Ginnings, Cameron

Latin- A1

May 14, 2011

Trojan War

The Trojan War was an important part of traditional Roman history and culture.

Whether it actually happened or not is unknown, but despite this, it was commonly described

and referenced in poetry and remains, to this day, as a fascinating legend to read and to tell.

The story of the war is often attributed to Homer’s The Iliad, but it was Virgil who extended on

Homer’s story to merge the myth with Roman history.

The war began with a disagreement between the gods and goddesses in which Eris

proclaimed that her golden apple would belong to whichever goddess was the fairest. Hera,

Athena, and Aphrodite all claimed the apple, and Zeus decided that a judge was needed. He

asked Paris, said to be the most beautiful man alive. Paris chose Aphrodite in exchange for

receiving the most beautiful woman in the world which was Helen, the wife of Menelaus, in

Sparta. His abduction of the woman, possibly willingly on her part, and much of her husband’s

wealth, led to the search for and attempt to reclaim Helen by destroying Troy.

The Greeks had trouble finding Troy but after curing the Teucrian king, Telephus, who

had been wounded by Achilles, they were informed of Troy’s whereabouts. The Greeks did try a

diplomatic approach but Paris refused to return Helen and the stolen wealth. The first nine

years of the way consisted of battles in Troy as well as battles with neighboring regions. After

realizing that the neighboring regions were supplying Troy, the Greeks found it important to cut

off their supply line. The Greeks gained many victories including killing the Trojan hero, Hector,

the Trojan ally Penthesilea, and Patrolocus. Despite their victories, the Greeks were unable to

break down the walls of Troy, and suffered the loss of Achilles killed by Paris. The Greeks had to

complete many tasks as prophesized by the oracle in order to fell the walls of Troy. It was after

these tasks, that Odysseus, possibly with the help of Athena, came up with the idea of the

Trojan horse. It was designed and built by Epeius, and many Greeks, including Odysseus, hid

inside.

The Greeks left the horse in front of the walls to deceive the Trojans into thinking it a

gift. The rest of the Greek fleet sailed away out of sight leaving one man left behind. Some

Trojans, including Cassandra and Laocoon, were suspicious of the gift and advised it to be

gotten rid of, but too many Trojans were eager to accept the end of the long ongoing war and

took it inside their walls. The men inside escaped in the middle of the night and opened the

gates to let in the rest of the Greek warriors who had sailed back. The Greeks burned and

sacked Troy with few survivors, one being a Trojan prince named Aeneas who went on to found

Rome, and the Greeks won the war.

There is evidence that the war actually took place. Archaeologists examined the area in

which it is thought to have existed as evidenced by Homer. In northwestern Turkey, Heinrich

Schliemann excavated the site believed to be Troy in 1870. The site contains nine cities built on

top of each other including a citadel and high fortified walls. Jewels found in it were found to be

a thousand years older than described in Homer’s epic. Though battles between Greece and

Troy probably did take place, it is unlikely that they took place exactly as Homer described

them. The truth behind Troy may forever remain a mystery.

Works Cited

Gill, N.s. "Trojan Horse - What Is the Trojan Horse." Ancient / Classical History - Ancient Greece

& Rome & Classics Research Guide. Web. 14 May 2011.

<http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/troyilium/g/TrojanHorse.htm>.

"History of the Trojan War." Stanford University. Web. 14 May 2011.

<http://www.stanford.edu/~plomio/history.html>.

"Is Troy True? The Evidence Behind Movie Myth." Daily Nature and Science News and Headlines

| National Geographic News. Web. 16 May 2011.

<http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/05/0514_040514_troy.html>.

"Trojan War." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 15 May 2011.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trojan_War>.