Ancient Greece Myths

Homer

The Iliad and The Odyssey were two epics written by Homer. Little is known about Homer. Some say he was a blind man from the island of Chios. He used the recently learned Greek alphabet to write down stories in about 700 BC. He probably didn't invent the stories. Instead he wrote down stories that had been passed down for hundreds of years. The Iliad tells about the Trojan War. The Odyssey is the adventure of how King Odysseus got home from the Trojan War after wandering for ten years. These two poems became very popular in Greece. The Greeks memorized large portions of Homer's writings in school. Others repeated portions in conversation to prove their points on particular issues.

The Iliad

The Iliad begins in the tenth year of the Trojan War. The poem begins with a fight between the leader of the Greeks, King Agamemnon of Mycenae, and the Greeks' best fighter, King Achilles. The Greeks had won the battle and were splitting up their booty. Achilles got a beautiful slave named Briseis as part of his reward. Agamemnon decided he wanted Briseis. He took her from Achilles. Achilles became so angry over this that he refused to fight for the Greeks anymore. Without Achilles the Greeks began losing battles. Finally Patroclos, Achilles' best friend, thought of an idea. He put on Achilles' armor and went out to fight. The Greeks won the battle, but Patroclos was killed. When Achilles learns of Patroclos's death, he agreed to fight again. The Greeks started to win. Troy's best fighter came out to fight Achilles. In a grueling fight, Achilles killed Hector. Hector's father, King Priam, asked Achilles for his son's body, and Achilles gave it to him.

Achilles

Achilles was a half-god. He only had one weakness, his heal. His mother had dipped him in a sacred river to make him invincible. While doing so she held him by his heel. This left Achilles' heel unprotected. Achilles was the strongest and best fighter in The Iliad.

Helen of Troy

The Trojan War was fought during the Mycenaean Civilization, 1600 - 1100 BC. Helen was married to King Menelaus of Sparta. Paris, the son of King Priam of Troy, fell in love with her. Paris kidnapped Helen. Menelaus's brother was the King of Mycenae. His name was Agamemnon. Agamemnon was angered by the kidnapping. He raised a great army of Greek warriors. The army sailed to Troy. The Greeks fought the Trojans for ten years.

The Trojan Horse

Odysseus was the King of Ithaca. They were allies of Menelaus. He grew tired of the fighting and thought up a brilliant plan to to overthrow the Trojans. Odysseus had his men build a huge wooden horse. They took it to the gates of Troy. The Trojans were unaware that the Greek army was hidden inside the hollow horse. During the night, they slipped out of the horse and opened the gates to the city. The rest of the Greek warriors entered the city and were able to beat the Trojans. King Priam was killed. The Greeks also took many slaves. They burned Troy. The Greeks were able to return Helen to Menelaus.

The Odyssey

The Odyssey is the story of King Odysseus's return trip home from the Trojan War to his kingdom of Ithaca. The gods were angry and Odyssey had a lot of trouble getting home. He sailed from Troy with many ships filled with gold, slaves, and other treasures he had taken from Troy. He ran into trouble with the first island he stopped at on his way home. Poseidon, the god of the sea, gave him trouble the rest of the way.

Odysseus and the Cyclops

Odysseus and Polyphemus

The journey home from the Trojan War was a dangerous one for Odysseus. In one adventure he and his men were captured by a Cyclops. This was a one-eyed giant who ate people.

Odysseus was able to trick the Cyclops into getting drunk. He and his men were able to blind the Cyclops with a sharpened wooden stake. The Greeks then escaped by tying themselves to the undersides of the Cyclops' sheep.

Odysseus Slaying the Suitors

Even after he reached his home he found that his house had been taken over by suitors who wanted to marry his wife Penelope. With the help of his son Telemachus, Odysseus killed all the suitors. He was finally able to rule his kingdom with Penelope.

Aesop

Aesop lived in Ancient Greece c. 620 - c. 560. It is thought that he was a slave who earned his freedom through storytelling. Scholars believe that he might have been from Ethiopia as many of his fables have content from that area. Aesop didn't write down the fables. Instead he recited them orally. Researchers think his stories were a compilation of tales from many different authors who came before him.

The stories, called fables, are short with a message or a moral. They have become well-known in the world. Many idioms have evolved from his stories such as sour grapes, crying wolf, dog in a manger, and a lion’s share. Here are a few of the most famous of Aesop's fables: