with Agamemnon, stating he fights for Patrocles and no one else. Thetis brings Achilles new armour and a new shield (depiction of war on one side, peace on the other) fashioned by Hephaestus on Mt. Olympus, which become a symbolic talisman on the battlefield.

Hector vs. Achilles (Book XXII)
Achilles faces Hector alone on the battlefield, two men who have accepted their fates. Hector loses courage and attempts to flee, and he is chased by Achilles three times around the walls of Troy until Athena intervenes. Hector is tricked into thinking he has backup against Achilles, but Athena (disguised as a trojan) disappears when his back is turned. At this cowardice, Apollo removes his backing from Troy, and Athena asserts her psychostasic alliance with Achilles ("while humans weigh lives, the Gods weigh souls and cities").
Hector appeals to Achilles humility by asking for proper burial rites for the loser, but Achilles shows no mercy, slaughters Hector, and drags his corpse behind his chariot around Troy and back to the camp (Unpunished hubrisic action #3)
After defeating, defiling, and kidnapping Hector's corpse, Achilles sleeps over it, having it renewed by Apollo each day for fresh dishonour. He celebrates Patroclus's death with funeral games, and by sacrificing 12 Trojan youth (Unpunished hubris #4). Thetis, seeing this excessive disrespect for the dead, appeals to Zeus, to takes action so Achilles will relent.
One night, guided by Hermes, Prium sneaks into the Greek camp and begs for Hectors body as a father. Faced by the slayer of his children, he ransoms his son from the warrior and is able to return home.

The Burial of Hector (XXIV)
The Iliad ends with Hector's proper burial at Troy.
"No human action is without grief... some were driven through cruel misery by divine intention, based on luck and not discretion."

The Trojan Saga, pt I (Ch 19)

Overview

The Trojan War spanned 10 years of fighting and skirmishing between the Greeks and the Trojans, and is reflected in the quarrelling of allied Gods and Goddesses. What begins as a war over the abduction of Helen continues as an excuse for political advancement, whereby the Greeks seek to assert their dominance over the Romans.

Key Concepts

Warrior Pride

• Arete, "excellence": the pursuit of physical and intellectual dominance
• Time, "face": honor of a warrior, his reputation
• Kleos, "glory": the essence of being a victor, and history is written by those who win.

Loyalty: the wives of Agamemnon and Odysseus contrast the virtue of loyalty and are rewarded by their own fate and the fate of their kingdom.

War Precedents

1. Leda, wife of Tindareus (King of Sparta) is visited upon by Zeus (disguised as a swan). She gives birth to two eggs, four kids: Polydeuces/Pollux + Helen, Castor + Clytemnestra.
- The Dioscuri ("sons of Zeus"): Pollux (immortal) and Castor (mortal), grow up to join Jason and the argonauts. In a violent storm, flames flicker from the brother's heads ("Castor and Pollux", "St. Elmos Fire") and the storms seize immediately in the face of their divinity. Castor, however, is later killed in a fight, and is avenged by his brother Pollux who splits his immortality (one brother occupies the underworld, while the other is above, they alternate each day)
- Tyndareus, in a position where his daughter is desired by countless suitors of significant political clout, asks Odysseus to solve his daughter's betrothal in exchange for the hand of Penelope. Odysseus asserts that (1) all suitors must abide by Tyndareus's decision, (2) all must vow for her vengeance if she is ever abducted, and (3) Menalaus, King of Sparta, would be the best protectorate and husband.

2. Hecuba, wife of Priam (King of Troy), has a dream of a fire-brand that destroys Troy, and subsequently gives birth to it. In fear of her nation, she abandons the infant Paris on the side of Mt. Ida where he is discovered and raised by a shepard.

3. At the wedding of Peleus and Thetis (neriad), the Gods in attendance are thrown into discord by the appearance of Eris ("strife"), who throws a golden apple among the goddesses inscribed with "to the fairest". Zeus chooses the Paris, handsome son of Priam, to make a ruling between Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite, who respectively bribe him with power, military prowess, and Helen.
Naturally, Paris ascertains that Aphrodite is the fairest of them all.

