What proof do we have and how do we know where to look for it?
Confounding historians for centuries, the evidence that points to the absolute truth or anything remotely close is darned near impossible to come across. Nevertheless, there are some places to gather useful information, such as historical recounts in many different forms.
Firstly, we have literature.
The Iliad is a personal recount written by homer documenting the battles that took place during the war which glorify the Greek side. The Aeneid, written by Virgil recounts the final days of the war in the second 'book' of his famed literary piece.
For a start, the Aeneid and the Iliad are written from two very different sides.
The Iliad is written from the perspective of the prevalent victors, the Greeks. Understandably, the text is somewhat biased towards them. The Aeneid and in particular, book II of it, tells us the perspective of the Romans, who ultimately are the descendants of those Trojans whom survived the siege of their city. The second book of the Aeneid tells us the story of the final day of the infamous war and the one aspect that, passed down through the generations, has become synonymous with the myth; the Trojan Horse.
This infamous myth, spoken of in the Aeneid, led to the inevitable downfall of the Trojans. It began with the Greeks and a plot. A plot that was so deceptive it would almost undoubtedly work. The greeks began by appearing to leave their base on the coast, near the city, leaving behind some mutilated and rotting corpses, destroyed buildings and a few weapons. A cunning trick to make it appear as though they had left. All but one young man, Sinon, whom is a wonderful actor, if you will. He is captured by the Trojan troops investigating the area, and he pleads his case to them. They left him behind,
Although the reasoning behind his abandonment is otherwise a cunning trick, he tells his captors he has been left behind as a sacrifice to grant them safe passage back to Greece, as well as a messenger to tell the Trojans why they left. Sinon, being such a brilliant actor, is believed by the Trojans and pitied by them and is granted the right to live in Troy. That's the start of it however, he claims a giant wooden horse left by the Greeks is a gift of forfeit to the Trojans and Athena. The unsuspecting Trojans enthralled in celebration as to their victory, wheel the giant wooden horse in. (Footnote 1a)
But, Laocoon, a Trojan priest, suspects the Greeks. "Whatever it is, I fear the Greeks even when bearing gifts." The gods, whom have decreed that Tory must fall and the Horse plays an important part in the downfall. (Footnote 1b)
At the same time he stretched forth to tear the knots with his handshis fillets soaked with saliva and black venomat the same time he lifted to heaven horrendous cries:like the bellowing when a wounded bull has fled from the altarand has shaken the ill-aimed axe from its neck
Firstly, we have literature.
The Iliad is a personal recount written by homer documenting the battles that took place during the war which glorify the Greek side. The Aeneid, written by Virgil recounts the final days of the war in the second 'book' of his famed literary piece.
For a start, the Aeneid and the Iliad are written from two very different sides.
The Iliad is written from the perspective of the prevalent victors, the Greeks. Understandably, the text is somewhat biased towards them. The Aeneid and in particular, book II of it, tells us the perspective of the Romans, who ultimately are the descendants of those Trojans whom survived the siege of their city. The second book of the Aeneid tells us the story of the final day of the infamous war and the one aspect that, passed down through the generations, has become synonymous with the myth; the Trojan Horse.
This infamous myth, spoken of in the Aeneid, led to the inevitable downfall of the Trojans. It began with the Greeks and a plot. A plot that was so deceptive it would almost undoubtedly work. The greeks began by appearing to leave their base on the coast, near the city, leaving behind some mutilated and rotting corpses, destroyed buildings and a few weapons. A cunning trick to make it appear as though they had left. All but one young man, Sinon, whom is a wonderful actor, if you will. He is captured by the Trojan troops investigating the area, and he pleads his case to them. They left him behind,
Although the reasoning behind his abandonment is otherwise a cunning trick, he tells his captors he has been left behind as a sacrifice to grant them safe passage back to Greece, as well as a messenger to tell the Trojans why they left. Sinon, being such a brilliant actor, is believed by the Trojans and pitied by them and is granted the right to live in Troy. That's the start of it however, he claims a giant wooden horse left by the Greeks is a gift of forfeit to the Trojans and Athena. The unsuspecting Trojans enthralled in celebration as to their victory, wheel the giant wooden horse in. (Footnote 1a)
But, Laocoon, a Trojan priest, suspects the Greeks. "Whatever it is, I fear the Greeks even when bearing gifts." The gods, whom have decreed that Tory must fall and the Horse plays an important part in the downfall. (Footnote 1b)
At the same time he stretched forth to tear the knots with his handshis fillets soaked with saliva and black venomat the same time he lifted to heaven horrendous cries:like the bellowing when a wounded bull has fled from the altarand has shaken the ill-aimed axe from its neck
This was the fate brought upon Laocoon by the gods, Poseidon, whom sent sea serpents to Troy to kill Laocoon. From the perspective of the gods, this was to silence him, preventinfg him from foiling the plan but to the Trojans, he denied the gods such a gift, thus upsetting them.
