The Importance Of Trojans In The Trojan War

The Greek forces won the Trojan War. The story of the war is a cornerstone of Greek legend, and pervaded Greek literature and culture. Though the evidence for the Trojan War as historical fact is scarce, it was a formative event in Greek cultural memory, producing some of the classical world’s most famous heroes and narratives. The War was won, Helen was retrieved from Paris, whose violation of ξενία was redressed, the heroes attained the κλέος that many of them fought for – and yet the positive outcomes of the Trojan War are difficult to grasp. For the victims of the Trojan War, the tragedy is obvious; the War ended in genocide and total cultural destruction. But such a war, burnt into legend, should have left the victors far better off; and yet, the Greek heroes only suffer because of it. They die tragic, dishonourable deaths; their households are left in ruin; their families are torn apart. From both modern and classical perspectives, the Trojan War is a tragedy, a “harrowing destruction of life” (Euripides, Andromache, 291). The victory is pyrrhic, the loss of life is horrific, the reparations non-existent.

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

Homer stated that the Trojan War was a conflict that was created from the abduction of the queen of Sparta, defying the peace treaty between the Greeks and the Trojans. The Greeks and the Trojans previously fought constantly and finally agreed to cease the violence between the nation’s strongest armies. Although the Greeks were defeated after attempting to invade Troy’s walls with footmen, they defeated Troy during the night with a trick. In the book The Trojan War: A New History by Barry Strauss, the author creates an argument that undermines Homer’s credibility on his interpretation of the Trojan War. Strauss identifies that much of what we know about the Trojan War is false.

Analyse the effectiveness of the tactics used by both sides in the Trojan War. ____________________________________________________________

The Trojans divulged sympathy for the Sinon, the Greek detainee, after his pitiful attempt of a speech. In addition, the Trojans inquired about the news the Sinon brought, so the Trojans set themselves up to believe the Greek’s ploy. The inquisitive Trojans, engrossed in the Greek prisoner's account, ignored the fact of war to be wary and reluctant to believe the words of their

The war began with a grand wedding between Peleus, the son of Aeacus, and Thetis, the sea-goddess. Eris, the goddess of discord, was not invited to the wedding. Enraged at this, she stormed into the wedding and threw a golden apple of discord on a table. The apple had the inscription “For the fairest” a quarrel soon arose between three powerful goddesses. The three goddesses; Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena all wanted the title of fairest. They wanted to Zeus to be the judge of this contest. Not wanting to be involved in the quarrel, Zeus sent Hermes to get Paris, the Trojan prince, so that he could judge the three ("History of the Trojan War").

The Trojan War was commenced around 3000 BCE marking most memorable period in Greek Mythology. These events were presented in Homer’s lliad through poetry. The war began during the Bronze Age with Greeks and the defenders of the city of Troy fighting in Anatolia. Troy, today known as modern Turkey was in Anatolia i.e. at the eastern Shores of Aegean Sea. The city of Troy was colonized by 5000-10000 Trojans and was attacked many times by 5000 Mycenaeans who had crossed the Aegean Sea in hundred ships. Around 1200 BCE the city was destroyed by Mycenaean Greeks. The war was sophisticated to higher level by tactics and Magnificent Armors. Mycenaean Greece came under attack by both land and sea around 1200 BCE. (Dutton Marchand Harkness 27)

Human suffering as a major theme in Virgil’s piece is also evident in a speech that Aeneas delivers to his men in lines 198- 207 in Book I. In this scene, the remaining Trojans are forced to the shores of Libya after an intense storm and unforgiving winds which push the fleet off course. In his speech, Aeneas reminds his companions of more deadly adversities that they have previously faced and the destined mission to found a new Troy towards which they strive. After ten years of siege and warfare, the Trojans lost their home and many members of their families and fellow soldiers.

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.

The Trojan War is described as one of histories most legendary battles. This battle is told to have lasted ten years, resulting in the eventual collapse of Troy, under the siege of Greek forces. Modern knowledge of the Trojan War has survived mainly through the account given in Homer’s Illiad, and while having proved to be a rich source of inspiration for other writers, artists, and even filmmakers in recent history, much speculation still exists surrounding his account. I will analyze modern interpretations of the Trojan War and examine both speculation and support for Homer’s account. Concluding with sufficient evidence that has been collected surrounding this epic battle, proving Homer’s account of a massive battle between these two powerful city states to not be just a tale of myth and legend, but actual history.

What you have so far sounds good. I think for a contemporary comparison you could just use war in general. Since both works share the theme of the Trojan war I am sure you can find similarities with war today.

The Iliad is a book full of poems that talk about the history of Trojans and Greeks. Within the Iliad, there is a strong urge to show a world in which was are tremendous and the gods have direct hand in human events and these deities influence fate. The two leading gods, Achillies and Aeneas, the reader can see the ways in which these two cultural problems entwine and try to create an image of the ancient world which is at once barbarously real in terms of the depiction of not just the glory, but also the horrors of war which are filled with supernatural and mystical figures called the gods.

The Trojan War. Confined totally to the pages of Homer's The Illiad, the indulgent fantasy of a Greek poet who lived over two and a half thousand years ago- or a historic fact at the centre of the most famous quarrel ever? The Illiad is the ancient tale of a mighty city called Troy that lay at the edge of Asia Minor whose prince abducted Helen, the most beautiful woman of all time, from the king of Greek Sparta, causing the Greeks to send an army in a thousand ships to attack and lay siege to Troy for 10 years. Historians have long doubted the credibility of Homer as a reliable historical source. However evidence has been uncovered by archaeologists to suggest that The Iliad has some basis in truth

The Trojan War was during the Bronze Age in the 12th or 13th century BC. It was between Greece and Troy. The Trojan War mainly started when the Greeks brought a wooden horse over to Troy as a sign of “peace.” However, it was used to take over Troy since there were many armed men in the horse. A downfall the Trojans had that led up to this point in time was that they were foolish, “Four times did the Horse halt as they dragged it, before it passed through the gate, and each time their might have been heard a great clashing of arms within” (Church 9). In the Horse, there were sounds being made but the Trojans did not pay attention to these signs and Troy suffered as a result. Overall, the Trojan War was created due to many gods fighting over Helen and because of this Troy was taken over by Greece and Aeneas and his crew had to relocate and find a new safe place to live with the help of Venus and Apollo by their side.

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.