GODS WITH THE GREEKS

Hera: slighted by the judgment of Paris.

Athena: slighted by the judgment of Paris.
Thetis: mother of Achilles.
Hermes: mildly.
Poseidon: has his old grudge about being stiffed after helping build the walls of Troy.
GODS WITH THE TROJANS
Zeus: for a while anyway, although officially neutral; one tradition says he needed to reduce the
earths population.
Hera: for a while, to make a point for Achilles (82).
Apollo: Agamemnon insulted his priest Chryses.
Aphrodite: mother of Aeneas and awarded the prize in the judgment of Paris.
Ares: despite an earlier promise to Hera and Athena.
Artemis.
Xanthos: son of Zeus, a river god, fights Achilles who is polluting him with corpses; is defeated
by Hephaestos fire.
Greek Champions
Agamemnon,
see House of
Atreus
Menelas,
see House of
Sparta
Orestes, see
House of
Atreus
Telemachus

Achilles
Odysseus
Diomedes
Greater Ajax
Lesser Ajax
Philoctetes
Neoptolemus
Trojan Champions

Paris

Sarpedo
n and
Glaucus

Helenus

Memnon

Dephobus

Turnus

Hector

Aeneas
1.Troy: After the victory at Troy, Odysseus and his men begin their
journey home from here.
2.The Island of the Cicones: After leaving Troy, they stop to raid this
island for supplies. The Cicones attack on horseback, and Odysseus
lost 72 of his men.
3.The Island of the Lotus Eaters: Odysseus sends his men out to
search for food, and has to recover them when they eat the Lotus
Flower.
4.The Island of the Cyclopes: Here, Odysseus and his men find a
Cyclops' cave, lured by his cheese and wine. The cyclops, Polyphemus,
traps them inside the cave. Odysseus and his men blind the cyclops,
and then sneak out under his heard of sheep.

5.The Island of Aeolus: Aeolus, the god of the winds, gives Odysseus
all of the bad winds, so he can safely sail home. Odysseus' men go
against his orders and open the bag, and all of the winds escape.
6.The Island of the Laestrygonians: The Laestrygonians, a race of
cannibals, eat the Greeks. Only the men on Odysseus' ship and himself
survive.
7.Circe's Island: Circe turns Odysseus' men to swine, but Odysseus is
protected from her magic with the help of Hermes, who gave him a
magical herb called Moly. Odysseus ends up staying there for what
seems like a short time, but ended up being a couple years. Before
Odysseus departs, Circe finally tells him that he needs to find the blind
prophet Teiresias in the Underworld.
8.The Underworld: Odysseus consults the prophet Teiresias to ask how
he can get home, and finds his mother there, who has committed
suicide in depression.
9.The Island of the Sirens: Odysseus and his men pass here, an island
with women singing their luring songs, trying to reel in sailors. So they
do not hear, Odysseus fills his mens ears with beeswax, and he has
them tie him to the mast.
10.Scylla and Charybdis: Odysseus chooses to sail for Scylla, a sixheaded sea serpent, rather than Charybdis, a giant whirlpool. He did
this because he knew that if he went to Charybdis, the whole ship would
be destroyed. However, if he went towards Scylla, six men would die. A
sacrifice the brave Odysseus decided to make.
11.The Island of Helios: They stop here, and Odysseus falls asleep
praying to Athena. While sleeping, his men once again go against his
orders and eat Helios' cattle. This outrages the god, and he threatens
never to rise again. As a punishment, Zeus throws a bolt of lightning at
the ship, and turns it to splinters. Only Odysseus survives.
12.Ogygia (Calypso's Island): Odysseus finds this island after drifting in
the sea. It is a island of women, with a nymph named Calypso, with
whom Odysseus has a seven-year affair with. After the seven years,
Hermes convinces Calypso to let Odysseus build a new ship so he
could sail home.
13.The Island of the Phaecians: The Phaecians accept Odysseus, and
he explains his ten-year journey to them during a feast. They happily
give him a ride home on one of their magical ships.
14.Ithaca: Odysseus finally arrives home, and sees his son,
Telemachus, for the first time in 15 years. He and Telemachus kill all of
the suitors, and Odysseus takes his place as king, once again,
alongside his wife Penelope.
Finally, on the positive side, The Iliad shows the loyalty and
fighting spirit that are bound up within the White race-soul,
and that have been since the birth of the race. That loyalty and
that fighting spirit are still with us today and, correctly
channeled, they have the power to usher in a new era of
Aryankind. It is that loyalty and that fighting spirit that the
National Alliance is trying to awaken in our race, worldwide. I
ask that you join me in that effort.

