The Legend of the Trojan horse started when the prince of Troy, Paris, visited the King of Sparta, Menelaus. Menelaus’s wife, Queen Helen, left Sparta to be with Paris. This angered Menelaus. So, Menelaus asked his brother, Agamemnon to siege Troy and retrieve Helen. Agamemnon was joined by the Greek heroes Achilles, Odysseus, Nestor, and Ajax. During the siege, Agamemnon and his group got into battle with Troy. Then, Odysseus had an idea to build a horse that was hollow. The plan was to hide 30 men inside and the rest to leave so the Trojans would think this was a piece offering and would take it inside the city. When nighttime would fall the 30 men would get out and unlock the gates of Troy to let the army of Sparta come in and attack Troy.
As well as having courage and bravery, Odysseus is also a strong warrior and leader. Living as king of Ithaca, he leads his fleet of warriors across Poseidon’s sea into a great battle against the Trojans. It is here where Odysseus and his fleet of warriors defeated the Trojans because of his great leadership. Knowing that he cannot defeat the Trojans from outside the immense walls, he comes up with a different plan. A plan that will get him through the walls with a little help from Poseidon. He makes a giant wooden horse (Trojan Horse) and has a person present it as a gift to accept a peace with them. The Trojans accept the gift and open the walls for the horse, not knowing that inside the horse was Odysseus and a small fleet of soldiers. The Trojans had a great celebration for what they thought was a victory. As the Trojans finally went to sleep, Odysseus and his fleet crept out of the horse and completely slaughtered the Trojans in a very bloody battle.
One other time that shows how clever and sneaky Odysseus is when he was trying to get into the city of Troy to sack it:
- M.I. Finley, the World of Odysseus. Introduction 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 actually took place. Heinrich Schliemann famously said “I have gazed on the face of Agamemnon” while discovering tombs with the bodies of Mycenaean chieftains in Turkey.
Some of these instances occur even before he begins his journey from Troy to Ithaca. For example, while fighting in Troy, Odysseus disguises himself as a beggar to enter Troy and also devised the plan of the Trojan horse, which allowed the Achaeans to win the war. These instances not only reveal Odysseus’ cleverness, but also his braveness. During his journey home to Ithaca, Odysseus’ intelligence and cunning is evident when he initially does not tell Polyphemus his real name, but calls himself “Noman”, so that none of the other cyclops will help Polyphemus when he cries out. He also devises the plan of getting Polyphemus drunk, blinding him, and then escaping by holding on to the sheep. After learning his lesson from revealing his true identity to Polyphemus, Odysseus justifies his cleverness by disguising his identity when he returns to Ithaca, so that he can devise a plan to slaughter the suitors without risking his
win the war against the city of Troy while Oedipus solve the riddle of the
Zeus, keeping his promise to Thetis, tricks Agamemnon with a dream into imagining he can capture Troy at once.
After he says this, the Trojans give him their full trust and decide to take the horse into Troy. This quote also displays the deception of the Greeks, because what happens turns out to be the total opposite of what Sinon says. When Laocoon objects about allowing the giant wooden horse into the city, a serpent devours him; consequently, this causes the Trojans to believe that the Gods want the horse to be accepted into Troy. After all of the Trojans fall asleep, the Greek army exits the hollow stomach of the horse and destroy the city of Troy.The Aeneid depiction of the Greeks shows them as untrustworthy people who use trickery and lies to win a battle rather than using sheer intelligence. The Trojans are seen in a much better lighting than the Greeks in the Aeneid. While Sinon uses his lies to deceive the Trojans, the Trojans listen and believe what he
The Greek army moves east - horses, chariots, and soldiers. Then the Trojan gate opens. Then men of Troy have come out. The Trojan army moves west - horses, chariots, and soldiers. The two powerful armies meet on the flat, rocky fields between the city and the sea. The bowmen take aim and let their arrows fly. The spearmen throw their spears and hurtle them. The Greeks chase the Trojans. The Trojan chase the Greeks. But when the battle is over, no side has won. The Trojan go back to their city. The Greeks go to shore and build a camp. Both sides get ready for the next battle. The fighting continues - day after day, month after month, and year after year. Both sides are equal. Then the Greeks realize that the only way to defeat the Trojans is to get inside Troy. But how?
An ancient history website states that “Athena was a major protagonist in Homer’s account of the Trojan War in the Illiad where she supports the Achaeans and their heroes, especially Achilles, to whom she gives encouragement and wise counsel. " Athena is first shown in the Illiad when Agamemnon threatens to go to Achille’s tent in the camp and take Biseis himself. Along side Hera and Poseiden, Athena tended to help the Greek side during the war. With the help from others, Athena comes up with the idea of a Trojan horse and that the warriors hide inside the horse and that the horse would be brought into the city and given as a gift.
In the film Forrest Gump, Forrest saves his platoon while they were under attack and ends up getting a “million dollar wound” (Forrest Gump). A wound earned in combat, and in return gets a medal for his bravery during the Vietnam war. Similarly, Odysseus comes up with a plan to trick the Trojans and presents a wooden horse as a gift to their rival; Odysseus and his men hide in it and prepare to attack. Due to his cleverness, his men open their foe’s gate at night and started their attack on the Trojans. His quick thinking and planning helped them win the war and defeat their opponents. With much hubris, Odysseus then boasts about his war stories to the king and the Phaeacians; “I stormed the place and killed the men who fought / Plunder we took, and enslaved the women.” (Odyssey,“I Am Laertes’ Son,”
◦Philoctetes meant that when Odysseus and the Greeks hid inside the horse, it was an unfair approach for war and to finish out the Trojans, not only that, but the Greeks were killing innocent women and children in the war and does not count as a true, noble move.
Paris’ brother, Hector, told him: "Paris, appalling Paris! Our prince of beauty-mad for woman, you lure them all to ruin." (Book III) Women are not the only ones drawn to ruin by Paris. The whole Trojan army, not to mention the whole city of Troy, was endangered by Paris’ selfishness. Paris is very likely the cause of the Trojan War. His story was told by prophecies before he was born: The prophecies said that he would be the cause of the destruction of Troy. His parents, Priam and Hecuba, left him to die on a mountain when he was a baby, but he was rescued and returned to Troy as a young man. Paris abducted prince Menelaos’ (of Mycenae) wife, Helen, who was said to be the
According to legend the abduction of Helen of Troy brought about the Trojan War. Helen is known for her beauty and has endured as a symbol in literature for beauty itself.
The Trojans take the horse back to Troy and while everyone sleeps, the Spartans (who have been hiding inside the horse) open the gates of Troy to let in their army and burn Troy to the ground. In the process, Prince Paris sees Achilles trying to get Briseis to safety and Paris kills Achilles. Though we do see some similarities between the Iliad and Troy, these similarities are very loosely based. I think the movie made the characters seem less barbaric and some of the sets, especially the city of Troy, seemed a bit too elaborate. The movie, though enjoyable, was definitely not a factual representation of Homers classic Iliad.
Achilles is introduced into The Iliad getting into a debacle with the leader of the Greek army, Agamemnon, during the last year of the Trojan War. Achilles starts a quarrel with Agamemnon because he has demanded possession of Achilles’ woman, Briseis, in consolation for having to give up his woman, Chryseis, so that the gods will end their plague upon the Greek soldiers. Achilles does all he can to get his loved one back, but he knows that nothing will waver Agamemnon’s decision. This is when Achil...