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Greek and trojan similarities and differences iliad
The story of iliad and the trojan war essay
The trojan war new history
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The Hollywood movie Troy is a great action drama, but the historic accuracy could be questioned. This essay will assess how much of Troy and its source is factual. It will be suggested that Troy and the Iliad was part legend and part historical. This essay will examine the source of Troy, the Iliad and the facts behind the story. A variety of evidence from archaeologists will be presented to support this essay. To begin, this essay will examine the story of Troy and the Iliad.
In the movie Troy and in its source, the Iliad written and portrayed by homer, there are three powerful states, Troy Greece and Sparta. The story begins with the Prince of Troy, Paris seducing the Queen of Sparta, Helena, and the King of Sparta, Menelous becomes enraged, so he asks his brother, the King of Greece, Agememnon to help him. The Agememnon sees this as an opportunity to control Troy and obliges. They gather their allies and send thousands of fleets to Troy. The Trojan War in the movie lasts several weeks in the movie and a decade in the book. The Trojans are defeated when the Greeks send a horse filled with men and Troy accepts it in its gates, and the Greeks successfully invade Troy, burning it down in flames. The story of the Iliad takes place in 1194 B.C – 1184 B.C and was written in 760B.C – 710B.C.
The Troy of which all of this was based on, did exist. It is located in the northwestern corner of Turkey, and was excavated by an archaeologist named Heinrich Scliemann in 1868. Troy is separated into 9 layers, with each one going further back in time, and layer 7 is the one depicted in the movie and the books. The walls that were built around Troy were shown to be strong, so it could have withstood siege for a long time. During later excav...
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...roy's walls and weakened their
defense. Around 1200 B.C, a string of massive earthquakes struck the Eastern Mediterranean striking cities down one by own over 50 years. Another explanation of the Trojan Horse were the siege machines that were named after animals. However the possibility of a wooden horse with men in it being accepted as a gift are extremely low.
To conclude, Troy and the Iliad was part factual and was part myth and legend. The evidence presented did prove that story did have some historical basis. Firstly, it was established that the city of Troy was real and located in the northwestern corner of Turkey. Next, it was identified that the city of Troy was large and had good defense. Thirdly, it is shown that there was a conflict between the Mycenaeans, a powerful state in Greece. Lastly, it is proven that Troy did lose and was burnt down in flames.
Historical accuracy of Homers Iliad are a vital aspect of our understanding of the tell of Hissarlik. Researchers of the 18th century declined Homers Iliad as allegory however Schliemann’s archaeological discoveries reopened the debate. The excavations at Troy show that was potentially based on historical conflict in what many historians believe today was the 12th century BC. Finley maintains that none of the events in Homers works are Historical. Other archaeologist and historians agree that there may be a foundation of historical events in the story but absence of evidence shows that it is impossible to separate fact from myth. It has been compare...
What we are looking for archaeologically depends upon what our definition of the Trojan War is. If we merely consider it to be a battle that was fought at Troy, then there is plenty of archaeological evidence that a Trojan War happened. Conclusion Archaeology has proved the existence of Troy, but not the historicity of the Trojan War. Even if we do settle on a definition of what exactly the Trojan War was then any conclusion we draw as to whether or not it happened only applies to that definition of the war – and what we reckon the Trojan War is is a matter of personal belief and not fact.
...iece together circumstantial evidence relating to the Iliad, such as the layers of Troy, the citadel of Mycenae and the shaft graves revealing numerous clues into what the Mycenaean civilisation was like. Mycenaean pottery found in Troy gives evidence to the importance of late Bronze Age trade and the wealth, inevitably leading to the Achaeans sacking Troy. The Hittite archives give outstanding evidence to this proving that the Mycenaean’s really did fight at Troy, although instead of it being a ten year time span, it was over hundreds. Therefore Homers legend seems to have been based on a real conflict between two super powers of the late Bronze Age. These conflicts were distilled into a tradition of a single war lasting around 10 years . It seemed the war occurred because Troy was a wealthy city with a strategic location and both super powers wanted to control it.
In conclusion, even though,Poseidon was a hero in the Trojan War and saved many women from harm.When Poseidon got revenge, he would be so powerful that he could kill people as fast like a blink of an
The Iliad is a reliable source of information about the city of Troy in the late Bronze Age. This is because it presents the evidence from two very different fields: archaeology and linguistics/philology. Though there is the idea that details in the Iliad reflect society, as it was long before the eighth century B.C. Then on the other hand the Iliad isn’t entirely a reliable source. Homer wasn’t writing to accurately recount history, but instead his objective was to entertain the people with epic poetry. Homer was so far disconnected from the events that took, so where did he get his information? Homer most likely collected his information from generations before him, stories told from generation to generation. The pr...