4. When Paris abducts Helen and returns to Troy, all Greek heroes are ordered to assembly at Aulis - only Odysseus is reluctant and momentarily feigns madness. The seer Calchas of Sparta prophetizes Troy cannot be taken without Achilles. The seer Helenus of Troy prophetizes Troy cannot be captured without the aid of Heracles' bow.

5. Meanwhile, Thetis attempts to make Achilles immortal.

• Like Diamophoon, Thetis makes like Demeter and attempts to burn away the mortal flesh of an ambrosia-anointed Achilles. Once she reaches his heel, however, she is stopped by Peleus.
• Or, she dips Achilles by his heel into the River Styx.

He is mentored alongside Patrocles by the centaur Chiron on Mt. Pelion, until Thetis learns of the prophecy he will either live his life short and glorious, or long and unremarkable. She responds by hiding Achilles on the Cycladid island Scyros, and disguising him by concealing him in women's clothing.
His cover is blown, however, when Odysseus calls the young men of the island to arms.
He leaves behind a wife, Deidamia, and son, Neoptolemus (a.k.a. Pyrrhus) in order to go to war with the Achaens.

6. As the armada at Aulis is completed, King Agamemnon learns he must sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia to appease Artemis and gain favourable winds. He deceives the young girl by saying she is about to marry Achilles, but before she is about to be executed, Artemis substitutes a young doe and whisks her off to the land of the Taurians.

7. On the way to Troy, Philoctetes (holder of Heracles' bow) is bitten in the foot by a snake. The wound rots to give off a powerful enough stench he is dropped off, with bow and arrows, on the island of Lemnos. He is later rescued and the bow is what eventually kills Paris.

The Mycenaean Saga (Ch 18)

The Mycenaean Saga is oriented around the trials of Pelops and his descendents, namely the House of Atreus.

Etymology: Pelops, pelios "dark" + ops "eye"
Origin: Cult site at Olympia, the Pelopion ("shrine to Pelops") which precedes the worship of Zeus.
Claim to Fame: Eponymous hero of the Peloponnesus ("island of Pelops"), Olympic Games, multigenerational family blood-feud
Literature: Aeschylus' Oresteia (Agamemnon, Choephori/Libation Bearers, Eumenides)

Tantalus, King of Mt. Sipylus, served his son Pelops to feasting Gods at his court. In return he suffered eternal retribution in Hades with an insatiable thirst and hunger, with food and drink just out of reach. Zeus, having mercy on Pelops, restored him almost perfectly to life with a replacement ivory shoulder, for the flesh that was mistakenly consumed by Demeter. He is abducted and brought to Olympia, where he learns the sport of chariot driving.

Once grown, Pelops develops an affection for Hippodamia, daughter of Oenomaus (King of Pisa). First he must complete the marriage challenge forwarded by the King, who defeated 13 prior suitors in a death race and mounted their heads on spikes as a warning.

Pelops enters the competition with a golden chariot and winged steeds, a gift from his abductee Poseidon. He then bribes the King's charioteer, Myrtilus, with a one night stand with Hippodamia if Myrtilus is able to sabotage the King's chariot and ensure Pelops' victory. Oenomaus's lynchpin is replaced with wax, which caused his chariot to fall apart in the race and for Oenomaus to be dragged to death by his own horses. The victorious Pelops renegs on his deal with Myrtilus by pushing him off a cliff. Before his last breath, however, Myrtilus curses the descendants of Pelops.

Now the new King of Pisa, Pelops institutes the Olympic Games (a) in honor of his victory over Oenomaus, and (b) to purify himself of miasma ("blood-pollution").