Why was the Trojan war an important event in the context of its time?
Religious beliefs/practices of the Ancient World
The ancient world had great respect for their dead and in particular, the Greeks had unwritten laws of the gods that you simply followed regardless of the circumstances. Achilles, the great warrior that played a huge part in the defeat of the Trojans fought a battle with king Priam of Troy's son, Hektor. He fought him bravely but consequently, Hektor was killed. When he was killed, Achilles dragged him behind his horse back to the Greek base.(Footnote 2a.) Three days later, under cover of darkness, Priam goes to Achilles and pleads for him to return his son's body so it can be given all due burial rites.
It is believed that, at the godly wedding feast of Peleus and the nymph Thetis, the goddess of strife, Eris, who had not been invited to the celebration, decided to cause mischief in retribution for this slight, by leaving a mysterious golden apple at the banquet, with a note addressed "for the fairest one".
This gift immediately created conflict between Athene, Aphrodite and Hera who each claimed the apple as their own. Zeus, who knew better than to decide the matter himself, suggested that the best man to judge would be the handsomest man on earth, a young prince of Troy named Paris, who was currently a guest in the house of King Menelaus of Sparta.
The goddesses appeared before a bewildered Paris, as he rested alone on a hilltop, and they demanded upon him to decide the contest. Each of the goddesses bribed Paris with a gift in return for the apple, though it was the gift offered by Aphrodite, the offer of making the most beautiful woman in the world his bride, that swayed Paris to declare Aphrodite the winner. This was the myth of "The Judgement of Paris".
It so happened that the most beautiful woman in the world was Helen, the wife of Paris' host Menelaus. Paris quickly stole Helen away from Menelaus and fled back to his home city of Troy. Menelaus was outraged by the stealing of his wife, and called upon his brother, Agamemnon, to lead a military campaign to recapture her.
Many years ago, prior to Helen's marriage to Menelaus, a pact had been sworn among Helen's many suitors to come to the aid of whoever would be chosen as Helen's husband, so as to prevent quarrels from elevating into battles once Helen's husband was actually chosen. Agamemnon now called upon the members of this pact, including Odysseus, Ajax, Idomeneus and Patroclus, to stand by their oath and launch their navies against Paris and the city of Troy for stealing away Helen and to retrieve her. It is for this reason that Christopher Marlowe describes Helen of Troy as being "the face that launched a thousand ships".
It is believed that, at the godly wedding feast of Peleus and the nymph Thetis, the goddess of strife, Eris, who had not been invited to the celebration, decided to cause mischief in retribution for this slight, by leaving a mysterious golden apple at the banquet, with a note addressed "for the fairest one".
This gift immediately created conflict between Athene, Aphrodite and Hera who each claimed the apple as their own. Zeus, who knew better than to decide the matter himself, suggested that the best man to judge would be the handsomest man on earth, a young prince of Troy named Paris, who was currently a guest in the house of King Menelaus of Sparta.
The goddesses appeared before a bewildered Paris, as he rested alone on a hilltop, and they demanded upon him to decide the contest. Each of the goddesses bribed Paris with a gift in return for the apple, though it was the gift offered by Aphrodite, the offer of making the most beautiful woman in the world his bride, that swayed Paris to declare Aphrodite the winner. This was the myth of "The Judgement of Paris".
It so happened that the most beautiful woman in the world was Helen, the wife of Paris' host Menelaus. Paris quickly stole Helen away from Menelaus and fled back to his home city of Troy. Menelaus was outraged by the stealing of his wife, and called upon his brother, Agamemnon, to lead a military campaign to recapture her.
