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.

Hermes (Ch 12)

Etymology and Epithets:
     (g.) Hermes, from Herma "stone heap", original I.E. apotropeic trail markers
     (l.) Mercury
     Hermes Psychopompus ("soul guide") conveys souls on their final journey to Hades.
     Hermes Argeiphontes ("slayer of Argus")
Domain: Arcadia, mainly the Peloponnesus,
Genealogy: Zeus + Maia, pleiade (daughter of Atlas + Pleione)
Claim to Fame: God of mischief, thieves, merchants, night time travellers, heralds and messengers.
      Trickster god, resourceful rascal. Inventor of the lyre. Deliverer of Dionysus.
Iconography: Petasus ("travellers hat"), Talaria ("[winged] sandals"), Caduceus ("[snaky] staff"")
Literature: Homeric Hymn to Hermes, Homer's Odyssey, Homer's Iliad, Ovid's Metamorphosis,  
      Aechyslus' Prometheus Bound

Myth

I. Theft of Apollo's Cattle - Hermes steals 50 head of Apollo's finest cattle by reversing their tracks in the sand, but he is tracked down by the testimony of the only witness, an old man. Hermes takes refuge in the cave of Zeus and Maia and pretends to be an innocent babe, denying all knowledge of the theft and preventing Apollo from "god-handling" him by letting go an omen ("burp/fart").
Apollo demands justice from Zeus, while Hermes lies charmingly, offering an exchange for a new instrument he invented: the lyre. Not only is her absolved from his crime of theft he is given the responsibility of guide to the gods (perhaps to keep him busy and out of trouble?)

II. Hermaphroditus - Hermes and Aphrodite have a son who has the misfortune of being lusted after by Salmacis,  a naiad ("water nymph"). While he is bathing in her spring unaware, she pounces and clings to his back, praying to the gods they'll never be seperated. The gods answer her prayers and the first hermaphrodite is created.  The pool itself becomes fabled for its emasculation of all male bathers.

III. Slayer of Argus - Io is lusted after by Zeus, but a scornful Hera transformed her into a heifer and set Argus ("one hundred eyes") to watch her. Zeus sends Hermes, who lulls Argus to sleep before killing him, and Io is set free. Hera takes the eyes of Argus and puts them on her favourite bird, the peacock, and sends a Gadfly to plague Io so she must wander the earth in search of relief.

Artemis (Ch 10)

Etymology and Epithets:
     (g.) Artemis
     (l.) Diana
     Potnia Theron, "mistress of the animals"
     Kourotrophos, "protector/destroyer of the young" (See Niobe)
     Phoebe, "bright", "shining" (alike to Phoebus, her brother)
     Identified with Selene ("cold/white/chaste") Hecate (Chthonian deity of crossroads, ghosts,
     and black magic) and the Magna Mater fertility goddess.
Domain: Ambiguous non-hellenic origin with significant Asia Minor connections to fertility deity.  
     Temple of Artemis at Ephesus once one of seven wonders of the world.
Genealogy: Zeus + Leto. Sister to Apollo.
Claim to Fame: Goddess of nature, animals, hunting, eternal virginity, childbirth, chase. Parthanos.
     Original femme fatal: hunts and destroys, then returns home to dance and flirt with the nymphs.
Iconography: the moon, small woodland animals, newborns, archers bow, constellations
Literature: Homeric Hymn to Apollo, Ovid's Metamorphosis, Euripedes' Hippolytus

Myth

I. Birth: Born on Ortygia/Delos "Quail Island" on Mt. Cynthia, then assists with the birth of her brother.
II. Tears of Niobe: Niobe, Queen of Thebes, boasts she is more deserving of honor than Leto because she has given birth to 14 Niobids (7 sons, 7 daughters). Leto hears this slander, and Zeus invokes the wrath of Apollo and Artemis who slay all 14 niobids mercilessly. Zeus manages to save Niobe, and transforms her into a rocky crag in Phrygia known for its streaming of tears down the rock face.
III. Actaeon: A wandering hunter, Actaeon, stumbles upon a glade on Mt. Cithaeron where Diana and her attendants are bathing unaware. Artemis transforms the peeping-tom into a stag and sics his own hounds on him, which tear him apart limb from limb.
III. Callisto: One of Diana's favourite attendents Callisto (from Calliste, "most beautiful") is seduced and impregnated by Jupiter. As a result she is exiled along with her newborn child, Arcas, but transformed into constellations: Callisto into a Ursa Major (bear), and Arcas/Arctophylax/Arcturus/Bootes into Ursa Minor.
IV. Orion (Sirius, "dog"): A hunter and worshipper of Artemis from the island of Chios, Orion persues Merope (daughter of Oenopion, King of Chios). Her father gets Orion drunk and blinds him when he is passed out, forcing him to wander East where Helius restores his site. He then tries to rape Artemis, who sics a scorpion (Scorpius) on him and stings him to death. The two are preserved as constellations in the heavens.
V. Hippolytus (chaste devotee of Artemis): Aphrodite causes his step mother, Phaedra, to fall in love with him. She reveals her secret only to a nurse, who forces her to come clean with her son-in-law. Hippolytus haughtily rejects Phaedra, who is so hurt she commits suicide and leaves a note falsely accusing Hippolytus of rape (Potiphar's Wife motif). His father, Theseus calls down a curse, whereby his son will be killed by a "bull from the sea". In his dying hour, Artemis appears to Hippolytus and promises a cult in his honor, whereby virgins will cut their hair and lament his death, then enact vengeance on Aphrodite's favourites.