Hippodamia bears him two sons, Atreus and Thyestes, who quarrel over the kingdom due to an oracle that states the kingdom of Pelops will go to one of his sons. Atreus' claim that it is his right as eldest is bested by Thyestes "divine sign" of a golden-fleeced ram (which he obtained by cuckolding Atreus by sleeping with his wife Aerope and stealing Atreus's own ram).

Atreus feigns reconciliation by inviting his brother for dinner and serving him his own sons, and recieves a curse upon his own descendants as Thyestes goes into exile, where an oracle tells Thyestes that if he bears a son with his own daughter, Pelopia, he will overthrow Atreus.

Atreus has two sons, Agamemnon and Menelaus who each marry the daughters of Tyndareus (Clytemnestra and Helen), and ascend the thrones of Mycenae and Sparta, respectively.

• Agamemnon (King of Mycenae) + Clytemnestra = Orestes (m.), Electra (f.), Iphigenia (f.)
• Menalaus (King of Sparta) + Helen

When Menalaus's wife, Helen, is abducted by Paris (see Trojan Saga pt. ii), all of Greece must go to war. Before they depart, however, the greek seer indicates Artemis is angry and demands the sacrifice of Agamemnon's own daughter, Iphigenia, to gain favourable winds. They depart for 10 years war at Troy.

Aeschelus' Oresteia, "Agamemnon"

 Meanwhile, a vengeful Clytemnestra takes Aegisthus as a lover, and waits for her husband to return. Though his death [and her own] is foreseen by the cursed seer Cassandra, Agamemnon is mercilessly slaughtered by his wife and nephew.

Aeschelus' Oresteia, "Choephori (Libation Bearers)"

Vengeful of her father, Electra pours a libation on her fathers grave begging for Orestes return. Orestes, previously in exile, is divinely sanctioned by Apollo to avenge his fathers death, but as he murders his mother and cousin, he is driven mad by the Erinyes ("furies") for murdering a family member.

Aeschelus' Oresteia, "Eumenides"

Orestes [and his flock of furies] ventures to Delphi to seek purification from matricide from Apollo (animal sacrifice), who then directs him to Athens for total absolution. He pleads his case before Areopagus, the Athenian court. Defended by Apollo, persecuted by the Erinyes, judged by Athena and her Athenians, Orestes is acquitted of his family crime because the murder of his father is considered greater than the murder of his mother. Thus, the curse of Myrtilus is broken.
The Erinyes are appeased, and become known as the Eumenides ("kindly ones") and are integrated into the Athenian rule of law as part of checks and balances.

Moral of the story? Out of murder, blood pollution, family vendetta, and vengeance comes order.

Oedipus (Ch 17)

Etymology: Oedipus, "swollen foot"
Origin: Born to Laius + Jocasta of Thebes, raised by Polybus + Merope of Corinth.
Claim to Fame: Defeats Sphinx. Kills his father, marries his mother.
Literature: Sophocles' Theban Trilogy (Oedipus Rex/Tyrannus, Antigone, Oedipus at Colonus), Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound (Seven Against Thebes)

Precedents

Laius, the great-grandson of Cadmus, breaks Xenia (guest-host relationship) by abducting and raping Pelop's son Chrysippus, and thus his lineage is cursed. Laius returns to Thebes, ascends the throne, and marries Jocasta.He learns of an oracle that proclaims he is destined to die at the hands of his own son, asserting the curse placed upon him by Pelops, so when his son Oedipus is born he is abandoned on Mt. Cithaeron with spikes driven through both ankles (not only is his death likely, his spirit is anchored to one place).
Tiresias, the Theban seer, makes the mistake of striking two snakes that are copulating, and is thus changed into a woman for 7 years. Interested in his experience, Jupiter questions Tiresias if it is man or woman that obtains more pleasure from sex. He agrees with Jupiter that women derives more pleasure, and is struck blind by an enraged Juno. To compensate he is granted the gift of prophecy, despite his physical blindness.