Many years ago, prior to Helen's marriage to Menelaus, a pact had been sworn among Helen's many suitors to come to the aid of whoever would be chosen as Helen's husband, so as to prevent quarrels from elevating into battles once Helen's husband was actually chosen. Agamemnon now called upon the members of this pact, including Odysseus, Ajax, Idomeneus and Patroclus, to stand by their oath and launch their navies against Paris and the city of Troy for stealing away Helen and to retrieve her. It is for this reason that Christopher Marlowe describes Helen of Troy as being "the face that launched a thousand ships".
The Inspiration of Writers and Artists
We know most of what we know about the story encircling Troy from works of Literature such as Homer's The Iliad, Virgil's The Aeneid and the Histories of Herodotus. In addition, there are hundreds of surviving artworks such as vases, pots, sculptures and friezes, such as the one at the top of several pages on this site. The war served as inspiration because of its colourful mythology and the significance of the event to many civilisations across the Aegean.
Of course, there is a lot of information here on this site about the Iliad and Aeneid, yet the plupart of the information comes from depictions on artworks. Firstly, there are pieces that depict the lead up like this one below that was made in Athens in around 470BC showing the Judgement of Paris;
Of course, there is a lot of information here on this site about the Iliad and Aeneid, yet the plupart of the information comes from depictions on artworks. Firstly, there are pieces that depict the lead up like this one below that was made in Athens in around 470BC showing the Judgement of Paris;
And this one depicting the battle between Achilles and Hektor, probably from around the same period.
Also, there are many different Sculptures like this one depicting Laocoon and his two sons, Antiphantes and Thymbraeus, being killed by the sea serpents sent by the gods to silence them. This sculpture is very late, being sculpted centuries after Troy fell, in the Hellenistic Period (25BC) Which is, coincidentally, the time that the Romans were expanding their own empire, engulfing Greece and Byzantium, where Troy was located in that time. The sculpture is currently in the Vatican Museum at the Vatican, Rome.
Exekias
One of the most important objects in the gallery is the large amphora of c. 540-530 BC decorated with scenes from the Trojan War. Found in a tomb in Orvieto, Italy, it was painted by the well-known Athenian artist Exekias. The central figures on each side are fallen Greek heroes stretched across the bottom of the panel: Achilles and Antilochos*. The heroes are dead, and their comrades chase away the enemies who would despoil the corpses. Homer's Iliad, the great story of the Trojan War, indicates how terrible it was when a comrade’s corpse fell into enemy hands. The device on the shield carried by the hero labeled as Menelaos -- on the side with Achilles -- is a dog devouring a haunch of meat. This echoes an image in the Iliad where Achilles says he will take the body of Hector, the great Trojan hero, and “give him to the dogs to feed on raw.”
Cultural Practices and Codes of Behaviour
King Priam of Troy had two sons. Hektor and Paris. Hektor was killed by Achilles of course, and Paris also met a grisly fate. Indeed, we know the story of Hektor, being slain and dragged by Achilles. When Troy had inevitably fallen, a Greek named Pyrrhus climbed the Trojan citadel to Priam's palace. With he, his wife(s) and children cowering beneath a statue of Athena, Pyrrhus chased Paris down a corridor towards Priam, slaying Paris in front of his own fathers eyes. (Footnote 3a) The killing of a mans son(s) and heir was a sacrilegious act in the ancient times, being such a patriarchal society that relied on male offspring to inherit property, titles or to simply carry on the family name.
The Greeks, and Trojans valued many things but above all else the valued their own honour.
