Many people believe that the Trojan War is just another mythological Greek story that was passed on through generations. Homer told many stories with the Trojan War being one of his most popular and well known stories. Homer’s Iliad has been a European myth for many millennia, the long poetic narrative written in the 8th century B.C. recounts a fearsome war fought over a beautiful woman. The reliability of Homers Iliad as a true historical document has been challenged for hundreds of years and only through archaeological studies can the truth be deciphered. The Trojan War was a ten year war that took place more than a few thousand years ago. It is a story full of heroes, death, victory, battles and of course the infamous Trojan horse. The cause …show more content…
The Mycenaeans were barbaric war people from Mycenae, which is in Greece. The Mycenaeans were jealous of the surrounding civilizations. For example, we know that the Mycenaeans traded with the island of Crete and also wrote in Linear B with is the first form of Greek writing on clay tablets. According to The Iliad, which is an epic poem that depicts the story of Greece trying to conquer Troy. A possible reason for the Trojan War is the fact that the prince of Troy, Prince Paris, is believed to have kidnapped Queen Helen, the wife of Greek King Menelaus. The Greek king sent thousands of men to try and retrieve the Queen of Greece from Troy. It is also believed the sea trading Mycenae were a cause of the war. The Troy's controlled the straits, small water passageways, the connected to the Mediterranean which may have been another reason the war was started. Troy was a booming civilization that was surrounded on all sides by a wall. This war is known as the Trojan …show more content…
In 1870 he went to Troy and attempted to excavate it with a team of archeologists. They came to the conclusion that Troy was divided into eight significant time periods. The Trojan War took place in Troy VI. During the time period Troy VI, Troy had a booming economy and was a player in international trade due to their location. Remember in western civilization, geography is destiny. Troy was located on a strait connecting the Aegean Sea and the Black Sea. Schliemann also came to the conclusion that inside of Troy, there were cisterns that were built in the Troy VI time period. A cistern is an underground chambers made to hold water and wheat. The existence of these cisterns suggests that the people of Troy were expecting a war because they were holding vast amounts of life essentials that they got from outside of their
Homer’s Iliad has been a European myth for many millennia , the long poetic narrative written in the 8th century B.C. recounts a fearsome war fought over a beautiful woman. The reliability of Homers Iliad as a true historical document has been challenged for hundreds of years and only through archaeological studies can the truth be deciphered. The Iliad was written five centuries after the war, where the stories had been passed down through the oral tradition, therefore the type of society reflected within the poems resemble much more the time of Homer . The fact and fiction of the Iliad has been uncovered through archaeology. Archaeologist found a site in which they thought to have been ‘Troy’ destroyed by the powerful country of Mycenae in the late Bronze Age. They found large amount of material culture from where they could reconstruct the society, this included pottery, engravings, murals and clay tablets. A reason for the Trojan War has always inspired great controversy. The Trojan War according to Homer was fought over the abduction of a beautiful women but this theory appears improbable. Other causes which could have sparked a war is Troy’s geographical positioning. This made it extremely opulent, where other countries of the Aegean would trade there goods and use its harbour. The Mycenaean’s being an extremely imperial, violent and militaristic country would have seen Troy as a great opportunity to gain territory and wealth, on this motive the war took place.
...nt built to strengthen Troy against attack, palaces and cemeteries. He stated that Homer must have seen these features when he wrote the Iliad.
Goldwyn, Adam J. "A Literary History of the Trojan War from Antiquity to the Middle Ages." Order No. 3426747 City University of New York, 2010. Ann Arbor: ProQuest. Web. 13 ‘May 2014.
The Trojan War was incited by Paris’ theft of Menelaus’ wife. This is the first, and only, breach of xenia in all of the Iliad, with good cause. Paris was Menelaus’ guest but chose to steal Menelaus’ wife and much of his riches instead of honoring xenia as he should have. Paris’ transgression against xenia is what initially agitated Menelaus’. Although this act is not explicitly pictured in the Iliad, the Trojan War is essentially the fallout of Paris’ breach of xenia and without his infraction, many lives
Trojan War c. 1200 BC lasted for approx. 9 years Greeks vs. people of Troy
Finally, we now know that the trojan war started when Prince Paris stole Helen, the wife of Menelaus, king of Sparta. Paris was assisted by Aphrodite, who promised him Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world, as a reward for siding with her during a competition against the goddesses Hera and Athena. It ended with the greeks leaving behind a wooden horse filled with greeks. Then, at night the Greeks returned; their companions crept out of the horse and opened the city gates, and Troy was destroyed.
“The Trojans penned in the walls of Troy like sheep” (8.150) explains not only the state of the army during that particular day of battle, but also the circumstances surrounding their involvement
At this site, scientists found a ditch that was used as a defensive barrier. This ditch was two meters deep and was easy for men surpass this obstacle. But horses weren’t able to get over this wall, and horses were considered a somewhat extraordinary tool in battle. Horses were very unlikely in Troy’s climate area and so they were a great commodity. Scientist that excavated this site believe that they have found the remains of human bones and skeletons of men who might have died in the Trojan War. These scientist found millions of bones since 1988 in the area where Homer says the Trojan War was fought.
To those who already knew the stories of the Trojan War heroes (which all of the original Greek audience of the epic would),
Language: I decided to pick a really beautiful passage on page 46 in which a Trojan soldier is delivering a rally speech to his fellow soldiers. He ultimately states that they're defending their dying city, or in his words their city is in flames, and that this most likely be the last battle ever fighting. However, this is the best choice regardless for these men. I think this emphasizes just how important battle is to the ancient Roman society and we learn this throughout the novels that we've been reading because we see that many of these people remain fighting even though they know sometimes that it is a lost cause but it's better to die with glory than it is to go out without any. So this soldier is rallying all his other fellow soldiers to continue the fight and help them maintain their glory
In conclusion, I highly doubt that as the movie of Troy suggests that the war was over love. Resources, lives, and more then love would have been lost during this war. Too much was lost over a small falt
drive to conquer the Trojan army with or without the aid of Achilles. In doing
Trojans fought this war; by the very fabric of their lives they would do what they deemed
story of the Achaeans and their fight against the Trojans in a microcosm of the