Oedipus Tyrannus

Oedipus is rescued by a Corinthian shepard and delivered to Polybus and Merope (rulers of Corinth), where he receives his name. As he matures, he is mocked for being adopted, so he seeks information of his true parents from the Delphic Oracle, who responds instead that he is fated to kill his father and marry his mother. Under the conception that Polybus and Merope are his parents, he vows never to return home and wanders to Thebes instead.
He encounters a regal procession at a crossroads, whereby he is driven off the road and is struck by a man in a chariot. Unbeknownst to Oedipus, this man is his father Laius (King of Thebes), so when he slaughters all but one (the shepard that saved him as a child) of the offending party he fulfills the first half of the Oracles prophecy.
He continues on into the city, where he meets the Sphinx ("strangler", part lion part eagle) that devours those that cannot answer her riddle (Q: What creature is quadruped, biped, and triped? A: Man. Four-legged as an infant, two-legged as an adult, with a cane as an elder). Because the Sphinx commits suicide, Oedipus is the saviour of the city, and therefore becomes King of Thebes with Jocasta as his wife - who bears him 4 children, Antigone (f.), Ismene (f.), Polyneices (m.), and Eteocles (m.).
A plague strikes Thebes because Laius' murder has never been solved. Ironically, Oedipus becomes the object of his own curse when he vows to uproot and avenge the killer, ignoring Tiresias' warning hint. A messenger from Corinth arrives, bearing news of the death of King Polybus and the ascension of Oedipus to the throne. The truth is revealed that Oedipus was not his biological son, while Oedipus forces the nature of his true parentage out of the messenger and a Theban attendant, Jocasta retreats into the palace to hang herself. In grief, Oedipus blinds himself and commits to self-imposed exile in Colonus, as led by his daughter Antigone.

Oedipus at Colonus

The inhabitants of Colonus reject Oedipus because his reputation precedes him. Theseus (King of Athens) resolves the situation and allows his exile due a the prophecy that states the city possessing the bones of Oedipus cannot be taken, but Oedipus mysteriously disappears into the Grove of Eumenides (Eryines).

Seven Against Thebes

The sons of Oedipus are cursed by their father to die by each others hands, as forseen by the seer Tiresias. While Eteocles ascends the throne, Polyneices is exiled from Thebes but manages to steal the robe and necklace of Harmonia (wife of Cadmus). He uses the necklace to win over 6 allies that declare war on Thebes, to no avail. The seven gates are defended by seven heroes, and the brothers kill each other to fulfill the prophecy. Only Amphiarus (seer) and Adrastas are saved, either swallowed by the earth or saved by the divine steed Arion, and Thebes is momentarily left without a ruler.

Antigone

After the deaths of the brothers, Creon (evil uncle of Antigone) becomes King of Thebes and dictates that Polyneices the Traitor must be denied burial while Eteocles will be given full funeral honors. At her uncle's hubris (damning her brother as a wandering spirit), Antigone takes matters into her own hands and sprinkles dust on her brother's corpse as a symbolic burial. She is thus sentenced imprisonment without food and water, and commits suicide by hanging. Her berothed as well as mother also kill themselves.

The Theban Saga (Ch17)

Overview: Focuses on Bronze Age Thebes in Boetia, Central Greece.
Literature: Ovid's Metamorphosis, Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannus
Claim to Fame: Double foundation myth

Founding Myth I

Cadmus, in a desperate search for his abducted sister Europa, consults the oracle at Delphi who ignores his requests and commands him to follow a cow and build a city at that location. Cadmus abandons his search for his sister, and follows a cow to a spring occupied by Ares' serpent, where it the cow is sacrificed. The site becomes the citadel "Cadmeia", the acropolis of a new city.
Athena advises him to slay the serpent as well, then sow its teeth, of which spartoi ("armed men") spring from the ground and battle each other. The five surviving become the five head families that become the nobility of Thebes.