Aphrodite (Ch 9)

Etymology and Epithets:
     (g.) Aphrodite
     (l.) Venus, ie. Venereal
     Cytherea (Island of Cythera), Cyprogenes (Island of Cyprus)
     Philommedes ("laughter loving") or Philomeides ("genital loving")
     Associated with Magna Mater (eastern fertility goddess), ie. Innana, Ishtar, Astarte, Cybele
Domain: See Epithets. Cyprus, Cythera, Near East
Genealogy:
     Aphrodite Urania ("celestial") Castration of Uranus by Cronos, genitals falling into the sea.
     Aphrodite Pendemos ("common"/"profane") Child of Zeus and Dione ("she-zeus")
Claim to Fame: Goddess of lust, romance, procreation of mammals, beauty and passion.
     A female Ares, passion without the bloodshed.
Iconography: Earliest depictions of her are of a polished cone. Attendants are Eros ("erotic"), the 3
     Gratiae/charites ("graces") personifications of femininity, and the 3 Horai ("hours"/"seasons")
     daughters of Zeus and Themis.
Literature: Hesiod's Theogony, Homer's Iliad, Ovid's Metamorphosis, Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite.

Myth

I. Priapus (bastard child of Aphrodite): A fertility daimon (demon, lesser god), Priapus is most often depicted as a small hunchbacked, ithyphallic ("erect penis") gnomelike figure. Used as an apotropaic bringer of luck commonly featured in gardens.

II. Pygmalion (King of Cyprus): Because the Cyprian women refuse to acknowledge her divnity, Venus drives them all to prostitution. Disgusted by their behaviour, Pygmalion carves an ivory statue of a nude women and subsequently falls in love with it. His prayer for it to become his wife is granted by Aphrodite, and the statue becomes flesh and blood (later versions named Galatea).

III. Myrrha: Child of Cinyras, the grandson of Pygmalion and Galatea, Myrrha is punished for her mothers hubristic claim that she is more beautiful than Venus, and falls in love with her own father. Suicidal, Myrrha's nurse arranges a secret meeting between father and child. Naturally, their identities are revealed to one another, and Cinyras attempts to strangle his own daughter, Myrrha is spared by the gods by being transformed into a Myrrh tree, whose resinous tears are collected as precious material.

IV. Adonis (adon, "lord"): The epitome of masculinity, symbol of a dying vegetative beloved.
      1. The incestuous child of Myrrha and her father, Adonis is stolen by Aphrodite at birth and given
      to Persephone to rear. When Persephone refuses to return him, Zeus interferes and arbitrates that
      Adonis shall receive 1/3 of the year with each goddess, and the last third wherever he wants.
      He decides to spend 2/3 of the year above ground, with 1/3 with Persephone, symbolic of the
      portion of the vegetative cycle reserved for fallow. He is later killed by a boar.
      2. Adonis is just another paramour of Aphrodite, who falls in love with him at first sight while he
      is out hunting. He chooses to ignore her warnings of injury, and he is gored in the groin by a wild
      boar. From the blood that drips on the earth, an Anemone ("wind" flower) sprouts, symbolizing
      the fragile beauty of moral human life.
Scenes of Adonis are often depicted on Sarcophagi, representing the idea of a rebirth within death and giving meaning to burial. The Ritual of Adonia honours the fertility goddess and a dying vegetation god through ritual wailing and singing, and effigies of dead youth, mourning those who die too young. The Gardens of Adonis, seeds planted in shallow soil that spring up quickly and die also carry this sentiment.

V. Anchises: Zeus attempts to shorten Aphrodite's leash by claiming that "no man can sleep with the divine and retain their manhood", so Aphrodite must disguise herself as a mortal to seduce her prey. Anchises unwittingly sleeps with her, only to wake up and realize his emasculation.
The Trojan hero and founder of Rome, Aeneas, is the result of their tryst.