The Siege of Troy

the land of the Achaeans, i.e. Greece. Two distinct territories one in southeast Thessaly and the other

in the northern Peloponneus.

Achaeans:

They were the Greeks of the Heroic Age, who

had become, by the time of the siege of Troy, the most powerful of the Greek tribes. They were probably originally central Europeans who came into Greece around 2000 BC and gradually adopted Greek speech and customs. From this tribe descended the kings of Athens, who brought order and power to that city.

Achelous: river in Phyrigia (Asia Minor), east of Troy. Aegean: sea between Greece and Asia Minor. Agamemnon: eldest son of Atreus and brother of Menelaus, King of Mycenae and Argos, Agamemnon was the commander in chief of the Greek forces against Troy. On his return to Greece, he was murdered by his wife Clytemnestra and her paramour Aegisthus; his death was avenged by his children, Electra and Orestes.

Agathon:

Trojan, son of Priam. Argives: alternative name for the Achaeans or Greeks. Alcimus:

alternative name for Alcimedon, a Myrmidon commander.

Andromache: wife of Trojan Prince Hector. Antiphonus: Trojan, son of Priam. Argos: another name for mainland Greece. Automedon: Charioteer of Achilles; he drove the immortal horses Balius and Xanthus given Peleus by Poseidon. Barrow: a large sepulchral mound; a tumulus. Bird of omen: to discover the will of the gods, the Greeks consulted oracles who observed the flight of birds. Briseis: daughter of Briseus, a Lyrnessian from the Troad; she became Achilles' slave-concubine when he sacked her town and killed her husband. She was later taken from Achilles by his king Agamemnon. This act set off the quarrel between the two which forms the central unresolved problem in the Iliad. Cassandra:

the most beautiful daughter of Priam and Hecuba;She was loved by Apollo, but deceived him. In retaliation he cursed her with the gift of prophecy, with the hitch that her prophecies would never be believed.

Cauldron: a large kettle. Centaur: a member of the race, half man and half horse living in the mountains of Thessaly. Chiron: centaur renowned for his skill in medicine. Dardanus: son of Zeus and Electra, the daughter of Atlas; he married the daughter of Teucer and became the ancestor of both the younger and older branches of the royal house of Troy. Deiphobus:

son of Priam and Hecuba, a great Trojan hero.

Dius: Trojan, son of Priam. Funeral games:

athletic events and chariot races held in honor of a deceased man, usually someone who was heroic in battle.

The Fates: the three goddesses of destiny who preordain the course and outcome of every human life. They are represented as three old women spinning. Hector: the eldest son of Priam and Hecuba and mightiest of the Trojan warriors. He was the leader of the Trojan forces during the siege until he was slam by the Greek hero, Achilles. Hecuba: the chief wife of Priam and mother of nineteen of his fifty sons. Helenus: Trojan, a son of Priam who was both warrior and prophet. Hellespont: narrow strait dividing Europe from Asia at the final exit of the waters of the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara; the modern Dardanelles. Hippothous: Trojan, son of Priam. Ida: mountain in northwest Asia Minor, southeast of the site of ancient Troy. It was a seat of Zeus. Trojan, herald of Priam. Idaeus: Trojan, son of Priam. Ilus: legendary Trojan king, son of Dardanus and ancestor of Priam. He was one of the chief builders of Troy, which was named Ilion after him. Iris: goddess, messenger of Zeus who travels on a rainbow. Judgment of Paris: a tale of ancient Greece. According to it, all the gods and goddesses were invited to the wedding feast of the mortal Peleus (Achilles' father) and Thetis, a sea-goddess, except one immortal: Eris. The slighted goddess threw a golden apple inscribed with the words 'for the fairest' into the center of the guests and the daughters of Olympus quarreled over to whom it should be given. They finally agreed to take the judgment of a fair shepherd boy, Pans, who was actually a son of Priam. Each goddess offered him something: Hera, to be king of the richest realm on earth, Athene, to gain fame as the wisest and bravest of men, and Aphrodite, the most beautiful woman as his wife. He gave the apple to Aphrodite who later arranged for him to abduct Helen, who was the acknowledged beauty of her era, but already the wife of Menelaus. This story is the mythical explanation behind the siege of Troy. Lesbos: island and city off the coast of Asia Minor south of Troy. Leto: Greek goddess, mother of Apollo and Artemis by Zeus. Libation: the pouring out of a liquid as an offering to the gods. Lyre: a stringed instrument of the harp class used by ancient Greeks to accompany song and recitation. Macar: legendary founding king of Lesbos. Mestor: Trojan, son of Priam. Mt. Olympus: mountain in northeastern Thessaly, home of the Greek gods. Myrmidons: the people of Phthia, in southern Thessaly, ruled by King Peleus and commanded at Troy by his son Achilles Mysians: Trojan allies living east of Troy. Niobe: a Phyrigian woman whose six daughters and six sons were killed by Artemis and Apollo.Paris: the son of Priam and Hecuba, said to be the handsomest of mortal men. At birth he was left on the mountainside because a prophecy forecast that he would bring about the destruction of Troy

However he was rescued and raised by shepherds and was later accepted by his parents. It was his

abduction of Helen which was the cause of the Trojan War.

Patroclus:

Achaean, brother-in-arms of Achilles, killed by Hector.

Peleus:

king of the Myrmidons, father of Achilles by the goddess, Thetis.

Pergamus: the citadel of Troy. Phyrigia: region in Asia Minor east of Troy. Polyctor:

the false name given by Hermes as his father when in disguise he meets Priam on the way to the Greek camp.

Priam: king of Troy, father of Hector and Paris. Thetis:

sea-goddess, daughter of Nereus, married to Peleus and by him the mother of the hero Achilles.

Thrace: country north of the Aegean and the Hellespont; its inhabitants fought as Trojan allies.Tripod: a vessel on three legs. Trojan, son of Priam. Troilus:Trojan, son of Priam. Troy: This city (also called Troas or Ilios or Ilion or Ilium) was located on the western shore of modern Turkey directly on the trade routes between Greece and the Middle East (see map p. 17). This, strategic location put Troy in a position to levy tolls on all vessels wishing to pass through the Hellespont to trade in the Black Sea region, a fact that probably accounts for the reputed wealth and power of the Trojans. The archeologists Schliemann and Dorpfeld excavated nine cities on a hill about three miles from the sea. Of these nine cities, Troy VI was destroyed by fire at about the time of the traditional date of the Trojan War (1194-1184 be). It is likely that this is the Troy to which Homer refers. Trojan:

the people of Troy. They claimed descent from a legendary hero, Ilus, who founded their city. Myths tell us that two gods helped to fortify the city walls, making it a significant stronghold in the region. The Trojans as we meet them in the Iliad

are a highly civilized people ruled by a wise and benevolent king. Xanthus: the divine name given to a river of the Troad which was named Scamander by mortals.