Troy (or Ilium), situated on the west coast of modern day...

Troy (or Ilium), situated on the west coast of modern day Turkey, was a city-kingdom with, at the time of the events described in the Iliad (an epic poem attributed to Homer), Priam as its king. Homer was a blind, Greek poet who lived around the 8th century B.C. He is very famous as he wrote two of the most famous poems of all times. These poems were called the Iliad and the Odyssey. Homer never mentioned himself in any of his writings, though scholars suspect that he was a farmer or artisan because he makes many references to this class of people. Homer’s writings were very much respected in ancient Greece and he was so influential that he inspired Shakespeare. The Iliad was the first of these poems and it deals with the tenth and final†¦show more content†¦Priam’s wife was Hecuba and, prior to the birth of another child, their young daughter, Cassandra, prophesied that the child would bring ruin on Troy. Cassandra was a prophetess whose fate was to tell the fortunes of many people. Apollo came down to her and made a deal with her. He would give her the power of fortune telling and she had to love him as he loved her. Apollo gave Cassandra the powers but she didn’t hold up her end of the deal. Apollo cursed her so that all who heard her fortunes would not believe them. Her death was also a terrible one. After the Trojan War, she was taken by Agamemnon back home. From jealousy, his wife killed both Cassandra and Agamemnon in their sleep. The child, Paris, was therefore taken away at birth and put on Mount Ida to die of exposure. He was found by shepherds and brought up by them. His subsequent actions were to lead to the outbreak of the Trojan War. One day while Paris was tending to his sheep, the goddesses Hera, Athena and Aphrodite came down to him. They asked for his opinion on who was the most beautiful and he was to award that goddess with a golden apple. They all attempted to bribe him into bias towards themselves and only one appealed to Paris. Aphrodite promised him the most beautiful maiden in the country so he accepted. This was to be his prize Paris was reunited with his brothers and returned to Troy as a prince; the prophecy forgotten. However, it was determined that he shouldShow MoreRelatedAlexander the Great Essay13163 Words   |  53 PagesAsia Alexanders Death Hellenistic Era Epilogue Introduction. Alexandros III Philippou Makedonon (Alexander the Great, Alexander III of Macedon) (356-323 B.C.), King of Macedonia, was born in late July 356 BC in Pella, Macedonia, he was one of the greatest military genius in history. He conquered much of what was then the civilized world, driven by his divine ambition of the world conquest and the creation of a universal world monarchy. Arrian describes Alexander: the strong, handsome commander