The essence of the heroic outlook is the pursuit of honour through action. The great man is he who, being endowed with superior qualities of body and mind, uses them to the utmost and wins the applause of his fellows because he spares no effort and shirks no risk in his desire to make the most of his gifts and to surpass other men in his exercise of them. His honour is the centre of his being, and any affront to it calls for immediate amends. He courts danger gladly because it gives him the best opportunity of showing of what stuff he is made. Such a conviction and its system of behaviour are built on a man’s conception of himself and of what he owes to it, and if it has any further sanctions, they are to be found in what other men like himself think of him. By prowess and renown he gains an enlarged sense of personality and well-being; through them he has a second existence on the lips of men, which assures him that he has not failed in what matters most. Fame is the reward of honour, and the hero seeks it before everything else. This outlook runs through Greek history from Homer’s Achilles to the historical Alexander. It is countered and modified and altered, but it persists and even extends its field from an individual to a national outlook. It is a creed suited to men of action, and through it the Greeks justified their passionate desire to vary the pattern of their lives by resourceful and unflagging enterprise. Though in its early stages, as we see it in Homer, it has much in common with similar ideals in other heroic societies, it is more resilient in Greece than elsewhere and endures with unexpected vitality when the city-state is established with all its demands and obligations on its members, and when the new conception of the citizen might seem to exclude an ideal which sets so high a value on the single man and his notion of what is due to him.The heroic outlook, which the Greeks inherited from a distant past, shaped much of their thinking and their action. They fitted it into the frame of the city-state and its demands, and, when occasion called, into the larger pattern of Hellenism, of which they were never quite oblivious. When they claimed that they were superior to barbarians because they pursued a higher type of virtue, they were not wrong. In comparison with the herded multitudes of Egypt and Asia, or with the more primitive peoples on their own frontiers, the Greeks had found a principle which gave meaning to life and inspired them to astonishing achievements. Because they felt that they were different from other men, that they must always excel and surpass them, that a man wins his manhood through unflagging effort and unflinching risk, they broke away from the static patterns of society which elsewhere dominated their age, and inaugurated a way of life in which the prizes went to the eager and the bold, and action in all its forms was sought and honoured as the natural end of man.
[Source: C. M. Bowra, The Greek Experience, (New York: Praeger, 1957), pp.20-21, 40-41.]
FOOTNOTES
1a: The Aeneid book II lines 57-144
1b the Aeneid book 2, lines 220 - 225
2a Iliad Bk XXII:247-366
3a The Aeneid Bk II lines:486-558
The Greeks, and Trojans valued many things but above all else the valued their own honour.
The essence of the heroic outlook is the pursuit of honour through action. The great man is he who, being endowed with superior qualities of body and mind, uses them to the utmost and wins the applause of his fellows because he spares no effort and shirks no risk in his desire to make the most of his gifts and to surpass other men in his exercise of them. His honour is the centre of his being, and any affront to it calls for immediate amends. He courts danger gladly because it gives him the best opportunity of showing of what stuff he is made. Such a conviction and its system of behaviour are built on a man’s conception of himself and of what he owes to it, and if it has any further sanctions, they are to be found in what other men like himself think of him. By prowess and renown he gains an enlarged sense of personality and well-being; through them he has a second existence on the lips of men, which assures him that he has not failed in what matters most. Fame is the reward of honour, and the hero seeks it before everything else. This outlook runs through Greek history from Homer’s Achilles to the historical Alexander. It is countered and modified and altered, but it persists and even extends its field from an individual to a national outlook. It is a creed suited to men of action, and through it the Greeks justified their passionate desire to vary the pattern of their lives by resourceful and unflagging enterprise. Though in its early stages, as we see it in Homer, it has much in common with similar ideals in other heroic societies, it is more resilient in Greece than elsewhere and endures with unexpected vitality when the city-state is established with all its demands and obligations on its members, and when the new conception of the citizen might seem to exclude an ideal which sets so high a value on the single man and his notion of what is due to him.The heroic outlook, which the Greeks inherited from a distant past, shaped much of their thinking and their action. They fitted it into the frame of the city-state and its demands, and, when occasion called, into the larger pattern of Hellenism, of which they were never quite oblivious. When they claimed that they were superior to barbarians because they pursued a higher type of virtue, they were not wrong. In comparison with the herded multitudes of Egypt and Asia, or with the more primitive peoples on their own frontiers, the Greeks had found a principle which gave meaning to life and inspired them to astonishing achievements. Because they felt that they were different from other men, that they must always excel and surpass them, that a man wins his manhood through unflagging effort and unflinching risk, they broke away from the static patterns of society which elsewhere dominated their age, and inaugurated a way of life in which the prizes went to the eager and the bold, and action in all its forms was sought and honoured as the natural end of man.
[Source: C. M. Bowra, The Greek Experience, (New York: Praeger, 1957), pp.20-21, 40-41.]
FOOTNOTES
1a: The Aeneid book II lines 57-144
1b the Aeneid book 2, lines 220 - 225
2a Iliad Bk XXII:247-366
3a The Aeneid Bk II lines:486-558