What Started the Trojan War
Most information that the world has today that deals with the history of ancient Greece is in the literature from the time. Great epics such as the Iliad and the Odyssey, from the unknown poet Homer, make up most of the literature that has even been found from this era. The problem with getting our history from literary sources is that when Homer first recited his Iliad he was actually trying to entertain, so all of the information might not be accurate, although based on actual events. Also, in the Greek culture it was common to allow the credit for certain kinds of deeds to go to their gods or goddesses, which today's historians just suppose to be allegorical references. But, if the gods or goddesses do not exist, then how did the Trojan War start in the first place? The story that most people know as to what started the war is a myth involving the goddesses and what archeologists have so far found; no one is exactly sure what started the war.
First, the Greek myth that most people have given credit for the history of how the Trojan War started:
A sea nymph, Thetis, was getting married to Peleus, a mortal. All of the gods and goddesses were invited to this great wedding, except Eris, a rather unpopular goddess. When Eris discovered that there was a wedding going on that she had not been invited to she decided to get back at all who went. She decided to roll an apple into the reception of the wedding, but she put an inscription on the apple that intended it for the most beautiful goddess at the wedding. When the apple rolled in and the inscription was read Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite all felt that she, respectively, was the most beautiful and should get the apple. All three goddesses begged of the gathered gods to choose, but all of the gods refused to make an enemy of the other two that he did not choose. So finally, someone made the suggestion that the three goddesses should let a mortal choose; Priam's son, Paris, was designated to choose. The goddesses went to him and each begged him to choose her. Hera offered Paris, if he chose her, the chance at infinite wisdom; Athena offered to let him defeat the Achaeans if they went to war; and finally, Aphrodite offered Paris the love of the most beautiful woman in Greece, Helen.
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.
Many have speculated about the Trojan War. It’s been written about in books like the Iliad and The Odyssey. A person could read in a book about this massive war between King Priam and Agamemnon, but did this massive war ever really happen? We have all heard of the mighty wooden horse in which the Greek forces broke into the mighty walls of Troy. The Trojan War did occur and can proven by skeletons, artifacts, and other findings from excavation sites. Historians speculate that the Trojan War could have been fought anywhere along the seaboard of the Mediterranean Sea.
In conclusion, the trojan war was a ten year long battle. Fought between the greeks and the trojans. Some of the major people who fought in this war were: Odysseus, Achilles, Agamemnon, Cassandra, Aeneas, and Priam. The trojan war would be a good thing to look up. If you like the
In the book The Trojan War, by Bernard Evslin, Ulysses and Agamemnon both contribute to the Greek’s victory. Many considered Ulysses to be the real brains behind the Greek forces. Although Agamemnon was the leader of the Greeks, many would say he was not a good one. Even though Agamemnon did some good deeds during the war, many of his actions caused problems, and Ulysses often had to come to his rescue.
To those who already knew the stories of the Trojan War heroes (which all of the original Greek audience of the epic would),
It was said that the Gods were immortal, infinite, boundless creatures that were to be feared, worshipped, and respected. The only thing wrong with infinity is that it has not limitations which can be a metaphor for evil, and where there is evil violence is not far behind. As for the Trojan war it all started with the pettiness of one, throwing a golden apple addressed to “the fairest” into Olympus. From there Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite seek out Paris, the secret prince of Troy, to tell them who is the fairest of them all. Aphrodite wins and as a prize gives Paris the most beautiful mortal in the world, but she is married. Backtrack to the two Goddesses who did not get picked and you have two very angry women, and has we all know Hades hath no fury like a Goddess scorned. They of course decided to integrate themselves into the war by helping the meek men of war by giving them abilities to do things that most men are not capable of and giving advice that will lead to the downfall of Troy. One time Athena advices Achilles, “Stop this fighting, now. Don’t lay hand to sword. Lash him with threats of the price he will face. And I tell you this—and I know it is truth—one day glittering gifts will lie before you, three times over to pay for all this outrage. “The violence of the Gods is unknown to man, external
The story of the fall of Troy as portrayed by Homer is one of not only conflicts between humans, but also conflicts between the gods, who were “interested themselves as much in this famous war as the parties themselves” (Thomas Bulfinch, 1855). The legend itself begins with conflicts between the gods, Hera, ...
