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BACKGROUND

GUIDE 2013 The Greatest War in

History: Greece vs. Troy

BACKGROUND

GUIDE 2013 Committee of Gods

and Goddesses

FCMUN V The Greatest War in History: Greece vs. Troy

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Dear Delegates,

Welcome to the Committee for the Gods and Goddesses of Hercules’ era (Disney Edition) at

FCMUN.

My name is Caroline Hirsch and I am the Crisis Director for this committee. I am a second

semester freshman at Mount Holyoke College and I am originally from a small town in

Westchester, NY. I have not committed to a major; however, I am hoping to pursue an English

major. I love Model UN and I have done high school Model UNs (WestMUNC, Westchester Model

UN) for 5 years. Although this is my second semester doing MHCMUN, and my first time doing

FCMUN, I am exuberant about this committee. I am also part of Project Theater on campus but

most of the time you can spot me lounging in Wilder Hall, or distracting my friends in the library.

This committee is centered on the mostly fictional version of Hercules’ story, as told by Disney.

If you have seen the movie, you will be able to incorporate copious amounts of knowledge into

your persona. If you have not seen the movie, you can still use historical sources to further your

knowledge of your character. Please think of the little things that your character can do to aid in

this crisis and to help the other delegates in the committee. This will be a fun, dynamic and

exciting committee if you bring all of your enthusiasm, charisma, and creativity.

I love Disney, I love Model UN and I am very excited to see where you all take this idea. Thanks

so much!

Caroline Hirsch

Class of 2016

Mount Holyoke College

Also, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me at: [email protected]


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History of this committee:

Zeus, the all-powerful God, and his wife, Her, had a child, Hercules around 1300 B.C. Hercules

took after his father and at a very young age possessed qualities befitting a God. However, evil

lurked around the corner. Hades, Zeus’ brother and nemesis, was unhappy with his life and

career: catering to the dead. However, Zeus, being blinded by his love for his newborn son,

wished Hades the best of luck without thinking to monitor him more.

Hades shortly visited The Fates: Past, Present and Future. They informed the God of the

Underworld that a hero, Hercules, would defeat him when the planets aligned. Hades did not

tolerate this knowledge and decided to try to destroy Hercules before he could destroy Hades.

Hades sent his “minions”, Pain and Panic, to turn baby Hercules into a mortal so that they could

kill him. Pain and Panic kidnapped Hercules but, unbeknownst to Hades, could not complete the

process.

Hercules was found on the side of the road by a kind, elderly country couple and was raised as a

normal human boy. The unique factor of young Hercules was that he possessed super-strength

and was found with a pendant etched with the symbol of the gods. Hercules was unfortunately

bullied during his childhood due to all of the accidents he caused because of his godlike strength.

Hercules, depressed and misunderstood, went to a temple, to ask for help from the Gods. What

he got next was quite a surprise.


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Zeus reanimated a 40-foot statue of himself to speak to his son. After much shock and awe,

Hercules understood that he was indeed the son of Zeus; he was commanded by his father to

learn to be a god so that he could rejoin his family in Olympus. Thus, Hercules sought out

Philoctetes, the supreme but also retired trainer of the gods.

Hercules (through song) becomes a junior hero. Word gets back to Hades that Hercules has

been saving villages. Hades becomes enraged because he believed that Hercules had been

“mortalized” and then killed. Hades throws Megara, the stunning damsel of this story into

Hercules’ path. Hercules rescues Megara but is left with an imprint of love for her. Hades hears

back from Megara (who is, effectively, his slave) that the creature Hades sent to kill the young

hero did not challenge Hercules. Hades then releases a Hydra unto the crime-ridden town,

Thebes. However, Hercules is un-matched and declared a hero of the town.

Hercules and Megara flirt and (again through song) Megara realizes that she is, in fact, in love.

Hades reminds Megara that she sold her soul to him and that she is still under his employ. He

strikes a deal with her, telling her that if she uncovers Hercules’ true weaknesses, she can gain

her freedom.


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A few months later, the planets are about to align. Phil figures out that Megara is a double agent

of sorts and tells Hercules that she never actually loved him. Upset at Phil and slightly

heartbroken, Hercules wagers a deal with Hades who sweet-talks him into a deal: Hercules

agrees to give up his godly powers for one day, with the promise that Megara will not get hurt in

this time. Unfortunately, in this day, Hades releases his monstrosities that were held captive by

Zeus so many years ago. Hades sends these monstrosities to Olympus to ultimately kill the

Gods, namely Zeus. Hercules finds out about this, but without his powers, he is weak and

therefore cannot defeat any of the monsters. Megara falls to harm, causing her to suffer from

what appears to be internal bleeding of about 4 minutes before she loses consciousness. Since

Megara was hurt, the deal that Hades made with Hercules is broken and Hercules gets his

powers back. He defeats the monsters with the help of all of the Gods, including his father,

Zeus.