The Iliad Theme of Compassion and Forgiveness

For most of the Iliad, we see less compassion and forgiveness than their
opposites. For example, when Achilleus rejects the gifts Agamemnon is
offering him to come back to the battle, he both refuses to forgive Agamemnon
and displays no compassion for his fellow Achaians, who are getting
slaughtered by the Trojans. Things get even worse later on, when we see him
killing guys who are trying to surrender (Agamemnon and Menelaos do the
same thing in Book 6), and when he refuses to make any deal with Hektor, his
enemy. But just because we don't see any compassion and forgiveness doesn't
mean that the theme isn't there. You could even say that these ideas become all

the more important the more we see them violated. If you don't believe us, take
a look at the end of the poem, when all of a sudden we get tons of compassion
and forgiveness, almost as if that's what the story's been waiting for.
The Iliad Theme of Love
Part of what gives the Iliad its deep humanity is its sensitive portrayal of love in
a variety of forms. Some of the most touching moments in the poem come
between Hektor and his wife Andromache, which reveal not only the love of the
spouses for one another, but also their parental love for their child. Parental love
is also important in motivating Priam to ask for the return of the body of Hektor
at the end of the book. Sexual love is portrayed as an incredibly powerful force
that takes away people's ability to think. This can be seen in Hera's seduction of
Zeus. Perhaps surprisingly for a modern audience, this type of love is
sometimes portrayed as a destructive force, as when Helen criticizes the
goddess Aphrodite for making her run off with Paris, which caused so many
problems.
I learned a lot from the story of the Odyssey, I learned a lot of life lessons and
morals and values from the Odyssey. One thing I learned, is that no matter the
distance and time you are apart, true love is true love and if you love someone
that much you will wait for them forever. Penelope, Odysseus wife, was willing
to do that, wait for him forever, 20 years is close enough. From this story I also
learned that, if you do something bad or mean, there are always consequences
or repercussions to your actions. Also, if you do good things that you are
awarded or what goes around comes around, is one saying or phrase you can
use to sum up this story. Another life lesson you can learn from this story is that
life is hard and you have to make tough decisions some times. A lot of times
during this story Odysseus had to make a ton of tough decisions. But he did
what he should have as a king, a leader, and as the captain of his crew, he had to
make the right decision for him and his crew, even if that means he must
sacrifice his crew, which he didnt want to do. Being selfish and not being
selfish is a big part of these story, sbecause Odysseus doesnt want to be selfish,
he wanted to be a good leader, but at the same time he wanted to get home to
his family, his wife and child, no matter how or what he has to do, he would do
anything to get home to them. There are a lot more life lessons, morals, and
values that you can learn from the story the Odyssey, but these are what I think
are the most important and what you should learn for your life and to help make
you a good person, like Odysseus and how to become a great leader like him.
Respect,responsibility,courage,humility,compassion
The Glory of War
One can make a strong argument that The Iliad seems to celebrate war.
Characters emerge as worthy or despicable based on their degree of competence
and bravery in battle. Paris, for example, doesnt like to fight, and
correspondingly receives the scorn of both his family and his lover. Achilles, on
the other hand, wins eternal glory by explicitly rejecting the option of a long,
comfortable, uneventful life at home. The text itself seems to support this means
of judging character and extends it even to the gods. The epic holds up warlike
deities such as Athena for the readers admiration while it makes fun of gods
who run from aggression, using the timidity of Aphrodite and Artemis to create
a scene of comic relief. To fight is to prove ones honor and integrity, while to
avoid warfare is to demonstrate laziness, ignoble fear, or misaligned priorities.
To be sure, The Iliad doesnt ignore the realities of war. Men die gruesome
deaths; women become slaves and concubines, estranged from their tearful
fathers and mothers; a plague breaks out in the Achaean camp and decimates
the army. In the face of these horrors, even the mightiest warriors occasionally
experience fear, and the poet tells us that both armies regret that the war ever
began. Though Achilles points out that all men, whether brave or cowardly,
meet the same death in the end, the poem never asks the reader to question the
legitimacy of the ongoing struggle. Homer never implies that the fight
constitutes a waste of time or human life. Rather, he portrays each side as
having a justifiable reason to fight and depicts warfare as a respectable and even
glorious manner of settling the dispute.
The Power of Cunning over Strength
The Pitfalls of Temptation