This epic poem by the ancient Greek poet Homer, recounts some of the significant events of the final weeks of the Trojan War and the Greek siege of the city of Troy. All of the places where Homer’s stories took place were in areas that had been significant in the Bronze Age of Ancient Greece. Excavations at Troy and Mycenae have revealed that affluent kingdoms did indeed exist there. The Iliad provides examples of the culture and traditions that took place in Ancient Greece. The warrior culture that is presented in The Iliad is based on honor and bravery, a good example of this is when Diomedes is trying to rally his fellow warriors in says, “I know only cowards depart from battle. A real warrior stands his ground. Whether he is hit or hits another.” This society was strongly against cowardice; bravery was the only option in these times. The Iliad preserves the Ancient Greek’s views on masculinity and what it meant to be a “real warrior” in their times. The evolution of what people consider honorable and brave is evident, for The Iliad has conserved past views that can be juxtaposed with more modern
The term ‘memory’ evokes the image of a thing, a container for information, or the content of that container. Thus, from our literate viewpoint, the Iliad preserves the knowledge of the Trojan War. But in jumping to this conclusion, we lose sight of the Iliad as an oral phenomenon, as the singing of a song. It is not so much a thing as an act, a gestalt uniting bard and audience in a shared consciousness. This phenomenon has little in common with that desiccated thing we literates call “memory.” In the world before writing, memory is the social act of remembering. It is commemoration. (15)
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
Homer, Iliad is the narration of the Trojan war. The Trojan war was one of the most important and significant wars of Greek mythology, Homer described how the war was triggered by the abduction of the most beautiful women known as Helen. This paper will argue how the traditional view of this poem is accurate because it indeed was Helens beauty and her selfishness that sparked the Trojan war. Although Helen was not happy about the outcomes of her mistakes. This paper will present how Helen faced many forms of self judgment, how she created many relationships with significant characters, such as Paris, Priam and Aphrodite. Homers portrayal of this significant women was remarkable as we were able to feel her pain and anguish, the readers were
The Iliad by Homer is an epic poem separated in different books or chapters that shows a fictionalized account of the Trojan War. Book 6: Hector Returns to Troy is the specific portion of the poem that is being covered in this essay. Hector from the Iliad shows a very clear aspect of his personality, a strong sense of loyalty and tenderness for his loved ones and also his people by being on the front lines during the war and showing his people he is willing to fight with them and essentially sacrificing himself for his family. Hector even knows his forgiveness towards his brother, Paris even though Paris is the main reason the Trojan War is in existence.
As we all know, Hollywood isn’t exactly accurate when it comes to the historical accuracy of movies. Although the Iliad is a myth, the movie Troy doesn’t follow the story quite as accurately as it could have. One major difference is the concept of time. In the Iliad, the battle spanned over a ten year period while in the movie, the battle only lasted about 17 days. However, it does have many similarities to the poem. Both the movie and the poem have similar plots as well as the feud of Achilles and Agamemnon, fall of Troy, the death of Patroclus, Achilles avenging the death of Patroclus and the supplication of Priam to Achilles. Other similarities include Thetis telling Achilles that if he is to stay home and refrain from fighting he will be forgotten. However, if he is to fight in the battle of Troy, he will be remembered forever. Another similarity can be found when Agamemnon confiscates Briseis from Achilles. There are many details in the movie that deviate from the epic poem as well. Some differences between the movie and the poem include the deaths of Agamemnon and Menelaus, the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus, the portrayal of some of the characters and the role of the Gods in the plot. Also, according to the film, the capture of Troy seems to be the subject of the entire movie whereas in the epic poem, the subject is the wrath of Achilles. Also, the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus is a little different. In the movie, Achilles and Patroclus are cousins and Patroclus is younger than Achilles. In the Iliad, Achilles and Patroclus are best friends. Patroclus is older than Achilles and acts as the advisor for Achilles. According to the epic poem, Achilles much more angry and violent than how he is portray...
Over the thousands of years that the epic story the Iliad has survived, there has no doubt been some form of alteration to Homer’s original. Last May, Wolfgang Petersen directed a movie based on the Iliad. This movie, Troy, has proven to be a very loose adaptation of Homer’s original, as are almost all stories that are made into movies, unfortunately. With its timeless storyline, amazing scenery, gorgeous actors/actresses and most of all, its reported two hundred million dollar budget, it is easy to see why Troy was hyped up to be a box office hit. However, the film critics were harsh on this movie, as they had every right to be, and it ended up being a total flop. Compared to Homer’s Iliad, Troy is rather disappointing. But, to be fair, one must keep in mind the limitations of a movie compared to those of a book, and the fact that the title is Troy, not the Iliad. It really is not as bad as expected. Troy is Homer’s Iliad gone to Hollywood. There probably are just as many similarities as differences from the original. The three major upsetting differences in Troy compared to the Iliad are the absence of the Gods, the weak character and plot development, and the addition, exclusion, and reversal of key points.
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.
The term, the Trojan Horse, comes from Greek mythology, in which the Greeks battled the Trojans during the Trojan War. After a 10-year siege, the Greeks constructed a huge wooden horse and hid a select force of men inside. They used it to enter the city of Troy and win the war. A giant wooden horse was given to their foes, the Trojans, as a peace offering. But after the Trojans drag the horse inside their city walls, Greek soldiers snuck out of the horse's hollow belly and opened the city gates, allowing their compatriots to pour in and capture Troy.
The Iliad is not a story about the Trojan War at all, the war is just to set the stage for Homer to bring together the swift footed Achilles and Hector, the Prince of Troy, so they can be compared. The Iliad starts with how Achilles is dishonored by Agamemnon and withdraws from the war and ends with his return to the fight and eventually falling at the end. Hector is brought into the story and displays through his character what a real hero should be like.