Western Civ Blog 15

Today in class we learned about the Trojan War. Greeks have fought in many wars over time. The Trojan War was fought around 1200 BCE. The was is part of Greek mythology, until the 19th century. Most historians thought it was fictional because gods and goddesses got involved. The goddesses Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera were given the “apple of discord”. Paris judged Aphrodite as “the fairest”. Aphrodite made Helen (who was married) fall in love with Paris, who took her back to Troy. Then we learned about the "Sea People" and Dorians. Around 1200 BCE the mysterious “sea people” began to invade Mycenae, and burnt palace after palace. The Dorians moved into this war-torn region, dominating from 1150 - 750 BCE. Dorians were far less advanced. The trade-based economy collapsed. Writing disappeared for 400 years. Greek oral tradition are stories passed on by word of mouth. Homer lived at the end of these “Greek Dark Ages." He composed stories (epics) of the Trojan War c. 750-700 BCE. The Iliad is possibly one of the last conquests of the Mycenaeans (the Trojan War). The Odyssey is Odysseus attempts to return home after the Trojan War, being thwarted by the angry god of the sea, Poseidon. The Odyssey was 12,110 lines of dactylic hexameter.