Loyalty/Perseverance
Another personal virtue that is a major theme in the epic is loyalty. The most
striking example of loyalty in the epic is, of course, Penelope, who waits
faithfully for 20 years for her husband's return.

King Oedipus, aware that a terrible curse has befallen Thebes, sends his
brother-in-law, Creon, to seek the advice of Apollo. Creon informs Oedipus that
the curse will be lifted if the murderer of Laius, the former king, is found and
prosecuted. Laius was murdered many years ago at a crossroads.
Oedipus dedicates himself to the discovery and prosecution of Laiuss
murderer. Oedipus subjects a series of unwilling citizens to questioning,
including a blind prophet. Teiresias, the blind prophet, informs Oedipus that
Oedipus himself killed Laius. This news really bothers Oedipus, but his wife
Jocasta tells him not to believe in prophetsthey've been wrong before. As an
example, she tells Oedipus about how she and King Laius had a son who was
prophesied to kill Laius and sleep with her. Well, she and Laius had the child
killed, so obviously that prophecy didn't come true, right?
Jocasta's story doesn't comfort Oedipus. As a child, an old man told Oedipus
that he was adopted, and that he would eventually kill his biological father and
sleep with his biological mother. Not to mention, Oedipus once killed a man at
a crossroads, which sounds a lot like the way Laius died.
Jocasta urges Oedipus not to look into the past any further, but he stubbornly
ignores her. Oedipus goes on to question a messenger and a shepherd, both of
whom have information about how Oedipus was abandoned as an infant and
adopted by a new family. In a moment of insight, Jocasta realizes that she is
Oedipuss mother and that Laius was his father. Horrified at what has happened,
she kills herself. Shortly thereafter, Oedipus, too, realizes that he was Laiuss
murder and that hes been married to (and having children with) his mother. In
horror and despair, he gouges his eyes out and is exiled from Thebes.
Oedipus Rex or Oedipus the King Summary
When the play opens, Thebes is suffering a plague which leaves its fields and
women barren. Oedipus, the king of Thebes, has sent his brother-in-law, Creon,
to the house of Apollo to ask the oracle how to end the plague. Creon returns,
bearing good news: once the killer of the previous king, Laius, is found, Thebes
will be cured of the plague (Laius was Jocasta's husband before she married
Oedipus). Hearing this, Oedipus swears he will find the murderer and banish
him. The Chorus (representing the people of Thebes) suggests that Oedipus
consult Teiresias, the blind prophet. Oedipus tells them that he has already sent
for Teiresias.
When Teiresias arrives, he seems reluctant to answer Oedipus's questions,
warning him that he does not want to know the answers. Oedipus threatens him
with death, and finally Teiresias tells him that Oedipus himself is the killer, and
that his marriage is a sinful union. Oedipus takes this as an insult and jumps to
the conclusion that Creon paid Teiresias to say these things. Furious, Oedipus
dismisses him, and Teiresias goes, repeating as he does, that Laius's killer is
right here before him - a man who is his father's killer and his mother's
husband, a man who came seeing but will leave in blindness.
Creon enters, asking the people around him if it is true that Oedipus
slanderously accused him. The Chorus tries to mediate, but Oedipus appears
and charges Creon with treason. Jocasta and the Chorus beg Oedipus to be
open-minded: Oedipus unwillingly relents and allows Creon to go. Jocasta asks
Oedipus why he is so upset and he tells her what Teiresias prophesied. Jocasta

