Greek Mythology : The Trojan War

The Trojan War and its characters are detailed in the writings of Homer, Vergil, Dante and many others. It is a fantastical tale of a decade-long siege of a powerful city by a massive pan-hellenic force. However, even though it has proved to be such a rich source of inspiration for writers, poets and artists throughout history, it is debated whether it

The movie Troy, from Hollywood has been one of the greatest Hollywood movies ever made. It was nominated for more than 10 awards and made approximately $497 million worldwide (Troy (2004) - Financial Information). It was one of the most successful films ever made. However, the content that was in the movie brought some speculation into whether or not the events of the movie were historically accurate. Troy is precise in its portrayal of the setting and the intensity of the Trojan war. Nevertheless, the reason to why the war occurred and the “strategy” that brought triumph are debatable. The purpose of this essay is to answer the question of how accurate the Hollywood movie, Troy, really was and whether it portrayed Homer’s tragic, charming side of the story or the predicted historical side.

Over the past years a lot of archaeological and literary evidence has helped us gain a better understanding of the history of Troy. Much hard work has gone into the excavations there by many archaeologists, and many interesting artefacts have been found. The story of the Ancient City of Troy is a great one, however many people believed it didn’t exist and that Homers Iliad, the story of the Trojan War was just some story. This has since been proved untrue as the city of Troy was discovered, and the pieces of this amazing puzzle have fallen together. Homer described Troy as an exceptionally large city with large high powerful walls, wide streets, twisting paths and large houses. Some of the archaeologists that have contributed to the

According to the Encyclopedia source the Author Mark Cartwright defined the Trojan War as the way the Ancient Greek culture was viewed up to the 21st century. It depicts the story of gods and heroic warriors and offers acumens into the warfare, customs, religions and attitudes of the ancient Greeks. “The war was also the subject of a long oral tradition prior to Homer’s work, and this, combined with other sources such as the fragmentary Epic Cycle poems, give us a more complete picture of what exactly the Greeks thought of as the Trojan War” (Cartwright).

The myths of Achilles are well known, and are mentioned in modern society. But, they have been morphed to society’s desires. This is demonstrated in the movie Troy, where the stories have been changed for modern audience. The director condensed the story, and changed the story to show some romanticism and love. This is shown from the absence of the greek gods, significance of certain characters, inaccurate information, the morphed traits of certain characters, and the falsehood of romantic presence. In greek society the gods played a great role in the Trojan war, which was not mentioned in the movie.

The Trojan War and its characters are detailed in the writings of Homer, Vergil, Dante and many others. It is a fantastical tale of a decade-long siege of a powerful city by a massive pan-hellenic force. However, even though it has proved to be such a rich source of inspiration for writers, poets and artists throughout

The epic poem called The Iliad written by Homer concerns the Trojan War. It shows Trojan and Achaean warriors’ courage, bravery and their attempt to become the best fighter to get fame, glory, and honor. The heroes in The Iliad follow Homer’s heroic code, striving for excellence. Hector and Achilles’ strength comes from their desire for fame, glory, honor and their acceptance of fate. These qualities are considered to be characteristics of Homer’s heroic code. However, the actions of Paris are not heroic causing trouble and conflict for many people. In fact, Paris’ non-heroic action started the Trojan War and the hatred between Greece and Troy.

“This will be the greatest war the world has ever seen. We need the greatest warrior.” Nestor informs King Agamemnon of this during preparations for war in the movie adaptation of the famous Trojan War. Trojan princes, Paris and Hector, arrive in Sparta to begin peace talks, yet the young prince Paris falls in love with the beautiful Queen of Sparta. Helen reveals her disdain for the King and agrees to flee with Paris to Troy, despite the war such an action would bring. Once her disappearance is discovered by King Menelaus, of Sparta, he goes to his brother to request aid in destroying Troy. At this request, King Agamemnon is overjoyed with the chance to finally destroy Troy and calls for all the leaders of Greece along with the greatest warrior,