In penance for slaying the serpent, Cadmus serves as slave to Ares for one year, for which he is rewarded with the hand of Harmonia (daughter of Ares and Aphrodite). All gods attend the wedding, whereby Harmonia receives a necklace fashioned by Hephaestus as a bridal gift. They have two daughters, Semele (mother of Dionysus) and Agave (mother of Pentheus), and live out their days until they are transformed into serpents in death.

Founding Myth II

Antiope is raped by Zeus, and bears twin sons Amphion and Zethus who are abandoned on Mt. Cithaeron and raised by a shepard. The boys grow old and talented, Amphion a musician ("dreamer") and Zethus a shepard ("pragmatist"), then return to Cadmeia to avenge their mother and gain rule. Amphion's music assembles surrounding stones into the walls of the city with 7 gates, while Zethus renames the city after his wife Thebe (except the acropolis, forever known as Cadmeia).

The Theban Saga then continues into the rule of Oedipus.

Greek Heroes and Heroines (Overview)

The Mycenaen Age: Late Bronze Age (1600-1100 BCE)

Heroes
     I. Older Generation: predates Trojan War (ie. Oedipus, Heracles)
     II. Younger Generation: Trojan War and onwards (ie. Odysseus, Theseus)
Cities
     Peloponnesus: Mycenae, Tiryns, Argos, Sparta, Pylos
     Mainland/Arcadia: Athens, Thebes, Iolcus
     Asia Minor and Islands: Troy, Crete

Heroic Motifs (Male)
1. Miraculous [divine] conception and birth.
2. Immediate threat/opposition at birth
3. Challenge accepted at maturity
4. [Divine] assistance for labours
5. Insuperable labours
6. Adventures/temptations/shenanigans involving a mixture of human/monster/divine
7. Taboos and prohibitions
8. Triumph over death (symbolic or literal)
9. Reward (marriage, power, wealth, or longevity)
10. Death and/or deification

Heroic Motifs (Female)
1. Departure from home upon maturity (exile or compulsion)
2. Seclusion to protect virtue due to prophecy
3. Impregnation by God or Hero
4. Punishment or rejection
5. Rescue and redemption from mature son.

Orpheus (Ch 16)

Etymology: N/a
Geographic Association: Withdraws to Thrace after the loss of Eurydice.
Origin: Apollo + Calliope (muse of Music)/Oeagrus (Thracian River God) + Calliope
Claim to Fame: Beautiful voice and lyre-playing, can soothe the beastliest of beasts, can make the inanimate animate. Tragic love story. Archetype of poet/musician.
Literature: Ovid's Metamorphosis, Vergil's Georgics,

Underworld Myth

Orpheus is married to Eurydice, a dryad (wood-nymph), but on their wedding night Eurydice dies from a snake bite. Orpheus is determined to bring her back, so he descends to the underworld, using his musical skill to charm the gatekeepers into letting him in. He performs for Hades and Persephone who allow him to take Eurydice home on the condition that he does not look back. Overcome with yearning, he glances back once and she is taken from him forever.
Inconsolable, Orpheus retreats to Thrace with only music as his solace (chooses music over women, ie. Apollo, in the land of Dionysus). When he rejects the Maenads, they slaughter him, consume his flesh, and scatter his remains in the Hebrus River. It is said that his head kept singing and prophetizing, and his  lyre kept playing, while he was united in spirit with his beloved in death.

Orphism (6th C. BCE)

Claimed as a prophet and a religious teacher, a hero-cult is established by his son Musaeus based on music, magic, and prophecy - worshipping both Apollo and Dionysus. In 5th C. BCE, Orphism becomes accepted as a mystery religion.