comforts him by telling him that there is no truth in oracles or prophets, and she
has proof. Long ago an oracle told Laius that his own son would kill him, and as
a result he and Jocasta gave their infant son to a shepherd to leave out on a
hillside to die with a pin through its ankles. Yet Laius was killed by robbers, not
by his own son, proof that the oracle was wrong. But something about her story
troubles Oedipus; she said that Laius was killed at a place where three roads
meet, and this reminds Oedipus of an incident from his past, when he killed a
stranger at a place where three roads met. He asks her to describe Laius, and her
description matches his memory. Yet Jocasta tells him that the only eyewitness
to Laius's death, a herdsman, swore that five robbers killed him. Oedipus
summons this witness.
While they wait for the man to arrive, Jocasta asks Oedipus why he seems so
troubled. Oedipus tells her the story of his past. Once when he was young, a
man he met told him that he was not his father's son. He asked his parents about
it, and they denied it. Still it troubled him, and he eventually went to an oracle
to determine his true lineage. The oracle then told him that he would kill his
father and marry his mother. This prophecy so frightened Oedipus that he left
his hometown and never returned. On his journey, he encountered a haughty
man at a crossroads - and killed the man after suffering an insult. Oedipus is
afraid that the stranger he killed might have been Laius. If this is the case,
Oedipus will be forever banished both from Thebes (the punishment he swore
for the killer of Laius) and from Corinth, his hometown. If this eyewitness will
swear that robbers killed Laius, then Oedipus is exonerated. He prays for the
witness to deliver him from guilt and from banishment. Oedipus and Jocasta
enter the palace to wait for him.
Jocasta comes back out of the palace, on her way to the holy temples to pray for
Oedipus. A messenger arrives from Corinth with the news that Oedipus's father
Polybus is dead. Overjoyed, Jocasta sends for Oedipus, glad that she has even
more proof in the uselessness of oracles. Oedipus rejoices, but then states that
he is still afraid of the rest of the oracle's prophecy: that he will marry his
mother. The messenger assures him that he need not fear approaching Corinth since Merope, his mother, is not really his mother, and moreover, Polybus
wasn't his father either. Stunned, Oedipus asks him how he came to know this.
The messenger replies that years ago a man gave a baby to him and he delivered
this baby to the king and queen of Corinth - a baby that would grow up to be
Oedipus the King. The injury to Oedipus's ankles is a testament to the truth of
his tale, because the baby's feet had been pierced through the ankles. Oedipus
asks the messenger who gave the baby to him, and he replies that it was one of
Laius's servants. Oedipus sends his men out to find this servant. The messenger
suggests that Jocasta should be able to help identify the servant and help unveil
the true story of Oedipus's birth. Suddenly understanding the terrible truth,
Jocasta begs Oedipus not to carry through with his investigation. Oedipus
replies that he swore to unravel this mystery, and he will follow through on his
word. Jocasta exits into the palace.
Oedipus again swears that he will figure out this secret, no matter how vile the
answer is. The Chorus senses that something bad is about to happen and join
Jocasta's cry in begging the mystery to be left unresolved. Oedipus's men lead in
an old shepherd, who is afraid to answer Oedipus's questions. But finally he
tells Oedipus the truth. He did in fact give the messenger a baby boy, and that
baby boy was Laius's son - the same son that Jocasta and Laius left on a hillside
to die because of the oracle's prophecy.
Finally the truth is clear - devastated, Oedipus exits into the palace. A
messenger reveals that he grabbed a sword and searched for Jocasta with the
intent to kill her. Upon entering her chamber, however, he finds that she has
hanged herself. He takes the gold brooches from her dress and gouges his eyes
out. He appears onstage again, blood streaming from his now blind eyes. He
cries out that he, who has seen and done such vile things, shall never see again.
He begs the Chorus to kill him. Creon enters, having heard the entire story, and
begs Oedipus to come inside, where he will not be seen. Oedipus begs him to let
him leave the city, and Creon tells him that he must consult Apollo first.
Oedipus tells him that banishment was the punishment he declared for Laius's
killer, and Creon agrees with him. Before he leaves forever, however, Oedipus
asks to see his daughters and begs Creon to take care of them. Oedipus is then
led away, while Creon and the girls go back in the palace. The Chorus, alone,
laments Oedipus' tragic fate and his doomed lineage.
Rushing into the palace, Oedipus finds that the queen has killed herself.
Tortured, frenzied, Oedipus takes the pins from her gown and rakes out his
eyes, so that he can no longer look upon the misery he has caused. Now blinded