A long time ago, the king of Athens, Cecrops was searching for a god to be the patron of Athens. There were two gods who had shown interest in filling this role, Athena and Poseidon and consequently each was invited to Athens for a competition that would select who was to become the patron of Athens. The competition they would partake in would be one of gifts, each was to bring one wonderful gift to the city of Athens; when the day came, they each came forward with their gifts. Poseidon presented his first, and holding aloft his trident he struck the ground from which sprung a magnificent spring which widened into a lake. Seeing his beautiful gift, the people of Athens grew excited at the allure of this beautiful lake, however, upon touching the water to their lips they were disgusted for the lake was made of salt water and therefore could not be drawn from. Next Athena presented Cecrops with a simple olive tree which she then planted into the ground, exclaiming that it would grow large and bear olives to eat and even for oil to fuel their lamps with. Upon seeing the two gifts the people made their decision, picking Athena as her gift was clearly the superior. In a rage, Poseidon retreated back into the sea, and in a fit of retaliation, he mustered a massive wave which flooded the Thriasian Plain (“Athena and Poseidon's Contest for Athens”). In
focus on the Trojan War and its aftermath. Throughout the poem, Homer represents the gods intervening in human affairs and by this changing the destiny of human life. Because of the intervention, the gods start the war between Trojans and Achaeans and the reason of the war leads them to take sides. Homer represents the gods in many aspects; as humanlike, having miraculous actions, super being, controlling, life savers, and disguisers.
Just before the beginning of the Trojan War, Zeus arranged to have Thetis, a goddess, marry Peleus, a mortal. All the gods and goddesses were invited except for Eris, the goddess of discord. At the wedding while all the gods and goddesses were enjoying themselves, Eris threw a golden apple into their midst wit...
...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.
Upon first glance, the Trojan War may not appear relevant to the world today, but with further thought, the epic starts connecting to the present. One of the epic’s elements, the gods as an abiding feature in the lives of humans, can be studied providing education about historical and current societies. Music, literature, and art allow people to study what individuals and societies believe or once believed about the existence of gods or a god, and people can determine if certain societies or civilizations believe or have believed that gods or a god have the capability to influence or control events that occur in the world. Today and historically, differing beliefs are present about whether divine figures exist and their influence on events in the world.
According to Edith Hamilton, it all starts when King Peleus marries Thetis a sea nymph. All the gods are in attendance, except for Eris, who was for some reason not invited. Eris is angry and decides to create an argument during the festivities. So she sends a golden apple to the banquet with the simple inscription “For the Fairest”. Of course all the goddesses believe that the apple is for them and an argument does ensue. Eventually three finalists are selected among the goddesses. One of them is Athena, and the other two are Hera and Aphrodite. An impartial judge is selected in Paris, who is the son of Priam, the king of Troy. In order to make sure that they are chosen as the most beautiful, each of the three goddesses bribe Paris so that he will pick them. Athena offers him success in battle, Hera offers royal power (which to me doesn’t make much sense, since he is already a prince of Troy, unless of course she means over the entire world), and Aphrodite offers him the most beautiful girl in the world. Paris chooses Aphrodite and in turn receives Helen as his prize. From here the Trojan War begins.
I gathered my men and told them I needed valuable time to think. Of course, in this matter, they lifted me up and fanned me while walking around the realm to ensure a comfortable thinking environment. Suddenly, I heard a swish, then a dash of glitter. A womanly human figure appeared from the opening. I did not know who she was, or why she was here, yet I held a gut feeling this being would bring good to us. She too was taken to another room filled with bunks. I was not aware of this at the time, but she was Aphrodite, the goddess of love. After overhearing my enthusiastic love and compassion towards Penelope, one of the almighty immortals responded to my prayers and aided my
The argument against the Trojan War is that the Iliad is really just a work of fiction, Homer, was thought to have lived 500 years after the war occurred, but how could he remember such vivid details? Also, many aspects of the Iliad seem fictional. How could Achilles have only one weak spot on his whole body? How could his horses talk? How could the fires set upon Troy last for seven years? Yet to pre-Christian civilizations, what we think of as mythology would have been a true belief system for these ancient peoples.