16
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How old were Paris and Achilles at the time of the Trojan War?
Time and chronology tend to be fairly loose in Greek mythology, particularly as there are usually multiple authors treating the same subjects.
Regardless, Achilles is presumed to be a youth at the ...
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9
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How old were Paris and Achilles at the time of the Trojan War?
The Actual Duration of the War
Towards the end of the Iliad, whose action takes place in the tenth and final year of the Trojan War, Helen says (in Line 765 of Book 24) that "this is now the ...
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8
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Is there a referenced kill-count for Hector of Troy?
Hector's most famous kill is Patroclus, the second-in-command of Achilles over the Myrmidon forces on the Greek side of the Trojan War. Because of how close Patroclus was to Achilles, to whom he was ...
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7
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Could Achilles have killed Hector at a later time?
Achilles doesn't actually want to escape his fate. Turning away from the war at its outset is a response to Agamemnon's insult over Briseis. (The Iliad actually begins with this feud, and the major ...
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7
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Did Greeks bow to their gods?
Bowing at the knees in Greek is an act called proskynesis. It wasn't mandatory, but it did occur. It was more often associated with the Persians, as they would perform proskynesis to those nobler than ...
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6
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What is the fight between Odysseus and Achilles?
You must be referring to the passage in book eight, near verse 75. The passage is rendered as follows in Butler’s translation:
“The company then laid their hands upon the good things that were before ...
- 581
5
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What do we know of the rebellion against Zeus by Poseidon, Hera and Athena?
The quoted passage informs us that Thetis did not directly intervene against Poseidon, Hera and Athena, who, indeed, yes, should have been more powerful than she. A scholion on Apollonius Rhodius' ...
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5
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In the Ιliad why is there no continuation of the duel between Paris and Menelaus?
The Trojan War is the continuation of that duel. The idea of a duel between individuals, with no collective consequences, reappears sometimes in history during times of rugged individualism: in the ...
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5
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Did Achilles suspect he might die by Hector's hands?
The duel in Book 22 is not the first time Achilles and Hector met on the battlefield. The story of their earlier encounter is told by Achilles himself, a little earlier in Book 9:
[346] "Nay, ...
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5
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How could Diomedes be married yet still be Helen's suitor?
According to mythology and history Diomedes Married many times. Although we have no record of him divorcing or widowing and given that at the time polygamy wasn't officially allowed (one wife, many ...
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5
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What does Ulysses Pidytes of Percote mean?
The wording of the translation here has brought about some confusion. There is no character named "Ulysses Pidytes." Rather the sentence is describing the deaths of three men on the Trojan side as ...
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4
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Why was it important that the cattle have 'never yet felt the goad?'
Sacrifices are usually expected to be of high quality and worth, pure, strong or unusual in some way. That's why virgins tend to be sacrificed in many myths and stories or rams, bulls and stallions (i....
- 258
4
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Why does Hector accept Achilles' challenge?
Pride and shame
It is put best in book 12, 90-130:
BkXXII:1-89 Priam and Hecabe fail to dissuade Hector | poetryintranslation.com
Which shows his own thinking on the issue: [bolding mine]
But ...
- 524
4
votes
Honor, cunning and realism of underhandedness in the Iliad
Greek authors in the centuries after Homer seem to have a strong preference for honorable fighting over guile.
This subject is touched on in a few works that deal with the conflict between Ajax and ...
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4
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How old was Nestor?
Note
I am using the translated versions of the Iliad and Odyssey as provided by The Internet Classics Archive. The answer from @Codosaur from my question How much time is a generation in the odyssey ...
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4
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How does Glaucus know Patroclus killed Sarpedon?
The Greek you presented is the right line, and you're right that it's not clear what is going on.
Because the text doesn't actually say, it's anyone's guess why Homer might have had Glaucus name ...
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4
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Why does Achilles put up with Agamemnon's abuse?
Because Athena forbids it, and says he will be rewarded if he obeys. From the Iliad book 1:
While Agamemnon spoke, the son of Peleus was gnawed by pain, and the heart in his shaggy breast was torn; ...
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3
votes
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How much time is a generation in the odyssey and Iliad?
Since Homer wrote primarily from a male perspective, we can roughly equate a generation with the average age of marriage for males in Ancient Greece, which would be around 30 years. From the female ...
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3
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How could Diomedes be married yet still be Helen's suitor?
Of what I have been able to find, none of the surviving ancient source material for these myths tells us when the suit for Helen at Sparta occurred in relation to the Epigoni's battle on Lake Glisas, ...
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2
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Who came to Troy?
Apollodorus also has a Catalogue of Ships at Troy in the Epitome of the Bibliotheca (E.3.11 ff.)
You may also be interested in this paper: A Programmatic Function of the Iliadic Catalogue of Ships
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2
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What are Hera's favorite cities?
First result in a quick Google search brings Ancient History Encyclopedia article on Hera:
In the Iliad, Hera mentions three cities particularly dear to her -
Argos, Sparta, and Mycenae (or ...
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2
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Was hero worship the same as god worship?
In Proclusean hierarchy heroes were higher ranking than mortals, purified souls, daimons, lower than angels, archangels and Deities. They received worship and commemoration alike to the Gods. In fact ...
2
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In the Ιliad why is there no continuation of the duel between Paris and Menelaus?
Because Paris got his butt kicked. (Paris was only saved by the intervention of the gods.)
The Trojans escaped losing the duel on a technicality--it would have been unwise to reprise that ...
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1
vote
What does "ox-eyed" mean in the Iliad?
Like most Homeric epithets, it carries a positive connotation: Klymene is being held up to admiration for her soulful brown eyes. And also as with most Homeric epithets, this characteristic is ...
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How old were Paris and Achilles at the time of the Trojan War?
Another way to deduce the age of Paris is from the story that Paris killed his son Korythos when he found Korythos and Helen together. This implies that Paris was jealous because he consider Korythos ...
- 11
1
vote
Was Achilles really motivated by eternal glory?
Up to a certain stage of his short, painful life, Achilles is motivated chiefly by the desire of Kleos (glory), which motivates others including Diomedes, Ajax the Greater and - to a certain extent - ...
- 11
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