Timed Reading — The Iliad and the Odyssey

It is the 8th century B.C. Thetis, a minor goddess, will marry an elderly human king named Peleus. All of the gods are invited to the wedding except Eris, the goddess of Strife (conflict). She is angry at the snub and throws a golden apple among the guests with the inscription: “For the fairest (most beautiful).” Three goddesses — Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite — each claim to be the fairest and want to take the apple.

There is difficulty finding a judge to decide between the three goddesses. Zeus, the king of the gods, does not want to participate. Therefore, a shepherd from Troy named Paris is selected. He is actually the son of Priam, the king of Troy. He was prophesied to bring the destruction of Troy when he was born, so his father abandoned him as an infant on a mountain. However, he was saved and brought up by shepherds without his father’s knowledge.

The god Hermes presents the three goddesses to Paris and asks him to choose the fairest. Hera tries to bribe Paris with power and a kingdom. Athena offers him glory in war. Aphrodite promises him the most beautiful woman on earth. Paris chooses Aphrodite and becomes an enemy of the other two goddesses.

After the contest, Paris sails to Troy and makes himself prince. He then goes to Greece where he meets Menelaus, the king of Sparta. Menelaus is married to Helen, the most beautiful woman on Earth. Paris persuades Helen to elope with him, and they sail back to Troy together.

Menelaus is furious, and he calls upon his brother Agamemnon in Mycenae, as well as other Greek chiefs and kings, to help him. They prepare an army and sail 1,000 ships to Troy to take back Helen. Two important heroes also join them. One is Odysseus. He has been warned that he will be gone from his home in Ithaca for 20 years if he joins the war. The other is Achilles, the son of Thetis. He has been warned that if he goes to war, he will find great glory but also die young.