However, now Megara’s soul is in the hands of Hades since she is near full death. Hercules

makes a deal with Hades yet again, betting that he can get Megara’s soul (in the pit of dead

souls) in return for his own. Of course Hades likes this idea and lets it happen. Little does he

know, Hercules has the power in him to get Megara’s soul and make it out alive, proving that he

is a full god.

Megara is saved and Hercules gets a free pass to Mount Olympus to become a God, due to his

selflessness and capacity for love. The only downfall is that Megara cannot follow him. Hercules

chooses to be a demi-god on Earth with Megara rather than live in Olympus without the love of

his life.


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In the end, everyone sings.


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The situation at the present moment:

All was well in Greece until now. The year, 1240 B.C., is looking to be quite grim. Hades broke

out of God-jail and is looking for revenge. His older monstrosities are now bigger and badder. He

used these monsters to pillage all of the villages of Greece, leaving Athens. He has also

persuaded the Spartan army to come help him by using brainwashing tactics. Rumors suggest

that Hades is using unknown forces to help him with his main revenge plot.

Hades has stated that he wants to kill Megara due to overall anger about her leaving his side to

be with his nemesis’ son. Hades also wants to make Hercules weak with new potions and

technology that is being researched for his benefit. His last and final goal is to capture Zeus,

strip him of his powers and torture him to become his own personal slave.

It is up to the committee of Gods and Goddesses to decide what action to take against this

terrible force. They can use declarations and war/spy tactics to overthrow Hades, or do whatever

they can to him. Being creative in your powers can reap great results.


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Positions:

Zeus: Zeus is obviously the most powerful God, as he is the leader of the Gods and Goddesses.

His most iconic power is the use of lightning bolts to strike down opponents. He is also

immensely strong and has quite a sexual prowess. His capture is one of Hades’ most important

plans, which makes his safety very important.

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Aphrodite: Aphrodite is the Goddess of love. Although she isn’t fully important in the movie,

she is an extremely important Goddess. Aphrodite can use her vixen-like qualities to persuade

even the strongest of man. Her beauty can make the most virile man weep. She has also had

many lovers including Ares.

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Hermes: Hermes is the messenger God. He is vital to this committee because he is the only one

with the power to relay public announcements or news. A lot of the news can be shared with the

committee or can be kept confidential. It is all up to Hermes.

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Persephone: Persephone is a very tricky Goddess. She was not mentioned in the movie (only

seen once), however in Greek mythology she was actually captured by Hades to be a concubine

because he fell in love with her. He got her to live with him and become his slave by giving her

the fruit of the underground, the pomegranate. Persephone can be loyal to the gods, or can be

loyal to Hades, it is all her choice. Her mother, Demeter was the goddess of harvest, which can

be useful as her mother obviously can help her. Talk about Stockholm syndrome.

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Narcissus: Narcissus is mentioned once in the movie. In mythology, Narcissus was a strong and

beautiful God who fell in love with his own reflection. In mythology, he dies by falling into a river

due to the fact that the water reflected his own face. He is only distracted by one thing- himself.

He is helpful in the regards that he possesses hunting skills.

__________________________________

Ares: Ares is not referred to in the movie (only seen once) but is extremely useful in this

committee. Ares is the God of war. He knows how to battle and win. He also holds a lot of power

with regard to what the Gods and Goddesses should do because he controls war actions. He also

was once a lover of Aphrodite’s.

__________________________________


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Hercules: This one is pretty self-explanatory due to the extensive knowledge in the rest of this

guide. Hercules at this present committee is strong and willing to fight for the love of his life,

Megara. He has the highest amount of power because all of the crimes that Hades wants to

commit involve Hercules or someone he loves. Hercules has almost as much power as his father,

Zeus.


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Procedure:

This committee will run like many other Crisis committees, based in moderated caucus with a

minute long speaking time. If unmoderated caucus is motioned for, it will most likely be passed.

As well, there will only be directive style resolutions. As it is with any other committee, notes are

highly encouraged and creativity is a large proponent of this committee especially. The focus of

this committee is to defeat Hades as the Gods/Goddesses see fit, whether that be through a trial

and jailing or through death, however the delegates are urged to remember that Hades is a god

too and his position in Greece may be just as important as some of the other Gods. This means

that immediate assassination of Hades is not an option.


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Works Cited:

Hercules. Dir. Ron Clements, John Musker. Disney, 1997. Film.

"Greek Gods and Goddesses of Greek Mythology." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 27 Jan.

2013. Web. 30 Jan. 2013.

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