Hades (Ch 15)

Etymology and Epithets
     (g.) Hades, "unseen", "invisible"
     (l.) Pluto or Dis/Dives, "wealth" (referring to underground metals), "the enricher"
     (l.) Orcus, "confining place"
     Zeus Katachtonius (kata "under" + cthon "earth"), "underground Zeus"
     Polyxenos, "host to many"
     Polydegmon, "receiver of many"
     Erebus, "Darkness"
Domain: Underworld.
Genealogy: Cronus + Rhea, Brother to Zeus
Claim to Fame: God of Death and the Underworld, Abductor of Persephone/Proserpina, General Hardass.
Iconography: Rooster? Anything death related...
Literature: Homer's Odyssey, Book 11 (Nekuia/Book of the Dead/Spirit Summoning), Plato's The Republic (Myth of Er, Book 10), Hesiod's Isle of the Blessed, Vergil's Aeneid (Book 6)

The Greek View of Death: When psyche ("breath"/"soul"),  anima ("soul"/"spirit"), or anemos ("wind") is separated from the soma/corpus ("body"). Literally, when one breathes his/her last. If it is the breath that contains the soul, it can live on in spirit once set free from the body.

Homer's Odyssey (Nekuia, Book 11)

Katabasis ("descent into the underworld") occurs at the farthest reaches of Oceanus, where the sun [literally] sets on living souls. A summoning of spirits requires a libation of milk, honey, wine, water, blood and an animal sacrifice to rehydrate the shades of the dead.
As stated by the shade of Achilles when visited by Odysseus, a common Greek view was that it was better to be a slave on earth than the King of the Dead; Aristophanes furthered the idea that the best thing one could wish for is to never have been born at all; and Milton stated in Paradise Lost that it is better to reign in hell than serve in heaven.

Plato's Republic (Myth of Er, Book 10)

One's morality among the living earns proportional punishment and/or reward in the afterlife. Once dead, one's soul serves a quantified sentence whereby they can negotiate the circles of hell based on deed.
Metempsychosis, the transmigration of souls, implies that one has the opportunity to choose a new life after sentence is served out. Souls are reincarnated after drinking from the River Lethe ("forgetfulness")

Vergil's Aeneid (Book 6)

A mixture of Greco-roman myth, religion, and philosophy follows the founder of Rome on his katabasis to illustrate hell.
     Aeneus, son of Aphrodite and Anchises, is ordered to escape the burning Troy and find the new civilization in the west known as Rome. To glimpse a prophecy of the future of his creation, which will outlive him, he descends into hell with the assistance of Cumaen Sybil. Equipped with the Golden Bough sacred to Proserpina, the two offer libations to gain entrance to the opening of the Underworld at the sulphuric Lake Avernus ("birdless") at Cumae. They then meets a series of mythological figures and places:
1. Personified Abstractions (ie. Grief, Cares, Old Age, Worry)
2. Monsters of the Deep (ie. Scylla, Gorgon, Harpies, Chimera)
3. River Acheron ("sorrowful"), which marks the boundary of Hades' realm
4. Charon, Ferryman of the Dead, who mans the only crossing (later traditions they cross the River Styx, "hate"). Golden bough serves as a golden ticket.
5. Cerberus, three-headed hell hound positioned at the far side of the river (no one gets out). Is drugged by meal and honey to allow passage.
6. Thanatos ("death") and Hypnos ("sleep"), winged psychopompous figures.
7. Fork in the road:
     I. Tartarus (left fork): place of punishment for sinners.
     - Surrounded by the flaming River Phlegethon
     - Guarded by the Fury Tisiphone ("punisher")
     - Jury of Rhadamanthus, Minos, and Aeacus.
     II. Elesium (right fork) or the Elysian Fields: Reserved for the age of heroes, a paradise realm.
     - Reserved for pure souls, or those that have paid their sentence.
     - Purification ritual of 1000 years completes the circle of time before transmigration.