The Trojan War. The Epic war. The war of Homer, and Hektor, and Achilles. It is so well known to us, yet so remote. Yet are the works of Homer mere flights of fantasy? Or is there some small (or even large) degree of truth to the stories that he so vividly brings to life in the Iliad and the Odyssey? Can it be demonstrated that far from being a culture-myth, the Trojan war was in fact a real event. This paper considers the evidence for the historicity of the Trojan war, utilising evidence from within the Homeric texts, archaeological and epigraphic evidence. The best approach to this issue is to ask a set of fundamental questions that underpin the issue of the Trojan War's historicity. These questions are:

There are many hero stories in Greek mythology. Many of these can be interpreted as metaphors when making comparisons to the lives and encounters people today experience. Many Greek myths influenced important pieces of historic literature which have made it easier for people to find their own ways of making these personal connections and better understanding their lives. The Trojan war involved several heroes however Achilles is one that can easily be related to many athletes. Achilles role in the Trojan war has many common themes that can be related to the story of Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel and his journey to the National Football Leauge. Both hero and athlete were considered saviours, they were both very emotional men, and lastly they both enjoyed great success before experiencing failure through their different achilles heels.

Shakespeare uses the backdrop of the Trojan War in Troilus and Cressida to explore the interpretation of honor as something extrinsic without associating it with intrinsic moral values. In the seventeenth century, “honour” was used in four different ways: fame, renown, glory; credit, good name, reputation; noble rank, position of dignity, title of renown; source of distinction. Fame and reputation are the most common uses of honor throughout the play. Therefore, to avoid confusion and redundancy, fame and reputation will be synonymous to honor for this analysis. Curiously, “honourable” is defined as honest, upright, and distinguished. The adjective’s definition has clear moral roots based on societal and cultural norms. Thus, in regards to morals, it seems as though during Shakespeare’s time there was a clear divergence between honor and its derivatives. Therefore, by examining the significance and usage of “honor” throughout Troilus and Cressida, it becomes apparent that chivalrous and moral undertones are being exploited to advance glory and reputation.

`There were 100,000 ships that crossed over to troy. There were two epic poems made about the war odyssey and epic cycle. The greeks and the trojans were not enemies. I feel the trojan war was the most tragic because the background of the war.

Barry Strauss, professor of classics at Cornell University attempts to redefine a one of history’s biggest love affairs, the Trojan War. Strauss explains how certain events and characters from Homers “The Odyssey” might have actually existed, but also uses modern discoveries from the Bronze Age to compare Homers account to those of Egypt, the Middle East, and etc. While Homer’s epic should not be read as a historical document which recounts the Trojan War hundred percent accurately, it can still be seen as document which embodies some historical truth. The novel as a whole explains the customs, economic standing, fighting styles and beliefs of the Greeks. Strauss’s writing style allows for the book to be accessible to both students and historians. He argues that just like Franz Ferdinand was the spark which ignited World War 1, Helen on the other hand was just a spark which escalated an existing tension between the Greeks and Trojans. Strauss’s personal input on the war itself gives the novel a different outlook on the Trojan War because, it allows for readers to see beyond the facts and make connections with ideas that Strauss had made with recent discoveries and Homers epic.

Achilles is a great warrior and son of the god Thetys, but how does he become branded with this title? We learn the basis of this great warrior’s life from the Iliad by Homer. The story begins nine years after the initial fighting of the Trojan War. The Achaeans attack an allied town of troy named Chryse which during this attack the Achaeans decide to take two very attractive women Chryseis and Briseis, to keep Agamemnon the leader. He decides to take Chryseis as his own personal present form the battle and gives Briseis to the great warrior Achilles. However not much after the attack the father of Chryseis, Chryses priest

This was basically a conflict going on with the two kingdoms many years ago, The Trojans and the Greek. They’ve been at war for a pretty long time. Why you ask? Well the Trojans captured the Greek Princess named Helen in their city of Troy. Anyways the Greeks been trying to find a way to defeat the Trojan kingdom and get the Princess back. The Greeks camped on a beach near the city hoping to get in but, they failed after days, weeks, and months to get inside of the big strong walls on the Trojan kingdom. It was impossible. They then began to stop trying to defeat them with their physical strength, but with their brains. A very brave Greek soldier named Odysseus had a smart idea. It was to build and hide in a giant horse and once the Trojans