and disgraced, Oedipus begs Creon to kill him, but as the play concludes, he
quietly submits to Creon's leadership, and humbly awaits the oracle that will
determine whether he will stay in Thebes or be cast out forever.
Antigone Summary
Polyneices and Eteocles, two brothers leading opposite sides in Thebes' civil
war, have both been killed in battle. Creon, the new ruler of Thebes, has
declared that Eteocles will be honored and Polyneices disgraced. The rebel
brother's body will not be sanctified by holy rites, and will lay unburied to
become the food of carrion animals. Antigone and Ismene are the sisters of the
dead brothers, and they are now the last children of the ill-fated Oedipus. In the
opening of the play, Antigone brings Ismene outside the city gates late at night
for a secret meeting: Antigone wants to bury Polyneices' body, in defiance of
Creon's edict. Ismene refuses to help her, fearing the death penalty, but she is
unable to dissuade Antigone from going to do the deed by herself.
Creon enters, along with the Chorus of Theban Elders. He seeks their support in
the days to come, and in particular wants them to back his edict regarding the
disposal of Polyneices' body. The Chorus of Elders pledges their support. A
Sentry enters, fearfully reporting that the body has been buried. A furious Creon
orders the Sentry to find the culprit or face death himself. The Sentry leaves, but
after a short absence he returns, bringing Antigone with him. Creon questions
her, and she does not deny what she has done. She argues unflinchingly with
Creon about the morality of the edict and the morality of her actions. Creon
grows angrier, and, thinking Ismene must have helped her, summons the girl.
Ismene tries to confess falsely to the crime, wishing to die alongside her sister,
but Antigone will have none of it. Creon orders that the two women be
temporarily locked up.
Haemon, Creon's son and Antigone's fiance, enters to pledge allegiance to his
father. He initially seems willing to obey Creon, but when Haemon gently tries
to persuade his father to spare Antigone, the discussion deteriorates and the two
men are soon bitterly insulting each other. Haemon leaves, vowing never to see
Creon again.
Creon decides to spare Ismene and to imprison Antigone in a cave. She is
brought out of the house, and she bewails her fate and defends her actions one
last time. She is taken away, with the Chorus expressing great sorrow for what
is going to happen to her.
Teiresias, the blind prophet, enters. He warns Creon that the gods side with
Antigone. Creon accuses Teiresias of being corrupt, and Teiresias responds that
because of Creon's mistakes, he will lose one child for the crimes of leaving
Polyneices unburied and putting Antigone into the earth. All of Greece will
despise him, and the sacrificial offerings of Thebes will not be accepted by the
gods. The Chorus, terrified, asks Creon to take their advice. He assents, and
they tell him that he should bury Polyneices and free Antigone. Creon, shaken,
agrees to do it. He leaves with a retinue of men to help him right his previous
mistakes. The Chorus delivers a choral ode on/to the god Dionysis, and then a
Messenger enters to tell them that Haemon has killed himself. Eurydice, Creon's
wife and Haemon's mother, enters and asks the Messenger to tell her
everything. The Messenger reports that Haemon and Antigone have both taken
their own lives. Eurydice disappears into the palace.
Creon enters, carrying Haemon's body. He understands that his own actions
have caused these events. A Second Messenger arrives to tell Creon and the
Chorus that Eurydice has killed herself. With her last breath, she cursed her
husband. Creon blames himself for everything that has happened, and, a broken
man, he asks his servants to help him inside. The order he valued so much has
been protected, and he is still the king, but he has acted against the gods and lost
his child and his wife as a result. The Chorus closes by saying that although the
gods punish the proud, punishment brings wisdom.