Sinners

Tityus: tried to rape Leto, mother of Artemis and Apollo. Eternal punishment of having his liver (seat of passion) devoured by vultures daily, only to have it regenerated the next morning.
Tantalus: fed his own son to feasting gods. Eternal punishment of insatiable hunger and thirst while being neck deep in water with sustenance just out of reach.
Sisyphus: cheats Thanatos by chaining him up when he is being claimed, orders wife not to perform burial rights. Eternal punishment of insurmountable task of pushing a boulder to the top of an incline, only to have it fall back again.
Ixion: lusted after Hera, raped Zeus's prototype Nephele Hera ("cloud Hera") but spills his seed on the ground (= birth of Centaurus, father of Centaurs). Eternal punishment of being bound to a rotating wheel of fire.
The Danaids (50 daughters of Danaus, King of Argos): married their cousins, 49 of them which murdered them on their wedding night (except Hypermnestra). Eternally punished of filling leaky water jars (symbolizing impotence, cannot hold seed).

Demeter (Ch 14)

Etymology and Epithets:
     (g.) Demeter, De "wheat" + meter "mother" = Goddess of the Grain
     (l.) Ceres
Domain: Dry earth, fertility goddess.
Genealogy: Cronus + Rhea, Sister of Zeus, Mother of Persephone (a.k.a. Proserpina)
Claim to Fame: Indicter of Elusian Mystery Cult, original scorned mother.
Iconography: sheaves of wheat, pillbox hat, snakes or snakelike things.
Literature: Homeric Hymn to Demeter

Myths

I. Rape of Persephone: Hades abducts Persephone from Demeter (witnessed only by Hecate, but in accordance with Zeus) and drags her down to the underworld. In response, Demeter undergoes 9 days of fasting and non-bathing while she looks high and low for her daughter.
She arrives at Eleusis, disguised as an old woman, seeking refuge at Celeus and Metaneira's palace (Rulers of Eleusis). To deal with her grievances, she offers to nurse the royal couples son, Demophoon, while an attendant Iambe cheers her up. She breaks her fast only with a draught of water, barley meal, and mint.
In attempt to immortalize Demophoon, she burns away his mortal parts in a holy fire at night, then feeds him on nectar and ambrosia during the day. She is caught by Metaneira, however, who thinks she is abusing the child, until Demeter casts off her mortal guise and appears to the family in full glory.
She demands a temple be built in her honor, with an altar, cult-following, and specific rites. Demophoon remains mortal, but is revered for his divine childhood.
Demeter moves on and withdraws from the gods and mankind. The ensuing famine plagues the land, starving mankind and diminishing worshippers, so Zeus sends all deities to win her over. Inconsolable, Demeter demands Persephone's return. Hades obliges at first, but offers his wife pomegranate seeds before her departure (bloody fruit, seeds = symbol of sexual consummation, loss of virtue), thus she is not returned in the same state that she was taken in. As a result, Persephone can only spend 2/3 of the year with her mother and the Olympians, and must remain 1/3 of the year with her husband Hades.
Demeter restores fertility to the land, and promotes her mystery cult.

Interpretation

Allegorical: Hades (earth) + Persephone (seed) = sowing of seeds, seemingly dead things, to bring life when it revisits the surface.
Structural: Cycle of reincarnation present in mother/daughter relationship. Earth mother and dying loved one is revisited each cycle.
Ritualist: Rite of passage for young girl to be married by father (Zeus) to a man often twice her age. Prearranged marriage of Parthenos ("virgin"), deflowered by her berothed. Eating pomegranate symbolizes first menses, the ability to bear children.

II. Eleusian Mystery Cult: To maintain fertility of the earth, Demeter invokes a number of rites of worship to appease her. With the promise of a secret initiation, happy afterlife, and several annual processions, she installs Triptolemus, the Elusian prince,  as her sanctioned messenger to pass on her knowledge of agriculture.
     - Myo "to squint", mystai "squinters"/"initiates"
     - Hierophant, "revealer of sacred things", initiates newcomers at the Telesterion ("hall of initiation")
     - 9 days of fasting, drinking only Kykeon ("barley meal, mint, and water"), torch procession, jest
     - 3 Stages of initiation:
           1. Lesser Mysteries: springtime procession
           2. Greater Mysteries: fall procession
           3. Epopteia ("beholding"): acknowledgement of the Hierophant, obscure unknown ritual.